Mexican Street Corn Soup
4/22/2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Inspired by classic elote flavors, homemade Mexican street corn soup is ultra creamy and hearty. Featuring charred corn and poblano peppers, rich cream cheese, cozy spices, and zesty lime juice, this comforting soup satisfies all year round. It’s made on the stovetop in just 45 minutes for an easy dinner the whole family will enjoy. Don’t skip the sprinkle of cotija cheese before serving!
Recipe Highlights
- Flavorful: Mexican street corn soup embodies all the flavors of Mexican street corn, just in soup form.
- Comforting: Each bite is creamy, cheesy, and hearty.
- Quick: This soup is ready in under an hour!
- Meal-prep friendly: The flavors intensify over time, so leftovers taste great.
Ingredients Needed
In addition to avocado oil, salt, and pepper, you’ll need:
- Onion + garlic: Sautéed white onion and garlic are the aromatic base of this soup.
- Chili powder + cayenne pepper: Commonly used Mexican spices that add warmth, a little heat, and flavor.
- Broth: It’s not soup without broth! I like to use vegetable broth to keep this recipe vegetarian.
- Potatoes: Yukon potatoes add a wonderfully hearty texture to this elote soup. Be sure to peel them before cutting.
- Corn: The star of this soup!
- Poblano pepper: Adds the perfect hint of spice that kicks the soup up a notch.
- Cream cheese: The secret to a super creamy texture.
- Cotija cheese: A classic ingredient in traditional elote recipes. If you can’t find cotija cheese, queso fresco is a great alternative.
- Lime juice: Adds a welcome bright, light flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Cilantro: Garnish each bowl with chopped cilantro for even more fresh flavor.
How to Make It
For the full recipe and instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
SAUTé The Base
Heat avocado oil in a large Dutch oven set over medium/high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute.
ADD POTATOES + BROTH
To the same pot, add the potatoes and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Make Topping
While the soup simmers, heat the remaining avocado oil in a skillet. Add the diced poblano pepper and half of the frozen corn and cook for 4-5 minutes. The veggies should start to char on the outside – this adds incredible flavor! Set this corn/pepper topping aside until ready to serve.
ADD MORE CORN
Once the potatoes are fork-tender, add the remaining corn to the soup and cook for another 5 minutes.
BLEND
Blend the soup in 10-second intervals with an immersion blender until most of the potatoes are broken into tiny pieces. Stir in the cream cheese until melted.
No blender? No problem! Carefully transfer the soup to a high-speed blender. Pulse until the potatoes are broken up into small pieces and pour the soup back into the Dutch oven. Continue with the recipe as written.
SERVE
When ready to serve, top each bowl with the corn and poblano pepper topping, cotija cheese, cilantro, and lime juice.
Serving Ideas
This Mexican street corn soup makes for a delicious (and hearty enough) dinner on its own and also tastes great alongside a simple salad, jalapeño cheddar cornbread, ground beef taco bake, cheese quesadillas, or cream cheese chicken enchiladas.
Variations to Try
If corn is in season, use fresh corn kernels instead of frozen.
Swap yellow onion for white onion.
Instead of vegetable broth, use whatever broth you have on hand (chicken, beef, vegetable stock, etc.).
Try russet, Idaho, or red potatoes instead of Yukon. Just be sure to peel them and cut them into even chunks before adding to the soup.
For more spice, add a diced jalapeño to the corn and pepper topping.
Storage Instructions
One of the best things about this soup is that it tastes better the longer it sits. Leftovers have even more flavor – store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If leftovers have thickened up, mix in a splash of water or broth when reheating.
I don’t recommend freezing this soup as the creamy texture won’t thaw and reheat well.
FAQ
Mexican street corn is also known as “elote,” which means “corn cob” in Spanish. Grilled until perfectly charred and juicy, each corn cob is slathered with a creamy sauce and lime juice, then sprinkled with cotija cheese before serving. It’s an incredibly popular Mexican street food, and for good reason!
Absolutely! You’ll need about 2 1/2 cups of freshly shucked corn (between 3 and 4 ears of corn) to make this soup. Keep in mind that the cooking time may vary – keep an eye on the soup and cook until the kernels are tender.
It has warm flavor, but isn’t overly spicy. Omit the cayenne pepper if you prefer a milder soup.
Mexican Street Corn Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- 1/2 large white onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lb. Yukon potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- 20 oz. frozen corn, divided
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 5 oz. cotija cheese, ~1 cup
- 1 lime, quartered
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the avocado oil in a large Dutch oven set over medium/high heat. Once hot, add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in the garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of salt, and pepper and cook for another minute.
- Add the potatoes and broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, prepare the corn topping. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a large skillet set over medium/high heat.
- Add the diced poblano pepper and half (10 oz.) of the frozen corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes. The corn and peppers should develop a char on the outside. Season with remaining salt and set aside.
- After the soup has simmered for 15 minutes, add the remaining 10 oz. of corn and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the soup in 10-second intervals, until most of the potatoes are broken up into tiny pieces.
- Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
- Top each bowl with 1/4 of the corn and poblano mixture, 1/4 cup of cotija cheese, 1 tablespoon of cilantro, and the juice of 1/4 lime. Enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- Storage instructions: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If leftovers have thickened up, mix in a splash of water or broth when reheating.
- No immersion blender? No problem. After step 7, carefully transfer the soup to a high-speed blender. Pulse until the potatoes are broken up into small pieces and pour the soup back into the Dutch oven. Continue with the recipe as written.
- Potatoes: Use any potato variety in this recipe. Be sure to peel them before dicing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #cheeseknees, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
