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Mexican Street Corn Soup Recipe

Street corn is perfect for summer, but if you want to winter-fy it, this Mexican Street Corn Soup recipe is for you.

For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our soup recipes.

A dark yellow soup with cilantro and white cheese on top in a green bowl with a green spoon in it and the words "Mexican Street Corn Soup" digitally written on top.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, it’s really hard for me to go out to dinner. I love dining out and trying new restaurants, but I’m so often disappointed. See, I like cooking and I like how my food tastes. So there’s a lot of times when I’m eating and I’m underwhelmed and think to myself, “I could make this better at home.”

That happened when we were eating at a restaurant that I had been so looking forward to trying. I read the menu so many times and was so excited to try the Mexican Street Corn Soup.

See, I love Mexican street corn. But, you usually only see it during the summer months when you can get fresh corn on the cob. You don’t usually get it during the colder months. That’s soup season. So to see street corn in soup form on a menu was super exciting to me.

The bowl of soup came to the table and was so thick and so bland, it was like eating flavorless cement.

Or, I don’t know, some metaphor that makes sense.

I was so disappointed.

So of course, I had to come home and come up with my own Mexican Street Corn Soup recipe.

It’s. So. Good. It’s a little creamy, but still light, and has all the flavors of Mexican street corn, but as a soup. It’s a vegetarian soup too, which is nice because sometimes I just don’t feel like having meat.

Two bowls of soup and a soup pitcher with the words "10+ Super Soup Recipes to make this fall" digitally written on top.

If it’s soup season and you’re looking for more ideas, our list of Super Soup Recipes is for you. It has recipes for chicken soup, slow cooker ham bone soup, and more.

Mexican Street Corn Soup Recipe

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Mexican Street Corn Soup Ingredients:

You can get the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below.

  • Onion – Either a yellow or white onion will work to add a little sweetness to the soup.
  • Garlic – Fresh garlic that you chop yourself adds more flavor than jarred, minced garlic.
  • Corn – We use fresh ears of corn in this recipe because it gives the most flavor. If it’s not fresh corn season, you could use canned corn.
  • Salt
  • Onion powder
  • Tajín seasoning – This chili lime seasoning is found in a lot of Mexican recipes.
  • Vegetable broth – Using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth keeps this as a vegetarian soup.
  • Whole milk – This adds a creaminess to the soup while still keeping it light. You could substitute heavy cream instead, but that would make this soup a lot heavier.
  • Lime juice – This bit of sourness is a good balance for the sweet corn.
  • Fresh cilantro – As a garnish, cilantro adds some color and a little flavor to the soup. If you added it into the soup as an ingredient, it would overpower it.
  • Queso fresco – As a garnish, this adds a little color to the soup. Plus, it adds a little bit of extra salt.

How To Make Mexican Street Corn Soup:

Diced onions in a red Dutch oven.

Dice the onion.

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Personally, I love using the Dutch oven to make soup. It holds the heat really well and cooks anything very evenly.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven (which, they’re expensive, so you might not have one), you can use a large pot. Just keep an eye on the soup. Using a different pot may change the cook time a little bit.

Add the onions and cook for about five minutes until the onions start to soften.

Diced onions and garlic in a red Dutch oven being stirred with a wooden spoon.

Chop the garlic and add it to the Dutch oven. Cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Quick note: I know a lot of people who say they discard the amount of garlic that’s written in a recipe and measure with their hearts. That’s fine. Do as you will. However, this soup is supposed to taste similar to Mexican street corn and that doesn’t have garlic. So, we add some here just for flavoring, but you don’t want to overpower the sweetness of the corn by adding too much garlic.

Corn kernels in a red Dutch oven.

Cut the corn off the cobs and add the corn into the Dutch oven. Save the corn cobs.

Cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally.

Make sure you’re not letting anything stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven.

Tajin seasoning in a measuring spoon above a bowl that's filled with corn.

Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and add the salt, onion powder, and Tajín seasoning.

Stir until combined.

Corn kernels in a blender.

Remove about half of the corn mixture from the Dutch oven and add it to a blender.

Liquid from a carton being poured into a blender.

Add the vegetable broth into the blender.

A bubbly liquid in a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Liquid being poured from a blender into a Dutch oven.

Add the blender mix back into the pot.

Quick note: You don’t want to skip blending part of the soup. That gives the soup a really creamy broth, which is why you can achieve such a creamy soup without adding heavy cream.

It also adds some thickness into the soup, so you can skip making a slurry to act as a thickener.

If you don’t have a blender, you can add some of the soup into a large bowl and use an immersion blender.

A hand placing two stripped corn on the cob into a bowl with liquid in it.

Add in the stripped cobs.

Four stripped corn on the cobs in a bowl with broth.

Put the Dutch oven back on the heat and bring the pot to a boil.

Lower the temperature to medium heat and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the Dutch oven from the heat.

Carefully remove the corn cobs.

A measuring cup filled with milk being poured into a bowl that has broth in it.

Pour in the milk.

Unstirred Mexican Street Corn soup in a Dutch oven.

Shred the queso fresco.

Reserve a little on the side for garnish, then add the rest into the Dutch oven.

Add in the lime juice.

Quick note: We use bottled lime juice because it’s cheaper to have that around the house all the time. However, if you used fresh lime, you could then cut lime wedges to garnish the soup with. That would look so pretty. And you know, we eat with our eyes first.

Stir until everything is combined.

Taste the soup now and see if it needs an extra sprinkle of Tajín seasoning to really make the flavors pop.

Mexican Street Corn Soup in a green bowl with a green spoon in it.

Ladle the soup into small bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, the remaining queso fresco, and a pinch of Tajín seasoning.

You could also garnish with a bit of crumbled tortilla chips, if you’re looking for a crunch in this soup, or a drizzle of Mexican crema (I make one with sour cream, mayonnaise, and lime juice, plus seasoning if I don’t have one handy).

A bowl of Mexican Street Corn Soup with cilantro and shredded cheese on top.

Mexican Street Corn Soup: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store and reheat leftovers?

Wait until the soup has cooled completely to room temperature. Then put any leftover soup into an airtight container. You can keep it up to a week that way.

You can either reheat the soup in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. Either way is fine.

Do you have to use fresh ears of corn?

Fresh corn is best because you get all the flavor from the fresh corn kernels and then extra flavor from the husk. So, for the best results, use fresh corn. But, if it’s not corn season and you’re hungry for this delicious soup, you can use canned corn. Just make sure you drain and rinse it first.

A 15.25 oz an of corn is approximately equivalent to two ears of corn, so you’d need two cans of corn for this recipe.

If you are going to use canned corn, look for fire-roasted corn. That will at least have a little more flavor, so you can make up for some of what you’re missing.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad in a bowl.

More Mexican Street Corn-Inspired Recipes:

I love street corn and order it as a side dish almost any time I see it on a menu. So of course, I have find different ways to have all the delicious flavors of elote at home, like our super popular Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad (also known as grilled esquites).

I also make a Mexican Street Corn-Style Grilled Zucchini recipe, which is all the flavors of street corn over grilled zucchini rather than corn.

A partially shucked ear of corn with the words "Budget-Friendly Fresh Corn Recipes" digitally written on top.

More Fresh Corn Recipes:

​If you’re making this in the summer (because you’re like me and can eat soup no matter the weather) and bought too much sweet summer corn, so you’re wondering what to do with it, check out our list of Fresh Corn Recipes. There are ideas for grilling corn, making the viral Corn Ribs recipe, and more.

Yield: 6 Servings

Mexican Street Corn Soup

Street corn is perfect for summer, but if you want to winter-fy it, this Mexican Street Corn Soup recipe is for you.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 onion
  • 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
  • 4 ears of corn
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tajin seasoning
  • 32 oz. vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 2 oz. queso fresco
  • Cilantro (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Dice the onion.
  2. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
  3. Add the onions and cook for about five minutes until the onions start to soften.
  4. Chop the garlic and add it to the Dutch oven. Cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cut the corn off the cobs and add the corn into the Dutch oven. Save the corn cobs.
  6. Cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and add the salt, onion powder, and Tajín seasoning. Stir until combined.
  8. Remove about half of the corn mixture from the Dutch oven and add it to a blender.
  9. Add the vegetable broth into the blender. Blend until smooth.
  10. Add the blender mix back into the pot.
  11. Add in the stripped cobs.
  12. Put the Dutch oven back on the heat and bring the pot to a boil.
  13. Lower the temperature to medium heat and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  14. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat.
  15. Carefully remove the corn cobs.
  16. Pour in the milk.
  17. Add in the lime juice.
  18. Stir until everything is combined.
  19. Ladle the soup into small bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, the remaining queso fresco, and a pinch of Tajín seasoning.

Notes

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 113Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 9mgSodium 957mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 5g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Kerryanne

Friday 9th of May 2025

Thank you for sharing your Mexican Street Corn Soup recipe.

Pam

Thursday 8th of May 2025

What a wonderful soup! It looks really delicious.

Jennifer Wise

Monday 5th of May 2025

(Flavorless cement--ha!) :) This looks so delicious! I am a fan of Mexican Street Corn, so I have got to give this a try. Pinning! :)

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