Elote Corn Chowder
This delicious and flavorful elote corn chowder, inspired by Mexican street corn, features fresh summer corn, a blend of spices, lime juice, crema and garnished with salty cotija cheese.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time45 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Entree, Soup
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: elote chowder, elote corn soup, mexican corn chowder, Mexican street corn chowder, Mexican street corn soup
Servings: 4 dinner portions
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 cups fresh corn (approx. 6 ears of corn)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 1 poblano pepper seeds removed, diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2-1 tsp cayenne optional
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- 1/2 lime juiced
For serving:
- Cotija cheese
- Fresh cilantro
Heat butter and oil olive in a 5 to 6 quart dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, poblano pepper and garlic. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
Add corn and all the spices. Give everything a good toss and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Add stock, bring to a soup to a simmer, cover dutch oven with lid and simmer soup for 30 minutes.
Ladle 3/4 of the soup into a large blender. Blend soup until smooth. Pour soup back into dutch oven with remaining soup. Add sour cream or Mexican crema, half and half and lime juice. Stir soup to mix.
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cotija cheese, fresh cilantro and other optional garnishes, as desired.
Optional garnishes:
- Jalapeño slices
- Charred corn kernels
- Avocado slices or chunks
- Sour cream or Mexican crema
- Tortilla strips
- Smoked paprika
- Lime wedges