Mexican Street Corn Chicken Bowls
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Mexican Street Corn Chicken Bowls combine flavorful chicken with sweet and smoky grilled corn all served on a bed of fluffy rice and topped off with sprinkle of cotija cheese.
We eat a lot of grilled corn in the summer. It’s one of our favorite and easy to make side dishes. However, there’s often quite a few ears left over and I’m always searching for ways to use it.
I also happen to love Mexican Street Corn. It’s become one of those super trendy dishes that people have turned into many different recipes.
There is something about a great piece of sweet corn topped off with creamy mayonnaise and sprinkled with cheese. It’s delicious.
WHat is Mexican Street Corn?
Mexican street corn, also called elote, is a popular Mexican street food made from grilled corn on the cob that’s coated in a creamy and tangy topping.It’s generally covered in mayonnaise, cotija cheese, lime juice, and chili powder.
I’ve made many rice bowls before and one of my favorites is a Chicken Taco Rice Bowl. For a quick and easy meal Lemon Garlic Pork and Rice Bowls are tasty. One of my new found favorites is a Steak Gyro Orzo Bowl.
This rice bowl has several components to it but it’s easy to make and it cooks up quickly. You can either grill or saute the chicken with a variety of seasonings.
I usually use leftover grilled corn for this recipe and then just heat it in a pan with all of the toppings but you can also grill it fresh and go from there.
Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts (you can also use chicken thighs)
- chili powder
- cumin
- smoked paprika
- corn on the cob (you can also use canned or frozen corn)
- mayonnaise
- sour cream
- fresh limes
- cilantro
- cotija cheese
- rice (I like jasmine rice but use your favorite type)
- tortilla chips
To make the chicken simply sprinkle the chicken breasts with the seasonings and either grill or saute until the chicken is cooked through then cut into pieces.
To make the corn simply grill it until it is charred. Then cut it off the cob and mix with mayonnaise, sour cream, spices, and lime juice.
Place rice in a bowl and top it with the corn mixture, chicken, cilantro, and cotija cheese.
Can I add additional toppings?
Yes! I like to add a fresh wedge of lime to the rice bowls. It’s also nice to have some fresh avocado on top of the bowls. Feel free to serve the bowls with a jalapeno ranch sauce, salsa, or sour cream.
These rice bowls were so flavorful! My husband and I absolutely loved the charred street corn on top of the rice. The chicken was flavorful as well.
Can I use a different seasoning on the chicken?
You can use a packet of taco seasoning, fajita seasoning, or your favorite Mexican spices to season the chicken. I actually love to use Arizona Dreaming spice to season the chicken in this recipe.
Make sure and put the cotija cheese, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime on top of the rice bowls. These additional flavors tie everything together and really make the bowls work.
I served mine with tortilla chips because I like to be able to use the chips to pick up the ingredients from the bowl but that is totally optional.
Mexican Street Corn Chicken Bowls
Equipment
- 2 skillet
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
For the Corn:
- 3-4 ears of corn on cob (or 2 cups frozen corn)
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the bowls:
- 6 cups cooked rice
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese
- tortilla chips optional
Instructions
- To make the chicken combine all the seasonings in a small bowl and then sprinkle over top of the chicken breasts.
- Either grill the chicken or place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes each side or until the temperature is 165 degrees.
- Remove from pan or grill and cut into pieces.
- To make the corn cut the kernels off the cob.
- Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the corn kernels and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they are browning. If using leftover grilled corn you will only need to cook it for 2 minutes.
- Add in the mayonnaise, sour cream, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Remove from heat and add in lime juice. Stir well.
- To serve, divide the rice between four bowls. Divide the chicken and the corn between the bowls as well.
- Sprinkle with the cilantro and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
