Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos

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Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexican street food and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these elote tacos will have you begging for more!

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexcian steet food elote and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos will have you begging for more!MEXICAN STREET CORN CHICKEN TACOS

My love for Mexican food is no secret and any excuse I can find to bring new Mexican inspired dishes to my dinner table is a win in my book. Now we eat a lot of chicken.. I mean, I am serving up fast and easy chicken dinners probably at least four nights a week. That many chicken dinners eventually leads to running out of ideas and needing to add in some fresh new chicken recipes into the mix. So when my hubby brought home fresh corn on the cob and a ton of limes last week, I knew we were going to have to put a fun Mexican twist on Taco Tuesday with this Street Corn Chicken Tacos recipe. Because let’s be honest, you can never have too many chicken taco recipes in your wheelhouse! Am I right?

chicken taco

WHAT IS MEXICAN STREET CORN?

Elote, also known as Mexican street corn is a favorite when it comes to Mexican street food. 

Elote is simply fresh corn on the cob roasted or grilled and covered with sour cream, mayo, cilantro, chile powder, lime and cotija cheese.

Normally served on a stick or skewer, Mexican street corn is portable, versatile and absolutely delicious. Tangy, spicy and creamy, elote is the perfect addition to backyard cookouts, Taco Tuesday and any summer get together.

grilled corn tortillasHOW TO ROAST CORN

To roast corn for Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos, simply shuck your fresh corn on the cob and heat a grill or grill pan to medium high.

Grill your corn, turning your cob often until your corn start to char a bit from the heat.  This usually take about 10 minutes. 

Then stand your corn up on it’s end and using a sharp knife, start at the top and cut downward cutting corn off from the cob.

Continue cutting corn off the cob until all of the corn is removed. I find setting a small bowl upside down inside of a larger bowl and standing your corn on that is a great way to catch all of the corn as it falls away from the cob.

taco toppings

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE FRESH CORN ON THE COB?

No worries if you don’t have fresh corn on the cob available, you can still make awesome street corn tacos. 

Most grocery stores sell roasted corn kernels in the can in the aisle where you would find canned vegetables. 

You may also check your freezer aisle because roasted corn often times is sold in a frozen bag. 

You also have the option of roasting canned corn by draining off the liquid and sauteing your corn kernels over medium high heat in a bit of olive oil until it starts to roast and turn color a bit.

HOW TO HEAT CORN TORTILLAS

Fresh Mexican tacos are amazing because the ingredients used are fresh and usually the tortillas are homemade. Talk about the perfect easy taco recipe!!

If you do not have access to homemade tortillas (THIS girl is raising her hand!), you can make store bought tortillas taste better by adding one little step to the process.. heat them up!

Now, I was never a fan or corn tortillas because I had only had store bought corn tortillas and I just never liked them until I had carnitas tacos served up on homemade corn tortillas… Yessssss!!

Then my Mexican friend taught me the secret… heat those store bought corn tortillas up in a pan or griddle with a bit of non-stick spray or oil and heat them through for a couple of minutes on each side before adding your taco ingredients. 

Note: make sure you do this when you are ready to eat.  Do no heat up the store bought tortillas and then let them sit.. they get hard enough to shingle your roof.  Heat and eat, my friends!

corn tortillas on a griddle

WHAT IS ADOBO SAUCE?

The adobo sauce is the spicy sauce that chipotle peppers come in when your buy them in the can and honestly makes the best chicken taco sauce.

You can also puree up 1 or 2 of the peppers and add them to this street taco dressing, if you want but it’s not necessary and you just add the adobo sauce to give the dressing a smoky spicy kick. 

If you are unable to find chipotle peppers in the can (ethnic aisle of your grocery store), you can certainly use chipotle pepper powder or even some cayenne powder.

chipotle dressing

MARINADE FOR CHICKEN STREET TACOS

Marinades need time to work their mojo so if you do not have at least an hour to marinate your chicken for chicken tacos, hold off on making your Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos for another night. 

The chicken for these tacos needs at least an hour and up to six hours to marinate properly.  The longer your chicken marinates, the better your chicken will taste and your chicken tacos will thank you for it!

marinated chicken for tacos

HOW TO MAKE ELOTE TACOS

To make Mexican Street Corn Tacos, start by trimming and cleaning your chicken breasts and then slicing them in half lengthwise and setting them aside. 

To a large zip top bag, add olive oil, lime juice, crushed garlic cloves, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and soy sauce. 

Gently work the ingredients together and then add your chicken to the bag, push out the excess air, seal and move your chicken around in the marinade so that everything is evenly coated. 

Move the bag to the refrigerator for at least one and up to six hours to marinate.

While your chicken is marinating, make a quick chipotle mayo dressing to add to your chicken street tacos.

In a small bowl, add mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and adobe sauce.  Mix until combined and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to make your Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos.

Once your chicken has marinated, remove from the bag and shake off the excess marinade. 

Heat a large pan or grill pan over medium high heat, spray with non-stick spray and cook your chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until no longer pink. 

Remove from heat, cover with foil and let sit for 4-5 minutes. 

While your chicken is resting, heat a pan or griddle over medium high heat, spray with non-stick spray and add the store bought tortillas two at a time or however many will comfortably fit.

Cook for 2-3 minutes each side until they start to lightly brown. Remove the tortillas from the heat, chop your seasoned chicken into bite sized pieces and build your tacos. 

To your corn tortilla, add chicken, roasted corn, cilantro, jalapenos, diced red onion, crumbled cotija cheese and top with a squeeze of lime and a healthy dollop of chipotle dressing. Serve immediately.

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexcian steet food elote and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos will have you begging for more!

MORE MEXICAN INSPIRED DISHES

  • Breakfast Enchiladas with Poblano Sauce – hearty, spicy and perfect for feeding a crowd.  Made with eggs, bacon, sausage crumbles and spicy potatoes, these are the tastiest way to start the day.
  • Mexican Stuffed Peppers – made by stuffing colorful bell peppers with ground beef, rice, cheese and all of your favorite Mexican-inspired flavors.
  • Chicken Tinga Tostadas – made with rotisserie chicken, chipotle peppers and a few staple pantry items, these are ready in under 30 minutes and are the ultimate healthy comfort food.
  • Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Chorizo Chili – hearty spicy chicken chorizo chili packed with flavor and the perfect comfort food made easy in the slow cooker. 
  • Easy Chicken Enchiladas – one of my most popular recipes, this is the BEST chicken enchiladas recipe ever! 

Enjoy!

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexcian steet food elote and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos will have you begging for more!

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos

Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexcian steet food elote and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos will have you begging for more!
Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos bring together your love of Mexican street food and spicy chicken tacos.  Made with fresh roasted corn, cilantro, lime, seasoned chicken and a creamy chipotle sauce, these Street Corn Chicken Tacos will have you begging for more!
Heather - A Wicked Whisk
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinating Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Serving Size 12 Tacos

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

  • 2 pounds chicken breasts
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice .. approximately 2 limes

Street Taco Toppings

  • 1 cup roasted corn kernals .. 2 ears corn on the cob, shucked and roasted
  • 1 avocado, choped
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced .. stem, seed and ribs removed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • cojita cheese for crumbling
  • lime wedges

Chipotle Dressing

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon adobe sauce .. can be substitued with 1 teaspoon chipotle powder

Instructions

  • To make Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos, start by trimming and cleaning your chicken breasts and then slicing them in half lengthwise and setting them aside.  To a large zip top bag, add olive oil, lime juice, crushed garlic cloves, cuming, chili powder, smoked paprika and soy sauce.  Gently work the ingredients together and then add your chicken to the bag, push out the excess air, seal and move your chicken around in the marinade so that everything is evenly coated.  Move the bag to the refrigerator for at least one and up to six hours to marinate.
  • While your chicken is marinating, make a quick chipotle mayo dressing to add to your chicken street tacos. In a small bowl, add mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and adobo sauce.  Mix until combined and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to make your Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos.
  • Once your chicken has marianated, remove from the bag and shake off the excess marinade.  Heat a large pan or grill pan over medium high heat, spray with non-stick spray and cook your chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until no longer pink.  Remove from heat, cover with foil and let sit for 4-5 minutes. 
  • While your chicken is resting, heat a pan or griddle over medium high heat, spray with non-stick spray and add the store bought tortillas two at a time or however many will comfortably fit. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side until they start to lightly brown. Remove the tortillas from the heat, chop your seasoned chicken into bite sized pieces and build your tacos.  To your corn tortilla, add chicken, roasted corn, cilantro, jalapenos, diced red onion, crumbled cojita cheese and top with a squeeze of lime and a healthy dollop of chipotle dressing. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 242.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.3g | Protein: 18.6g | Fat: 11.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.4g | Cholesterol: 48.8mg | Sodium: 401.8mg | Potassium: 214.3mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 2.4g | Vitamin A: 5.2IU | Vitamin C: 13.4mg | Calcium: 3.5mg | Iron: 3.2mg

Update Notes: This post was originally published in July of 2019 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in March of 2024.

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