Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet 🌽🫑🧀 is a one skillet recipe that’s loaded with big flavor from charred corn, tender chicken, peppers, onions and a creamy lime-chili sauce! Easy enough for busy weeknights, ready in 30 minutes, and inspired by the Mexican street corn I fell in love with while living in Mexico.
Easy Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet Recipe
- One pan, EASY cleanup. Everything comes together in a single skillet with nothing fussy or complicated. Weeknight cooking with bold, restaurant-worth, Mexican flavors that the whole family will love. The recipe inspired by my time living in Mexico.
- The sauce is everything. A creamy blend of sour cream, mayo, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle coats every bite with tangy, smoky flavor. If you love these flavors, my Mexican Baked Cheesy Street Corn Dip is another FAVORITE you have to try especially for parties, game days, and casual entertaining.
- Ready in 45 minutes. This is a real-life weeknight recipe that delivers big flavor without a big time commitment. Think all the flavors of Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote) packed into one satisfying skillet and on the table in 45 minutes.
- Use freshly made OR leftover chicken. Cooking the chicken fresh in the skillet builds deeper flavor, but if you have leftover whole roasted chicken, rotisserie chicken, lime cilantro chicken, on really any type of leftover chicken on hand, it’s fine.
- High protein, gluten-free. Naturally high in protein and without any gluten, this is a perfect dish when you need to check off both those boxes.
Ingredients in Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet
In both the sauce and the skillet, you’re going to use similar seasonings and spices to really build layers of flavor.
Street Corn Sauce: Sour cream, mayo, fresh lime juice, salt, chili powder, garlic, smoked paprika, ground cumin, and chipotle powder. If you want to use Greek yogurt for extra protein and less fat than sour cream, it’s fine. Mayo adds creaminess and richness and so I don’t advise skipping it.
Chicken and Seasonings: Thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breast, olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs are ok if you prefer chicken thighs to breasts.
- Or as I mentioned above, you can use the leftover chicken of your choice or rotisserie chicken. Simply warm it in the pan before adding the sauce.
Vegetables: Corn, yellow onion, poblano pepper.
- For the corn, fresh is best when it’s in season, frozen (that you fully thaw and drain) is my next pick, and canned works in a pinch. I personally don’t love the flavor or texture of canned corn that’s been sitting in liquid but it’s technically fine if that’s what you have.
- Poblano peppers are the big, dark green peppers, more of an oblong shape compared to a green bell pepper. They’re not spicy. If you want to use a green bell pepper (or another color bell pepper) it’s fine to make that swap.
Finish and Toppings, as desired: Water, lime zest, cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, red onions or pickled red onions, and lime wedges.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet
- Make the sauce. Whisk all sauce ingredients together until smooth and set aside.
- Cook the chicken. Season and sear in a hot skillet until golden and cooked through, then remove to a plate to rest.
- Char the corn. In the same skillet, cook just the corn until charred, remove and set aside. Why? Charring the corn separately gives it caramelization and smoky depth rather than steaming and if you cook it with the other veggies, it’ll be more prone to steaming.
- Soften vegetables. Cook the onion and poblano until softened and lightly browned, then stir in the garlic.
- Combine. Return the chicken, corn, add two thirds of the sauce, and stir to combine. Add a splash of water if needed to loosen. Don’t let it simmer or bubble because this dairy-based sauce stays smooth when gently warmed, not boiled.
- Finish and serve as desired. Sprinkle with lime zest, cotija, cilantro, red onion, remaining sauce, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet
🌽🫑🧀 is a one skillet recipe that's loaded with big flavor from charred corn, tender chicken, peppers, onions and a creamy lime-chili sauce! Easy enough for busy weeknights, ready in 30 minutes, and inspired by the Mexican street corn I fell in love with while living in Mexico.
Equipment
- large skillet (use stainless steel if you don't have cast iron)
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup sour cream, lite ok as long as it’s not runny (Greek yogurt may be substitued)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed (from about 1-2 limes)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste (add more if you want more heat)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½-1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½-1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional (smoked paprika lends a lot of smokiness but if you want additional, add chipotle powder too)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 to 1½ pounds thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breast, (alternatively dice the chicken into 1-inch pieces; boneless chicken thighs may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Vegetables
- 3 cups corn, (fresh corn shaved from the ear is ideal; or use frozen corn that's fully thawed and drained; lastly canned corn that's well drained may be used)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
- 1 poblano pepper, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Finish and Toppings, optional:
- ¼ –½ cup water, if needed to loosen the sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime zest, from about 1-2 limes that you use below for serving
- ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely minced
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion or pickled red onions
- lime wedges, for serving (use the limes that you zested)
Instructions
- Sauce: To a small bowl, add all the sauce ingredients, whisk to combine, taste and check for flavor balance, and make any necessary adjustments based on your preferences; set aside.
- Chicken: To a large skillet, add the oil, chicken, evenly sprinkle with salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cook over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, flip, cook on the second side for about 3 minutes, or until done which is 165F degrees as measured by a thermometer.
- Chicken Tips – Make sure the chicken is thinly sliced. Thicker breasts will take longer to cook through.If you prefer, you can dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces before adding it to the skillet; it'll cook slightly faster. Stir and flip intermittently to ensure even cooking.When the chicken is done, remove, and set it aside on a cutting board; don't wipe out the skillet.If you're using previously cooked leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, you can add it to the skillet with a bit of oil, season it as desired, and cook it for just a couple minute to warm it through; then remove and set it aside.
- Skillet Tips – Cast iron is ideal here, or use stainless steel; nonstick isn't preferred because you ultimately want to develop a char on the corn and that's harder in
- Corn: Add the corn in a single layer. Let it cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes at a time. Then stir occasionally, and cook until charred and lightly blistered, about 5-7 minutes. Charring the corn separately allows it to develop caramelization and smoky depth rather than steaming with the other vegetables. Remove and set aside when it's charred to your liking.
- Slice: While the corn is charring, dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces if you prefer it mixed into the corn; or keep intact based on personal preference.
- Vegetables: Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, poblano, and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 4–5 minutes; stir frequently.
- In the final minute of cooking, evenly sprinkle the garlic, and cook for 1 minute; stir constantly so it doesn't burn.
- Combine: Add the charred corn into the skillet with the other vegetables and stir to combine.
- Add Sauce: Reduce the heat to low. Add about two-thirds of the sauce and gently stir to coat and warm it, but do not let it simmer or bubble. Set the other one-third aside. Sauce Heat Tips – The sauce is added and warmed over low heat to maintain a smooth, creamy consistency without causing it to separate (or break) which can happen if you heat dairy proteins too high so take it easy and keep the keep low!
- Cooked Chicken: Add the cooked chicken in. Optionally, slice or dice it before adding if desired.
- Water, optional: Add water a tablespoon at a time, as needed, to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency if it's thicker than desired, stirring continuously as you add water.
- Toppings: Turn the heat off and evenly and optionally sprinkle with the lime zest, cotija, cilantro, red onions or pickled red onions, as desired.
- Drizzle the remaining 1/3 of the sauce you set aside earlier in Step 9.
- Serving: Serve with lime wedges or as desired.
Notes
Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in the microwave making sure not to overheat because you don’t want the sauce to separate. I’ve never frozen this recipe because dairy-based or cream-sauces can be temperamental when frozen and then thawed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 454cal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 119mg, Sodium: 1358mg, Potassium: 881mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1249IU, Vitamin C: 31mg, Calcium: 131mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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