
This Street Corn Chicken Chili is pure creamy comfort packed with bold flavor. You've got a kick from the spices and lots of sweet corn. It tastes like you spent hours on it, but honestly, you could put it on the table faster than you'd think. It totally livens up any cold night at my house.
I whipped this up when friends were crashing at my place and swear, they fought for the last bit the next day. Now, it's my top pick for family hangs or potlucks—people ask for it every time.
Savory Ingredients
- Optional toppings: finish your bowl however you like—cotija, extra cilantro, chili powder, or lime wedges
- Lime juice: that last squeeze really wakes things up use the real stuff not bottled if you can
- Cilantro: gotta use fresh chopped right before it goes in for extra zing
- Sour cream: makes it so creamy full fat is best but whatever you have works
- Hot sauce: kick up the heat your way use what you love
- Chicken base: makes it taste richer I always grab Better Than Bouillon
- Beer: gives a malty tangy vibe totally fine to skip or sub more broth
- Chicken broth: keeps it brothy pick low sodium so you can add more salt if you need
- Cumin: gives that earthy chili flavor toasting some seeds and smashing them up makes it pop
- Paprika: toss in some smoky or Spanish paprika for those vibes
- Chili powder: big flavor win look for a spicy or mild blend you like
- Ground chicken: the lean main protein white or dark or mix it up all good
- Garlic: punchy and deep flavor chop it up fresh for best results
- Kosher salt plus black pepper: keep tasting and adding as you go every stage needs it
- Fresh corn on the cob: crisp and sweet use frozen if you can’t get real ears
- Jalapeno peppers: spicy but bright scrape out those seeds if you don't want it hot pick firm shiny peppers
- Onion: the mellow sweet backbone yellow ones are my fave
- Olive oil: rich and helps veggies sizzle grab a good cold-pressed one
Easy Step Guide
- Serve It Up:
- Spoon hot chili into bowls then let everyone go wild with toppings—a sprinkle of cheese, dash of chili, fresh cilantro, extra lime. Eat it hot with your favorite dipper.
- Finishing Touches:
- Blitz in some hot sauce then scoop in sour cream, toss in cilantro, and squeeze lime all over. Let it chill on low for five to ten minutes to mix those flavors. Taste and, if you need, throw in more chili powder or salt to tune it your way.
- Simmer and Wait:
- Tip in the chicken broth, pour that beer if you want, and stir in chicken base. Heat until bubbling over medium-high. Once it boils, drop to medium-low and simmer gently for about half an hour. The broth thickens and all those good flavors blend in.
- Get That Chicken Going:
- Garlic goes next, right on those vegetables, then ground chicken joins the party. Sprinkle over cumin, chili powder, paprika, and another taste of salt and pepper. Smash the chicken up so it browns evenly. Cook another eight minutes (or so) till there's no pink left and everything's coated in spice. This is where the magic starts.
- Start With the Veggies:
- Heat a big pot with olive oil over medium. Toss in onion, jalapeno, and corn plus a little salt and pepper. Stir every few minutes and let it sweat and get golden around the edges—about 8 minutes. The sweetness comes out and gets everything ready.

Cilantro totally ties all the flavors together and gives everything a blast of freshness. I toss some on right before serving and it makes me think of summer. My kids battle over the biggest lime wedge and always have fun squeezing it at the table.
Keeping It Fresh
Chili like this lasts four days in the fridge if you keep it in a tight container. Heat it up slow on the stove or zap in the microwave. Fresh lime and cilantro tossed on top right before you eat help perk it back up. It freezes for two months and just needs a quick stir once it's thawed and warm.
Swaps and Switches
No ground chicken? Shredded rotisserie or ground turkey both do the trick. If you skip the beer, just splash in more broth. Frozen corn fills in for fresh perfectly fine. Any favorite hot sauce or Greek yogurt for sour cream works for toppings. Smoked paprika takes it to another level.

Fun Ways to Serve
This chili is honestly hearty on its own, but try scooping it up with chips or piling it over rice to amp up the comfort. For something cool on the side, toss together a quick avocado salad or crunchy slaw. Make it extra with a plate of radishes and extra lime so everyone can jazz up their bowl.
Cultural Shoutout
This dish is my way of bringing in the zesty, cheesy, and chili-lime pop of Mexican street corn. It's not really elote, just inspired by those flavors, mixed into a classic American-style chili. Corn from street carts on a summer night is still my favorite, but this definitely brings those tastes home year round.
Common Recipe Questions
- → Can I use canned or frozen corn?
Absolutely, either canned or frozen works great when fresh isn’t on hand. Just drain, give it a quick dry, and toss it right in.
- → What type of chicken works best?
Ground chicken cooks up super tasty and thick, but you can swap in some rotisserie you shred yourself, or just cube up some chicken breast.
- → Is the beer necessary?
You don’t have to use beer unless you really want that extra layer. Skip it or just pour in more broth instead—it still tastes awesome.
- → How spicy is this dish?
Spiciness is all about how wild you go with jalapeños, chili powder, and hot sauce. Add more or less to fit your mood.
- → What toppings go well?
Pile on cilantro, a crumble of cotija cheese, shake on chili powder, and squirt some lime. Those put the finishing touch on top!