Mexican Chicken Street Corn Tacos
Turn your favorite Mexican side dish into a main dish with this easy recipe for Mexican Chicken Street Corn Tacos! These tacos are packed with flavor from fajita grilled chicken, grilled corn on the cob, chili lime dressing, and cotija cheese. They have the delicious taste of elote in a tasty chicken taco!
Ingredients
Chicken marinade
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or thighs *see note below
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, approximately 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning, click link for recipe
Vegetables
- 2 jalapenos
- 2 ears corn on the cob, shucked (or 16 ounce can of corn, drained)
Chili lime sauce
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice, fresh-squeezed
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional – for spice
For serving
- 12 corn tortillas
- ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled (or queso fresco)
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
Marinate the chicken.
- Add the chicken thighs or breasts to a large bowl, or zipper bag.
- Add the lime juice, olive oil and fajita seasoning. Toss until the chicken is fully coated in the marinade.
- Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
Prepare the chili lime sauce.
- In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Optionally add cayenne pepper for heat. Cover and place the sauce in the refrigerator.
Grill the chicken, jalapenos and corn.
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat, between 350-400°F.
- Use tongs to remove the chicken from the marinade and let any excess marinade drip off, then place the chicken on the grill.
- Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the shucked corn on the cob directly to the grill and cook for 10 minutes, rotating throughout the cooking time.
- Add the jalapenos to the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until black and bubbling on all sides.
- Remove the corn on the cob from the grill and use a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels and place them in a large bowl.
- Remove the jalapenos from the grill, peel them, slice off the stem, dice them up, and add them to the bowl with the corn kernels.
- Dice the grilled chicken and add it to the bowl with the corn kernels and diced jalapenos. Stir to combine everything.
Assemble the tacos.
- Heat the tortillas on the grill, or wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of the chili lime sauce in the middle of each tortilla. Top with the corn and chicken mixture. Sprinkle cotija cheese and cilantro over the chicken. Optionally add sliced avocado.
Notes
- If using chicken breasts for this recipe, I recommend slicing them in half lengthwise through the middle to allow more of the marinade to coat the chicken. This will also allow the chicken to cook faster and make it more tender.
- If you don’t have time to marinate the chicken, you can simply rub the chicken with olive oil, then coat it in fajita seasoning before grilling.
- If you’re using canned or frozen corn, you’ll want to cook the corn kernels on the stove. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (avocado oil, canola oil, or olive oil) to a large cast iron skillet on the stove over high heat. Once hot, add 2 cups of corn kernels and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the corn becomes slightly charred.
- If you don’t have a grill, you can make the entire recipe on the stove. Follow the instructions above for cooking canned or frozen corn in a skillet. Dice up the jalapenos and add them to the skillet with the corn. They’ll cook together in the same time. Heat another large skillet, or grill pan, on the stove over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the marinated chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Follow the rest of the recipe as instructed.
- The chili lime sauce can be made up to a week in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the tacos.
- Store leftover taco filling (the chicken, corn, and jalapenos) in the fridge for up to 6 days. I recommend reheating the filling in a skillet on the stove before making more tacos. Simply heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the filling and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until it’s warm. Assemble the tacos as instructed in the recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 246kcal (12%)Carbohydrates 20g (7%)Protein 12g (24%)Fat 13g (20%)Saturated Fat 4g (20%)Polyunsaturated Fat 4gMonounsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 35mg (12%)Sodium 504mg (21%)Potassium 328mg (9%)Fiber 3g (12%)Sugar 3g (3%)Vitamin A 279mg (6%)Vitamin C 8mg (10%)Calcium 86mg (9%)Iron 2mg (11%)
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