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These Grilled Street Corn Chicken Bowls burst with lively Mexican flavors, featuring perfectly seasoned chicken, a charred corn mixture, and a creamy Tajín-lime sauce that ties everything together deliciously!
Why You’ll 🫶🏻 these Bowls
This bowl is a delightful combination that feels gourmet but can be whipped up in under 30 minutes, particularly when fresh corn is at its peak. It showcases tender, seasoned chicken alongside charred sweet corn, all coated in a rich, creamy sauce and served over light, fluffy rice. To enhance the dish, I like to garnish it with tasty additions like avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. (This is a very flexible recipe, so use the ingredients according to your own taste.) The highlight is the street corn mixture, which, when paired with a tangy Tajín-lime crema, transforms the meal into a taco truck favorite. It’s colorful, packed with flavor, and completely satisfying. Enjoy! ~Nicole
Key Components for Grilled Street Corn Chicken Bowls
Chicken Breasts are boneless and skinless. They are seasoned with a mixture of chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, Mexican oregano, salt, and pepper.
Creamy Sauce is based on mayonnaise and sour cream. Tajin is added to enhance the flavor with its blend of chili, lime, and salt.
Corn Mixture is composed of charred corn, red onion, and jalapeño. Some of the sauce is added to the mixture before assembling the bowls.
Equipment Needed
Tips for Making Grilled Street Corn and Chicken Bowl
- Start by pounding the chicken in a Ziploc bag. (I use a freezer-safe bag for its thickness and durability from tearing when the chicken is pounded. I also slice one side of the bag to place and remove each chicken breast easily.)
- Once seasoned, cook the chicken breasts in batches in a grill pan until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 5-7 minutes per side.
- Wipe out the grill pan and cook the onion, jalapeño, and corn, occasionally rotating and flipping. The vegetables will cook at different times. Once they are cooked and slightly charred, transfer them to a cutting board to cool slightly.
- Dice the onion and jalapeño, and remove the kernels from the cob. Add the vegetables to a medium bowl and stir in ¼ cup of the sauce.
Substitutions
- Substitute chicken thighs for the chicken breasts.
- Substitute quinoa or cauliflower rice for the white rice.
- Substitute Parmesan or queso fresco for the cotija.
- Substitute a serrano pepper for the jalapeño or omit it.
- Substitute a small yellow or white onion for the red onion.
Serving Suggestions
Chips and salsa, or a side salad, are excellent accompaniments to this dish.
Yes. This recipe is fantastic for meal prep! Cook and prepare all the ingredients and divide them into separate containers. You’ll be all set for delicious meals throughout the week. Here are links to the containers that I use.
For the sauce: https://amzn.to/4c9SfTd
For the grilled street corn, chicken, and rice: https://amzn.to/4wOVpDg
Yes. Instead of a grill pan, you can sauté corn kernels, diced onion, and diced jalapeño in a non-stick skillet. If using frozen corn, thaw in the refrigerator and pat dry before cooking.
Another bowl you may enjoy…
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Grilled Street Corn Chicken Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked white rice, about 2 cups dried rice
For the Chicken
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons safflower oil, or other neutral oil, divided
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, about 4 breasts (8 ounces each) pounded flat with a meat mallet
For the Corn Mixture
- 1 tablespoon safflower , or other neutral oil
- 4-5 medium ears of corn, about 3 cups kernels
- ½ small red onion, cut into ¼-inch rings
- 1 medium jalapeño
For the Sauce
- ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 ½ teaspoons Tajín
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
For the Toppings (These are approximations. Use according to taste buds.)
- 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- 1 ½ cups fresh cotija cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2-3 limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
For the Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, Tajin, and lime juice; set aside.
For the Chicken
- In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, Mexican oregano, salt, and pepper. Season both sides of the chicken breast with the seasoning mixture. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook two chicken breasts until internal temperature reaches 165℉, about 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil, and repeat with the remaining oil and chicken breasts. (Let the chicken rest while the vegetables cook.) Wipe out the grill pan.
For the Corn
- Heat the oil in the grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the corn, onion rings, and jalapeño. Cook the onion rings until softened and slightly charred, about 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Transfer to a cutting board and chop into a small dice.
- Cook the jalapeño, rotating occasionally, until slightly charred and blistered, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, remove the stem and seeds, and chop into a small dice.
- Cook the corn, rotating occasionally, until bright yellow and slightly charred, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the kernels from the cob.
- In a medium bowl, combine the diced onion, jalapeño, and corn. Add ¼ cup of the sauce and mix until blended and creamy.
To Assemble
- Chop chicken breasts into ½ inch dice or thinly slice against the grain. Place 1 cup of rice in each bowl. Top with chicken, corn mixture (about ½ cup per portion), cotija (about ¼ cup per portion), cilantro, and sauce. Serve with avocado slices and lime wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
