Sopa De Elote (Street Corn Soup)

A bowl of elote soup on a white background with a plate of toppings.

5 from 2 votes

Sopa De Elote (Street Corn Soup)

Super tasty elote soup packed with your favourite Mexican Street Corn flavours. An easy 30-minute recipe that uses everyday ingredients.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: people

Calories: 275kcal

Author: Helen

Equipment

Ingredients

Roasted Corn: (optional)

⅔ cup corn kernels (Note 1)
½ tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp salt

Corn soup:

1 tbsp neutral oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
3 clove garlic minced
2.5 cups vegetable broth or stock (Note 2)
4 cups corn kernels (fresh, canned or thawed frozen)
1 lime (juice)
¼ cup sour cream (Note 3)
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste

Toppings (optional)

Cheese (Note 4)
Cilantro (coriander) leaves
Jalapeños or poblano chillies

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Roasted Corn Topping: (optional)

Heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Gently remove all moisture from the corn kernels with some kitchen paper and add it to a baking tray. (Note 5)
Combine the corn with olive oil, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix until the seasoning is evenly distributed.
Place on a high shelf in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Turn the corn with a spoon halfway.
When the corn starts to turn brown remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Soup:

Place a large saucepan on a medium heat, melt the butter or add oil. Gently fry the onions in the melted butter or oil until soft.
Add the paprika, cumin, cayenne and garlic and fry for a further two minutes
Pour in the vegetable broth/stock, add the corn kernels and simmer on a low/medium heat for 10 minutes
Puree the soup with a countertop or hand blender
Pour the pureed corn soup back into the pan and add the sour cream, lime juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary or add a little water if the soup is too thick.
Finish with roasted corn and other toppings.

Notes

Corn: You can make this soup with frozen, tinned or fresh corn kernels. If you're using frozen corn for the roasted sweet corn topping make sure it's fully defrosted first and that you remove as much of the moisture as possible before it goes in the oven. Scroll up to the best type of corn to use section for more information.
Sour cream: Pouring cream (single cream) is a good alternative and you could also use a smaller amount of heavy cream (double cream).
Vegetable stock - homemade, ready-made, or powdered all are all fine. Note that different stocks can vary in their level of saltiness so ensure you add additional salt to taste.
Cheese: Take the traditional approach with cotuja or queso fresco. Monterey Jack and Cheddar also work well.
Drying the corn before roasting: This step may not be necessary if you are using fresh corn.

Storage:

You can refrigerate elote soup for up to 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months. It's ideal for batch cooking and meal prep.

Place the soup into airtight container or a resealable plastic bag and allow it to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge or freezer. Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Nutrition