A Seriously Good Mexican Street Corn Chicken Bowl
Several times a summer our family loves making a big batch of Mexican Street Corn Salad! It is the perfect summer side dish that goes with just about everything. Those light & refreshing flavors are out of this world. Typically, we make a double batch so that we have plenty of leftovers to make Mexican Street Corn Burgers, Elote Steak Tacos, and … these chicken rice bowls. It’s a great way to make one recipe that can be used in so many different ways. Top them any way you want for the bowl of your dreams. Perfect for enjoying on the backyard patio with a skinny margarita in hand!
Looking for another rice bowl recipe? You have to try our Chili Lime Shrimp Rice Bowl or our Summer Salmon Rice Bowl!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts – we love using grilled chicken breasts for this easy recipe, but you could also use grilled boneless chicken thighs, if you prefer. And of course, if you would rather use rotisserie chicken or any other cooked chicken – go for it!
- chicken marinade – feel free to pick-up your favorite store-bought marinade from the grocery store or take 5 minutes and make our easy homemade chicken marinade – so good!
- fresh corn on the cob – this is a summer staple every year! You could also warm up frozen corn or even use drained canned corn in a pinch, but for best results we highly recommend grilled sweet corn.
- mayo – the creaminess that brings the whole Mexican street corn salad together!
- feta cheese & cotija cheese – a perfect cheese combination, but feel free to use dairy-free feta cheese if that’s more your thing.
- cilantro – a fresh herb that always has a light & refreshing flavor.
- fresh lime juice – a little bit of acidity to really amplify all the flavors. You can use bottled lime juice, but for best results use fresh.
- cooked rice – feel free to use any of your favorite rice varieties, like Instant Pot jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice, quinoa, etc. If you are in a pinch feel free to use microwave rice packets!
How To Make Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls
Step 1: Marinate the chicken breasts in a shallow dish for about 15 minutes (or up to an hour).
Step 2: Grill over direct heat for 4-6 minutes per side, then finish over indirect heat until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. Let rest and it will continue to rise in temperature to 165 degrees F.
Step 3: While your chicken cooks feel free to put your corn on the grill at the same time. Rub each ear of corn with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and then cook directly on the grill for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally.
Step 4: The corn will cook a little faster than the chicken and the chicken will need time to rest so then you can whip up your Mexican Street Corn Salad and have it ready.
Step 5: When all of the rice bowl components are ready, you can assemble them. Place some cooked rice on the bottom and top with chicken, street corn, avocado and any other toppings you want!
Want it Extra Saucy?!
- Here at The Wooden Skillet we kind of have a motto “you gotta have a sauce” – I feel like a great sauce can seriously take an okay recipe to the next level real quick. So, as a little update to this recipe we are adding an optional sauce if you want to
- Street Corn Chicken Bowl Sauce: 1/3 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, pinch of salt and then water to thin (we used 1 1/2 tablespoons to reach our desired consistency).
Best Type of Corn
- My first recommendation is grilled sweet corn – that is what I would do for best results.
- We also have smoked corn on the cob and boiled corn on the cob if you want to mix things up.
- For less fuss you can absolutely use a thawed frozen sweet corn or even drained canned sweet corn.
Meal Prep + Make Ahead
- Prepare the chicken, rice, and street corn mixture up to 3-4 days in advance. Store each component in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for the best texture and flavor.
- When you’re ready to eat, simply reheat the chicken and rice, then assemble your bowl with the street corn mixture, avocado, and any additional toppings. For the freshest flavor, wait to slice the avocado until just before serving.
Storage
- Storage: Store leftover chicken, rice, and street corn mixture in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If the street corn mixture seems a little thick after chilling, stir in a small squeeze of fresh lime juice before serving.
- Reheating: Reheat the chicken and rice in the microwave until warmed through. The street corn mixture can be served cold or at room temperature, depending on your preference.
- Freezer: The grilled chicken and rice can be frozen separately for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. We do not recommend freezing the street corn mixture, avocado, or fresh toppings, as the texture can change once thawed.
Other Bowl Recipes You Might Like
Made this recipe and loved it?!
We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Follow Us on Social
These Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls combine juicy grilled chicken, creamy street corn, rice, avocado, fresh toppings and an optional street corn sauce for a flavorful and satisfying meal. Perfect for meal prep, easy weeknight dinners, and summer entertaining.
Video
Ingredients
Marinade + Grilled Chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup soy sauce, or tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mexican Street Corn Salad:
- 2 cups grilled corn, heaping, approx. 4 cobs of corn
- ⅓ cup mayo
- ⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ⅓ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, approx. 1/2 of a fresh lime, squeezed
- ½ tablespoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Other Rice Bowl Options + Toppings (build your own):
- 4 cups rice of your choice, cooked
- 1-2 avocado, sliced
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- additional fresh cilantro leaves
- jalapeño, slices
- lime wedges
- sour cream
- black beans
Instructions
- Marinate Chicken: Combine ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons garlic and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a bowl or container big enough to marinade your chicken in; whisk to combine. Place 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the same container and ensure they are fully coated. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes (or up to an hour).
- Prep Grill: Heat grill to medium heat (approximately 4000-450℉) and ensure grill grates are clean.
- Sear Chicken: Remove chicken from marinade (let excess drip off) and place chicken on direct heat (direct flame) and cook at medium heat for 4-6 minutes per side.
- Finish Cooking Chicken: Move chicken away from the direct heat (direct flame) so that it is cooking on indirect heat (maintaining the same grill temp) and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes (you don't need to flip during this part because the chicken will cook as if it is in an oven) or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reads 160℉ on your meat thermometer.
- Rest Chicken: Remove from grill and let rest at least 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute (the chicken will continue to cook during this time and the internal temp will continue to rise up to 10 additional degrees). Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temp of 165℉ (at thickest part of the breast). Cut into slices or cubes.
- Prep Grill + Corn: Heat grill to 450℉. Place clean, shucked ears of sweet corn on a plate or baking sheet. Very lightly drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to massage oil into each ear of corn. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Grill Corn: Grill on direct, high heat for a total of 8-10 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes with grill tongs. Remove when corn is slightly charred. Let cool slightly and then use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels of corn.
- Combine Salad: Combine 2 cups grilled corn, ⅓ cup mayo, ⅓ cup feta cheese, ¼ cup red onion, ⅓ cup cotija cheese, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, ½ tablespoon garlic, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Adjust: Taste and add additional lime juice, chili powder, feta or any other ingredient, as desired. AND check out the Notes for an optional street corn sauce (it has a lot of the same ingredients as the salad so it is easy to whip together). Totally optional but feel free to whip that together if you want!
- Build Bowls: Between four bowls divide 4 cups rice of your choice, chicken and street corn salad.
- Customize: Top with additional fresh cilantro, jalapeño slices and any of the other topping options you want! Enjoy!
Notes
- Cooking Logistics: feel free to cook your corn along with your chicken if you want to OR you can cook your corn first and make your salad while your chicken cooks … totally up to you!
- Optional Street Corn Sauce: 1/3 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, pinch of salt and then water to thin (we used 1 1/2 tablespoons to reach our desired consistency). Mix to combine and add more water as needed to thin out.
- My Favorite Bowl: I love to serve with rice, street corn salad, grilled chicken and avocado with the optional sauce!
- Dairy-Free: you can easily use a dairy-free feta in place of the reg. feta and cotija cheese.
- Salad – warm or cold: I love making the salad the day of as I personally think it tastes best slightly warm/room temp BUT it’s totally fine to serve the street corn salad cold too – especially for leftovers, it is good either way!
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Calories 528kcal
Nutrition
Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 754mg | Potassium: 455mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @thewoodenskillet on Instagram!
Other Street Corn Recipes You Might Like
The Wooden Skillet Grilling Club 🔥
Get 5 days of our most-loved grilling recipes delivered straight to your inbox—from backyard BBQ favorites and fresh summer salads to seafood, chicken dinners, and complete meal ideas!
Kelli Prater says
Hi! Making this tonight! Is this a cold or warm dish? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Kelli! I normally serve it warm, but if you make the street corn salad ahead and add that on cold, that works too!
Kim says
I made this a couple of weeks ago and everyone loved it! I’m making it again, but would like to make the street corn salad ahead of time. Should I keep all ingredients separate then mix prior to eating, or can I ombine everything, refrigerate then serve the following day?
Erin says
Hi Kim! You can make the street corn salad the day before and it should be just fine – glad you enjoyed this one!
Kim says
Thank you!
Erin says
Of course!
Laura A Thomason says
I stored everything separate so everyone could make their own bowl.
Briana Priester says
This recipe is absolutely delicious, even my selective 5yo loved it! We’ll be adding it to our favorites rotation.
We added a chopped jalapeño to a frozen bag of corn and gave it a tiny char in the cast iron since we don’t have a grill.
Bridget Montag says
Love that idea and glad that everyone loved it! Thanks Briana!
Emily says
This was excellent! I have a hard time finding recipes that my family of 5 all like, and this was a hit with everyone. I will definitely be adding this to our normal rotation!
Bridget Montag says
So glad that everyone liked it! Thank you for your review!
Cheryl says
Made this few minutes ago. This street corn is so tasty! We’re always looking for new side dishes to serve friends and this will certainly be in the rotation! Thank you so much.
Bridget Montag says
So glad that you liked it! Thanks for leaving a review, Cheryl!
Jeanine Nelson says
Very good and didn’t raise my sugar levels this is a keeper
Bridget Montag says
Glad you liked it Jeanine! Thank you for leaving a review.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Melanie says
This was an easy and very delicious meal! My family LOVED it. The street corn salad made this meal perfect! It was so good we will be adding it to our list of favorites.
Robin Giese says
Third time I have made this recipe! Today, I am only making the Mexican corn portion as a side dish for Father’s Day. Absolutely love it! Perfect flavorings, and next time I make the bowl, I will put Grilled shrimp in it. Thanks again.
Carolynn Strom says
Perfect summer meal with family!
Erin says
Yay!! So happy to hear that, Carolynn! Thanks so much taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review – I really appreciate it!
Jennifer Cornett says
Where do you find the cotija cheese? Looked at two of my local groceries and didn’t find it so used feta instead.
Delish!
Erin says
Hi Jennifer! I find it at my local grocery store, but a lot of times Target actually has it! Feta is a great substitute though!
Shae says
This was delicious, however, the calories get much higher than stated here with the toppings. Luckily I entered everything into my calorie tracking app prior to cooking. Was pushing 900 calories. Made some last minute changes: used cauliflower rice instead of rice, replaced half the mayo with greek yogurt and didn’t use oil to marinade chicken, only used dry spice and air fried the chicken breasts. It was super delicious and good macros that way.
Mariah says
Can you eat this cold? I’m hoping to bring for lunch but don’t have access to a microwave. I also live in an apartment and don’t have access to a grill! Would canned corn work?
Erin says
Hi Mariah! You can definitely eat this cold if you want to or if you are just having it as leftovers. And yes, canned corn definitely works in a pinch!
Suann says
I air fry my corn instead of grilling it!
Erin says
Love that idea!
Robin Giese says
Aldi carries it- Queso Fresco
Stacey K says
Incredible recipe. I will be making these tomorrow.
Hannah says
Hi
I made this last night and it was delicious! Just one question though about the leftovers……we have a little bit of the corn mixture left which I put in the fridge. Do I warm that back up when I make another bowl from the leftovers? Or do I just eat it cold. I wasn’t sure about earning it up since there is mayo in the mixture…….but when I originally mixed it together the corn was warm……so I don’t know.
Erin says
Hi Hannah! So glad you enjoyed these – yeah, I usually just eat any leftover corn salad cold and don’t warm it up – hope that helps!
Gina Tomonelli says
Not sure what picture you used, but when mixing the ingredients for the street corn salad, it’s light red in color. Did I do something wrong?
Erin says
The red comes from the chili powder – might just depend upon the brand! You didn’t do anything wrong!