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This skillet chicken captures the flavors of street corn but transforms it into a surprisingly easy entree. Corn, cream cheese, crumbled feta or cotija cheese, lime, and fresh cilantro… this dish will impress!

Some recipes are just so fun to create and this is one of those. This entree is seriously a dream. A deliciously summery and very creamy dream.

Today it’s all about sautéed chicken smothered in a creamy street corn inspired sauce. It really doesn’t get better than this.

Street corn (or elote) is a popular Mexican street food that includes corn topped with cheese, lime, and chili powder. Combining those flavors with chicken seemed like a no brainer. The finished dish is quick and insanely yummy.

I recommend serving this over rice to really make the most of the sauce. You can also add a side salad or roasted veggies to your plate to increase your veggie intake!

Ingredients for Skillet Street Corn Chicken

Chicken breasts: We’re using boneless and skinless chicken breasts in this entree.
Olive oil: Before baking the chicken breasts we first sear them in extra virgin olive oil to achieve a beautifully golden color.
Garlic: You can mince your own garlic or use a jarred variety.
Cream cheese: The creamed cheese helps give us the most decadent sauce. I use the Philadephia Cream Cheese with 1/3 less fat but choose whichever is your favorite.
Corn: I recommend using bagged frozen corn for the best texture. No need to thaw it first. Just pop it in the skillet while it’s still frozen. It will have plenty of time to cook in the oven with the chicken.
Canned green chiles: The diced green chiles add some flavor to this dish but this entree remains very mild overall. (So no this will not make it spicy!) You can usually find them in the grocery store on the aisle where you find items associated with Mexican cuisine.
Chicken stock or broth: The chicken stock helps create the sauce for this chicken. You can use chicken stock or broth.
Lime juice: The bright flavor of lime adds a pop of freshness that’s essential for perfect street corn.
Cotija or feta cheese: You can use crumbled feta or cotija cheese. We’ll add it at the end of cooking for some saltiness and a fun texture contrast.
Cilantro: Before serving top everything with fresh chopped cilantro.

How to Make Skillet Street Corn Chicken

Add 1 teaspoon of the salt plus chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper to a small bowl. Stir together seasonings. Then press seasoning blend into both sides of chicken. (If chicken breasts are especially thick slice them horizontally to create thinner cutlets.)

Add oil to cast iron skillet or another oven safe skillet on the stovetop. Heat to medium-high heat. Once skillet is hot, add chicken breasts to the oil. Sear until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Chicken will not be fully cooked. We’re just looking for some good browning at this step. Flip. Sear the other side.

Once both sides of the chicken breasts are browned, add minced garlic to the skillet. Sauté until golden in color, about 1 minute.

Turn off the heat. Move the chicken to the outside of the skillet and place the block of cream cheese in the center of the skillet. Add corn, green chiles, chicken stock, and lime juice to the skillet. Season the corn with remaining ½ tsp salt.

Place the skillet in the oven. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 F. Cooking time depends on how long you sear the chicken the skillet and how thick your chicken is. It takes 25 minutes for the chicken to cook through in my oven.

Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Use a fork or spoon to stir the cream cheese into the sauce. Add the chicken back to the skillet and spoon corn and sauce over top. Top everything with crumbled cotija or feta and chopped fresh cilantro.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

How to Serve

I love this entree over rice. Spoon lots of the creamy corn sauce on top! If you’d like to amp up your veggies pair this with a simple side salad or roasted vegetables.