Creamy, Cheesy, and pairs perfectly with any holiday or dinner meal! Soft and fluffy with a hints of Asiago cheese. Your family will love it!
This dish is one my Mom didn’t make often as I can only recall it a few times her making it but when she did make it I went nuts over it.
Her recipe was pretty basic and it didn’t call for heavy cream – she used condensed milk and onions. Now I’ve grown to appreciate them and even love them in some dishes but not in this. No, not in this. Well due to her not making it that often I honestly forgot about it.
It wasn’t until a month or so ago I saw on Pinterest something similar to what Mom used to make by Chef-In-Training (love her site btw!) Immediately all those childhood memories came back and I had to make it. I looked through my old family recipes and found Mom’s and went to town.
The only real difference between my sweet corn casserole was one used all milk and the other used condensed milk. This type of casserole is pretty universal and standard – 2 eggs, 1 cup liquid, flour to make the slurry and butter. The change-up comes with the add-ins meaning corn, seasoning, cheese, crispy bacon and so forth.
Using milk vs cream vs half and half
This Corn Casserole is one to keep in your recipe files as you can go nuts with it on the variations you can make with it. Since I wanted that creamy texture I opted for half cream and half milk
Using all heavy cream made it too heavy and rich. However, if you wanted to, you could most certainly go with all half and half. This keeps is light enough but has enough cream to make it decadent.
I tried it with all milk but it was too runny and didn’t have that creamy consistency I prefer in my souffle-type-casseroles.
Fresh vs Frozen vs Canned Corn
As for the corn Mom only ever used fresh corn off the cob. Now she has used canned before but I can taste the difference. I like canned corn but nothing, nothing beats the taste of corn off the cob!
Since I’m a think-ahead-type-of-girl I had about 5 quarts of corn off the cob frozen in the freezer. I grabbed a bag and had at it. This honestly can’t be any easier to make.
If you don’t have fresh corn readily available you can totally go with frozen corn. Canned corn will work but you have to drain it super well and honestly, it’s not the same as fresh frozen or from the cob.
Adding cheese to your Creamy Corn Casserole
Now Mom never added cheese to hers but since I LOVE cheese I left it almost the same except I garnished it with just a wee bit of Asiago.
Why? Why not! I actually like the flavor marriage of sweet corn and Asiago. It just ‘makes sense’ to me. This dish cooks up in under 30 minutes and sets up beautifully.
The Most Important Tip
The key to any casserole is once you remove it from the oven, you need to let it rest for a bit to set and firm up. Kind of like lasagna. Did you ever take the lasagna out of the oven and then immediately go to cut it only to have to fall into a big ol’ pile of mush; delicious mush but still mush. It’s not visually appealing at all.
As I pulled this out of the oven Mr. Fantabulous walked by and looked at it, started to walk away, stopped and came back for a second look.
He asked what it was so I said; “it’s a corn casserole souffle-type thing my Mom used to make”. He then asked if he liked it. Why do people ask this? I can barely remember what I like yet I am to know what you like? I said “Probably but I’ve never made it before. I forgot about this dish until recently when I saw someone post theirs.” He just shrugged, asked when dinner was and walked away.
While this was resting I got the rest of the dinner plated – creamy mashed potatoes, roasted chicken and honey buttered biscuits. I swear I really need one of those big ol’ dinner bells in my kitchen just because I want to see Mr. Fantabulous come running to the table.
It’s funny as my Dad had one of those big bells outside and would use it to ring through the neighborhood to let us know it was time to come home. He would ring it slowly 10 times and if he didn’t see us approaching the house by the time the last bell rung we were in big trouble.
For me, all it took was a single bite to fall back in love with this dish. It’s eggy and creamy, firm and corn-y.
Honestly, I can’t say whether or not Mr. Fantabulous liked it because I was in my own little world during dinner thinking about this dish and just times when Mom would make it. It wasn’t until the next day when I made us a plate of leftovers for lunch did I remember just how AMAZING this is the day-after.
Again, this is like lasagna and chili. Those 2 dishes are always better the next day. I’m not sure why with this – maybe it’s all the sweetness of the corn or the cheese or the cream but whatever it is, I literally could have sat down with the rest of the casserole dish in front of me and ate the entire thing!
Think Thanksgiving and Christmas side dish!
Definitely keep this recipe handy in your kitchen as it’s one you’re going to make often! This one certainly got bumped to the top of the recipe lists for sides in my kitchen! But wait, there’s more! If you want to make this a full-blown dinner casserole you can add in cooked chicken, turkey, pork or ham! As I said, the list is endless!
Making this ahead and reheating
So many of you asked if you could make this ahead of time and if so, how to reheat it.
Yes, you can make this ahead of time though I would omit the cheese until you reheat it. Sometimes “reheated” cheese gets funky. Once you bake it all the way through allow it to cool completely before wrapping and storing in the fridge. You can make this up to 2 days in advance.
I would not freeze this as this type of texture (custardy and creamy) would most likely separate when you reheat it. Since this only takes 30 minutes or so to bake, just make it and store in the fridge.
To reheat, bring the pan to room temperature while you heat the oven to 350F. Cover the pan in foil and reheat for about 25=30 minutes or until warmed through. Once warmed, uncover, add the cheese (if using) and bake uncovered until melted.
Adding other items to this Creamy Corn Casserole
You can easily transform this dish into a main dish but adding some protein to it. Things that work really well in this dish:
- Shredded or cubed cooked chicken
- Diced Ham
- Crispy Bacon
- Want it spicy? Add minced jalapeño!
- Want more veggies? Add in chopped roasted red peppers
- Want it even more cheesy? Add in cubes of cheddar and when you add the last bit of cheese (Asiago or whatever else cheese) add buttered bread crumbs and bake for a crunchy, cheesy topping!
Baked Creamy Corn Casserole
Whether it’s a side dish or a main dish, this Baked Creamy Cheesy Corn Casserole is a huge family favorite!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk, divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4–5 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (thawed) – well drained
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4–1/2 cup shredded Asiago (optional)
- Chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, rack in the middle. Lightly spray a 2 quart baking dish.
- In a medium-to-large saucepan over medium heat add in the cream, 1/4 cup milk, sugar and butter. Bring to a boil. While the cream mixture is heating up make a slurry of the flour and remaining 1/4 cup milk by whisking together until well combined.
- Whisk together the eggs until well beaten. Once the milk comes to a boil, add in the flour slurry and whisk until thickened slightly – ~30 seconds to a minute. Remove from the heat and add in the corn and salt mixing to combine. Slowly add in the eggs while mixing the entire time – you do not want the eggs to curdle. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is puffy and golden brown. *See note if using cheese
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving so it can firm up and set.
Notes
If you’re topping it with cheese remove the dish 25 minutes after baking. Sprinkle the cheese on and then return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Steph says
Hi. I’m new to cooking. I planned on making this tonight but I don’t have a whisk. Can I use a fork?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Steph!
Of course! A fork will work just as well as a whisk. If you want you can make a make-shift whisk by taping 2 fork together. Follow these instructions http://www.wikihow.com/Improvise-a-Whisk on how to do a make shift one. Super easy.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
sabrina says
Hi, I’ve made this dish once before and it is excellent! For round 2 tonight I’m wondering I can make in a muffin tin? I’m splitting the recipe with my SO and thought this would be an easy divide, but am not sure about consistency and cook time.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Sabrina!
Instead of a muffin tin I would go with individual ramekins. The consistency would be the same and as for the time I would check it after 20 minutes though I suspect it would still close to 30. If you really want to use a muffin tin I would make sure it’s buttered/greased well. Let me know which way you decide to go.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Lacey says
Wondering how to incorporate cream cheese into this? When looking at most recipes I saw the cream cheese was involved but this one has the consistency I was looking for. Really don’t want to waste and was wondering if I could replace a portion of the milk with the cream cheese? Greatly appreciate any advice.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Lacey and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hmmm, I’ve not tried this with cream cheese. The cream cheese would cause the consistency to be more loose and creamy thus you won’t get the same texture/consistency as mine. You’ll have to spoon it out rather than cut it like I do for mine. If you do add it, I would bump up the binding agents – cheese, flour (another Tbl or two) and reduce the milk by half.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
alicia says
can you make the night before cooking?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Alicia,
Hmmm, honestly I’ve never assembled the night prior to baking but since this has no meat and it’s pretty much a typical casserole I would say yes you could. I would assemble it, cover it tightly and then pop it in the fridge. Now I would not let it stand without baking for more than 24 hours.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Moose says
Made it for dinner tonight with some fresh Silver Queen Sweet Corn…Awesome! The wife is crazy about corn dishes, I can see this will be a regular side dish at least at our table..
TKWAdmin says
That’s awesome Moose; thank you so much! You can make this into the main dish – add in some cooked, shredded chicken or pot roast, some chopped veggies and bacon before you bake it. DIVINE!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Mary says
A friend of mine from work had given me the best corn casserole recipe I’d ever eaten. Then when we had remodeling done in our home somehow this recipe got lost. I was so sad and tried to find one like it as my friend has moved on. However, this one came up on Facebook and I’m going to try it. My first recipe had asked for pimento and so I hope you don’t mind me adding that to this recipe. Thanks so much. God Bless.
TKWAdmin says
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this with the pimento!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Mary says
Years ago I had a recipe that an acquaintance had given me for the best corn casserole I’d ever eaten. Then when we had remodeling done and somehow this recipe was lost. It had asked for pimento. So, I will try this recipe with the pimento in it. Hope you don’t mind me altering it a bit.
Thank you so much for all your recipes. God Bless.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Mary!
By all means add the pimento. Use my recipe as a base and add to it! I often do that with this dish if I want to turn it into a meal by adding cooked shredded chicken, crispy bacon and green onions.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Mary Reiter says
I’m just a bit confused about the slurry. Could you please expound on that? Thank you so much.
TKWAdmin says
Hi Mary!
A slurry is a combination of a starch and liquid that, when added to hot liquids, helps is thicken up. In Step 5, it says to whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup of milk to make the slurry. Then in step 7, when the rest of the milk is hot and boiling you add in the flour slurry mixture. This will help it thicken up.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
jamie says
this is the best ive tried yet. ived tried the jiffy cornmeal one and this one is much better.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Jamie!!! That really means a lot to me!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Liz says
Love this recipe too. Thank you and have a good Sunday.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Liz! Happy Sunday!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
The Mature Princess says
Hi Again. Very similar to another recipe made with Jiffy Cornmeal Mix. Now I’m gonna have to compare recipes. Anyhow, it looks delicious especially with Asiago Cheese added. Now that I’m looking above the comment box, I see “ultimate Mushroom Veggie”………oh, it never ends. P.S. I didn’t forget about sending you the Orange Dream Pie Recipe. Have a nice Sunday.
TKWAdmin says
Hi hon! Oh? I hadn’t seen that. I would think the cornmeal would make it more ‘dense’ than eggy like this. If you read in the story you can also turn this into a full blown dinner by adding cooked chicken, turkey, bacon, other veggies and so forth.
OMG that Ultimate Veggie Burger has gone viral and featured in countless publications. Whether you’re a carnivore or vegetarian you will love this! It tastes like beef! I can’t wait for your recipe!
Best Kitchen Wishes!