Make corn pudding for a delicious and adaptable side dish that works with lots of different meals.
This corn pudding recipe is a great side dish for Thanksgiving or other holiday meals, but it’s easy enough to make throughout the year too. It’s a casserole with a custard-like texture and tons of great corn taste that’s ready in about an hour.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Is Corn Pudding?
Corn pudding is a little bit different from a traditional Jiffy corn muffin casserole or creamed corn. You don’t need Jiffy cornbread mix or canned creamed corn for this delicious recipe. It’s a great side dish from the Southern United States that is baked like a casserole, with a creamy, custard-like texture. It’s savory while still having a lot of wonderful sweet corn flavor.
Plus, the leftovers are delicious, either cold from the refrigerator or warmed up in the microwave. So make sure you make extra corn pudding casserole for the next day!
Cutting Kernels Off Fresh Corn
If you’ve ever cut the kernels off of fresh ears of corn, you may have experienced some frustration as the cob tends to slide around or the kernels jump everywhere and make a mess. Here’s a tip to help you out.
To more easily remove kernels from cobs of corn, see this helpful video. You’ll place the end of an ear of corn on a paper towel inside of a large bowl on the counter. The paper towel stops the cob from sliding around, and the bowl catches all of the kernels as you cut them off.
Can I Use Frozen Corn?
Yes, you can use frozen corn for this recipe if corn is not in season or if you simply don’t want to bother with cutting the corn off of the cobs.
You’ll need 3 cups of frozen corn that has been thawed for this recipe.
How To Make Corn Pudding
First, get your oven preheated to 325°F. Grease a baking dish with butter and set aside for now.
In a cast iron skillet melt a tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add half of the corn kernels (either fresh from the cob or frozen corn that has been defrosted) and the diced onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until corn is soft and lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to your greased casserole dish and let stand 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, get out your blender and add the remaining corn and the rest of the butter, along with the cream, eggs, flour, salt, and sugar. Blend on high until corn is mostly pureed. This pureed corn mixture will get added to the sauteed corn in your baking dish and stirred together.
Place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the corn pudding comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. And don’t forget that the leftovers are delicious!
Corn Pudding Variations
Now that you know the basics, feel free to have fun and customize your corn pudding with some tasty additions. Try mixing in Cheddar cheese, jalapeños or bell peppers, or okra to your dish. Or get even fancier with some crumbled andouille sausage, breakfast sausage, or finely diced ham.
This corn casserole recipe is equally delicious alongside a holiday turkey as it is for breakfast or as a side dish for BBQ. Let me know how you’re serving it in the comments below!
More Holiday Side Dishes
If you’re making this for Thanksgiving or Christmas and looking to complete the meal with another side dish or two, try one of these amazing options.
Podcast Episode About How to Make Corn Pudding
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this side dish, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Corn Pudding Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Make corn pudding for a delicious and adaptable side dish that works with lots of different meals. For variation ideas, see the post above.
Ingredients
- Kernels from 4 ears fresh yellow corn*
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 8 Tbsp. softened butter, divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 30 oz. baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter, set aside.
- In a small cast iron skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add half of the corn kernels and the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally until corn is soft and lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to casserole dish. Let stand 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in the pitcher of a blender add remaining corn, remaining 6 tablespoons of butter, cream, eggs, flour, salt, and sugar. Blend on high until corn is mostly pureed.
- Transfer corn puree mixture to baking dish and stir to mix with sauteed corn and onion.
- Place baking dish in oven. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the corn pudding comes out clean.
- Remove baking dish from oven. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Notes
*If fresh corn isn’t available, use 3 cups of frozen yellow corn, thawed.
This post originally appeared in May 2023 and was revised and republished in August 2024.
This was just what I was looking for! Used to have a dish like this as a kid and have been searching for a recipe to recreate it. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Carol! So glad you found it.