Creamed Corn

Creamed corn is a classic comfort food side dish that can be served year-round, or during the holidays. Rich, silky, sweet and delicious.

What Kind Of Corn Should I Use?

Creamed corn is a step above just having corn on the cob, but it’s just as easy. In fact, this dish takes all but 20 minutes from start to finish when pulling it together.

The best part is, you can use fresh, canned, OR frozen corn kernels for this!

• If you’re using frozen corn make sure to defrost it before you make this recipe. You’ll need about a pound of the frozen corn (16 oz.) to make up the 3 cups called for in the recipe.
• If using canned corn, drain it well before using. After draining, there’s about 1 and 1/2 cups of corn in a 15 ounce can, so you’ll need 2 cans for the 3 cups called for in the recipe.
• If using fresh corn on the cob, you have to cook the corn before taking it off the cobs and adding it to the recipe. The easiest way to cook it quickly is to microwave the corn on the cob. You’ll need about 3-4 cobs of cooked corn to make up the 3 cups called for in this recipe.

What Type Of Cream To Use

The recipe below calls for heavy cream. If you’d prefer to not use heavy cream, you can instead use half-and-half or whole milk. The only thing to note is that sometimes dairy with a lower fat content can curdle if boiled. So, once you add your milk in, bring it up to a simmer and then immediately turn it down to low.

You can use canned evaporated milk instead of the cream in this recipe. The full-fat version will taste best, but I’ve also made it with the fat-free version and it was good. Note that because it has a sweeter flavor, you should omit the sugar from the recipe if using evaporated milk.

For a non-dairy alternative, your best bet here is oat milk. And your best bet among oat milks is to use a barista-style one. These are readily available at grocery stores and they have a texture that’s similar to cream. On the assumption that if you’re choosing a non-dairy milk you also want non-dairy in the rest of the recipe, I’ll let you know here that you can use cooking oil instead of butter in the recipe, whatever your general preference is will work fine but I’d opt for something with no distinct flavor, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil.

How To Make Creamed Corn

This creamed corn recipe is so simple and amazing. I like starting with some onion and butter in a skillet. Sauteed onion adds the perfect flavor to the final dish. Then add in the corn, sugar, salt, and pepper. I know what you’re thinking – sugar?! It’s only a little bit. And why yes, corn is sweet but the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar really helps give the dish that extra-specialness that it needs. The salt and black pepper balance it out perfectly.

Then, you’ll essentially be making a roux in the skillet (a roux is the basis for making gravy and many other sauces, like classic Béchamel and cheese sauce too), by adding some flour and mixing it in.

Then, in goes the heavy cream. After that, you’re simmering to thicken it up, and then it’s ready to serve! I know you’re going to fall in love with this classically simple recipe.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days. Mine always gets eaten up well before that though!

Make-Ahead Creamed Corn

Creamed corn is a great choice for a make-ahead side dish for Thanksgiving or other special dinners. It’s perfect for these dinners because you can make it as described below and then keep it warm in a slow cooker or Instant Pot set to Warm/Keep Warm.

If you want to make it ahead of time, make it as instructed and then put it into a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then you can reheat it in the microwave for 45 seconds at a time until heated through. Or, heat it in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat while stirring frequently. Finally, you can heat it in the slow cooker on low for 1 hour or in the Instant Pot using the Sauté function on low, stirring frequently.

Variations

I’ve kept the seasonings simple in my homemade creamed corn to let the corn flavor be the star, but feel free to make it your own. 

Stir in some freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the end or top it with crumbled bacon. Want some spice? Add in some cayenne pepper or diced jalapeños to give your corn a kick.

This post originally appeared in November 2019 and was revised and republished in September 2024.