Name: Creamed Corn Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided); 1/2 minced shallot; 2 1/2 cups fresh corn (from about 4 ears); 2 tablespoons all purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups half and half; 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan; 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar; salt and pepper to taste

Creamed corn recipe in a serving dish with a spoon in it and fresh pepper on top.

This Creamed Corn Recipe might be one of our all time favorites! It’s so creamy, bright and delicious. We also love that it’s super quick, easy and low maintenance, coming together in only 20 minutes from start to finish!

This creamed corn recipe is one of the best side dishes you can make year round, but we especially love it during chilly weather months and for special occasions like thanksgiving and holiday meals.

How to Make Our Creamed Corn Recipe

Ingredients

Process

Melt some unsalted butter in a saucepan.
Add shallots and sauté.

Melted butter in a skillet on a kitchen counter.

Shallots and melted butter in a skillet on a kitchen counter.

Add corn and continue to sauté. Season with salt and black pepper.
Remove corn mixture from pan and set aside.
Place saucepan back over heat and melt more butter.

Stir flour into butter and cook, constantly stirring.
Stir half and half into mixture until no lumps remain. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Flour and butter mixed together in a skillet overhead.

Half and half and salt and pepper in a skillet to make creamed corn.

Add Parmesan cheese and stir.
Stir corn mixture and sugar into half and half mixture and simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Half and half with parmesan in a skillet to make creamed corn.

Corn added into a skillet with cream to make creamed corn.

Tools You Will Need

Canned Cream-Style Corn vs this Homemade Creamed Corn Recipe

There are a few major differences you’ll find between a canned cream-style corn and the homemade version. Most canned cream style corn is a mixture of puree of corn with a few whole kernels, butter, salt and sugar (often times along with other additives and preservatives). It often times omits a creamy sauce as well.

Our homemade creamed corn recipe keeps all the corn kernels whole (although you can blend half the corn if you want, which is slightly more traditional) and stirs it together with a simple and delicious creamy sauce.

Frozen Corn and Canned Corn Alternatives

We think using fresh corn yields the best results, but you can definitely use frozen corn or canned corn if that is all that is available! There are just a couple things we recommend doing to ensure you have the best creamed corn!

Frozen Corn

Thaw the frozen corn completely and thoroughly drain the excess liquid. Any additional liquid will thin the sauce out too much, making it watery instead of thick and creamy!

Canned Corn

Pour the canned corn into a fine meshed sieve to strain all the liquid, give the corn kernels a good rinse and drain any excess liquid. Canned corn sits in a liquid to help preserve the kernels and elongate shelf life and the liquid often contains sugar and other additives that you can taste on the corn. We like giving the corn a good rinse to get any of the residue liquid and taste off the kernels.

Creamed corn in a bowl with a spoon in it on a table.

Variations

As we mentioned above, it’s perfectly fine to use frozen or canned corn if that’s what you have on hand or all that is available.
We keep our creamed corn simple to really let the corn flavor shine, but you can definitely toss some herbs into the mix. some of our favorites for this are sliced chives, minced fresh thyme and chopped parsley.
Make this dish extra decadent by using heavy cream instead of half and half, adding some cooked, chopped bacon and/or stirring in a small dollop of cream cheese into the mix!

What to Serve with this Creamed Corn Recipe

Creamed corn is such a versatile side dish! Some of our favorite dishes to pair it with are:

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions

Make Ahead

This creamed corn recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To Reheat: Pour contents into a saucepan and gently simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Gently simmering and stirring are both important to ensure the sauce doesn’t separate.
As the mixture heats up and begins to thicken add grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until fully melted and desired consistency has been reached.
Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.

Creamed corn in a bowl close up with a spoon on it and a napkin on the side.

Freezing

Although doable, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture will be slightly off and it won’t be as fresh in flavor.

If you really want or need to freeze this creamed corn recipe follow instructions below for best results:

Cool creamed corn and place into a freezable plastic bag, removing as much air as possible, before sealing.
Place bag in freezer for up to 3 months
To reheat: Transfer bag to refrigerator and thaw.
Strain 1/2 cup liquid and discard.
Transfer remaining contents into a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
Once mixture has heated through, stir in an additional 1/3 cup half and half and continue to simmer.
Stir in freshly grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until sauce has slightly thickened.
Season with salt and pepper as needed.

More Delicious Corn Recipes You Will Love

Close up on a spoon full of creamed corn on a table.

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