Corn Pudding – This creamy, buttery, sweet, custardy side dish is perfect for special occasions or a weeknight family meal. The recipe only requires a few pantry staples, and there’s no need for mixers. It’s as easy as dump, mix, and bake!
This barely-sweet side dish is one of my favorites to pair with decadent holiday meals because it’s pretty, custardy, and creamy, but that’s not the only time you’ll find it on my table. When corn hits its peak season in the summer, one of the first things I make with it is this corn pudding.
Honestly, I even eat it for breakfast or an afternoon snack because, believe it or not, corn pudding and coffee are amazing together. ☕️ Besides ticking all the boxes for a corn lover like me, this recipe is seriously easy to make. Literally, you toss all the ingredients in a casserole dish, mix them up, and bake for just under an hour. It cannot get any easier than that! 🙌
Corn Pudding: A Southern Delicacy
If you aren’t familiar with this dish, you may be wondering, just what is corn pudding? This Southern classic is essentially a rich custard dish featuring sweet corn and cornmeal. It’s rich and slightly sweet (thanks to the corn🌽) and has a beautiful pudding-like texture. Trust me, one bite, and you’ll be hooked.
Recipe Ingredients
- Dairy – Milk, heavy cream, sour cream, and butter make this custard-like dish rich, smooth, and flavorful.
- Corn – Corn fresh off the cob always tastes the best, but if you’re in a hurry or corn is out of season, you can always use frozen or canned.
- Thickeners – Flour and cornmeal thicken up this flavorful dish.
- Seasonings – A touch of sugar and a pinch of fresh ground nutmeg are all you need for a flavor explosion. If you’re into all things spicy like I am, toss in some diced jalapeño too! ❤️🔥
How to Make Corn Pudding
- Prep Casserole Dish – Grease the casserole bowl and set it aside.
- Wet Ingredients – Whisk milk, eggs, heavy cream, sour cream, and melted butter in a large bowl.
- Dry Ingredients – Then add flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, sweet corn, grated nutmeg, and jalapenos, and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the corn pudding batter into your prepared casserole dish.
- Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until set and golden brown on top.
- Serve – Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Cheese – You can really go crazy with corn pudding variations. You can make it cheesy by adding ½ cup of Monterey Jack, cheddar, or Colby Jack cheese.
- Mexican – You could make a Mexican version by adding a can of chopped green chilies, sauteed onions and peppers, cumin and chili powder, some chopped cilantro, and even browned sausage or chorizo! 🇲🇽
- Mediterranean – Add feta cheese, chopped olives, roasted peppers, and some fresh rosemary if you’re big on Mediterranean food. This dish does great with all kinds of add-ins. 🙌
Tips and Tricks
- Other recipes call only for milk, but I suggest not skipping the heavy cream. This pudding is way more decadent with the heavy cream in the mix.
- Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while whisking until smooth for a smoother pudding texture.
- If you want a souffle-like texture, don’t overbake this corn pudding. Pull it out of the oven when it’s just set.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Prepare this dish ahead of time by mixing up all the ingredients, sealing your mixing dish with plastic wrap, and letting it sit in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
Alternatively, you can bake it two days before serving it. Let the casserole cool completely before sealing your casserole dish with a lid or plastic wrap and storing it in the fridge. To reheat, pop it in a 300℉/150℃ oven for 10-20 minutes.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve corn pudding fresh from the oven steaming hot or chilled from the fridge. It tastes fantastic both ways, so it comes down to your preference. 😉
Store leftover corn pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat, you can put the whole casserole dish back in the oven, uncovered, for 10-20 minutes at 300℉/150℃. You can also reheat individually-sized portions in the microwave.
FAQs
Cornbread is quick bread featuring cornmeal. It’s dry enough you can slice and butter it before digging in. However, corn pudding is moister and best eaten with a spoon. Plus, it features dairy and eggs, making it more of a custard than bread.
Corn pudding is quite moist, but it shouldn’t be runny. If it is, you may have underbaked it. You’ll know it’s done when the edges are slightly browned, and it’s only just jiggly in the center. You can also insert a toothpick in the pudding to test its doneness. If it comes out clean, the corn pudding is ready.
There are two possibilities. First, you may have been off on your measurements with the liquid ingredients. Baking usually requires exact measurements, so stick to the recipe. The second possibility is that you overbaked it. Remember the tips mentioned in the last question to get a perfectly baked, moist corn pudding.
What Goes With Corn Pudding
I love it goes great with roasted meat, like roasted chicken, turkey, or even smoked ham.
It also pairs well with other sides, particularly Southern favorites. Try it with green bean casserole, sweet potato salad, or Southern mustard greens. 😋
More Fabulous Corn Recipes to Try
- Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob
- Jamaican Corn Meal Porridge
- Corn Souffle
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Scalloped Corn
- Trinidad Corn Pie
Conclusion
Three cheers for super simple, amazingly delicious recipes like this one! What is your favorite Southern recipe? I’d love to hear more from you in the comment section below. 🫶
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in March 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Corn Pudding
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120ml) milk
- ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (60g) sour cream
- 2 tablespoons (28g) melted butter
- 2 tablespoons (20g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (20g) cornmeal
- 1-2 tablespoons (20-30g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 2 cups (325g) frozen corn, thawed (about 3 ears of corn)
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ tablespoon jalapenos pepper, minced (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉/177℃. Grease the casserole dish and set it aside.
- Whisk milk, eggs, heavy cream, sour cream, and melted butter in a large bowl.
- Then add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, sweet corn, grated nutmeg, and jalapenos, and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the corn pudding into the prepared casserole dish.
- Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until set and golden brown on top. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- Other recipes call only for milk, but I suggest not skipping the heavy cream. This pudding is way more decadent with the heavy cream in the mix.
- Gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while whisking until smooth for a smoother pudding texture.
- If you want a souffle-like texture, don’t overbake this corn pudding. Pull it out of the oven when it’s just set.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Linda says
I made this over the weedend and it was superb!!! Thanks for sharing.
Imma says
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much!
Lily says
I tried this recipe and it came out just right
Imma says
Oh great to hear that. Thank you so much!
Doris says
Can I add shrimp on bottom or mixed and do I need to adjust something?
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can. Nothing extra needed.
Angela Hull says
Can this be doubled by simply doubling all the ingredients
imma africanbites says
You can simply adjust the serving size in the recipe box and the ingredient list would be updated, too.
Patricia L Easley says
Hi, can I mix all the ingredients together in the morning and baked later in the afternoon?
imma africanbites says
Yes, you can. You can mix all the ingredients ahead, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge up to 24 hours before baking. When ready to bake, unwrap it and allow it to sit in the counter for around 20-30 minutes so the baking dish would return to room temperature before baking.
Kathy says
Great recipe! I’m planning on making it this week. Can you freeze leftovers? Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can. Be sure to cover tightly with plastic.
Urban @ urbanskitchen.com says
Ok, I have made this and loved it and recommend it. And will surely make it again, makes a nice side dish. I loosely followed the recipe in making it and in using Fresh Corn because I wanted to, it’s in season, and maybe used a bit more than in the recipe. So though it came out well and tasted great, I think it was a little loose in binding of the pie. It did seem to set as it cooled. I think I should of maybe used one more egg maybe since I used a bit more corn. So my question was just a simple one. If you need to bind the pie more, do I just add more egg. That just seemed like the logical answer.
Urban @ urbanskitchen.com says
Yes, between my Pantry and Refrigerator I have everything on that list to make this. Expect the Jalapeño. But I do have a lot of Thai Chilies in my Freezer lol. The Jalapeños i can easily get. Hmm, think i’ll make this Friday night.
Johanna says
Hi Imma,
I’m wanting to make this for dinner soon. Do you think a square 8×8 pan would work?
Thanks for the recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, it would work.