Homemade Old Fashioned Creamed Corn with fresh Parmesan cheese is a perfect corn side dish that adds a colorful and rich flavor to any of your main dish meals.
Indulgent and delicious, you cannot go wrong with this mouthwatering corn side dish as your next favorite way to enjoy this buttery veggie smothered in Parmesan cheese.
Why you will love this Creamy Style Corn Recipe
Corn is one of the few vegetables I can get my kids to eat. Maybe it’s corn’s sweet nature or beautiful yellow color, but corn is just so friendly as a side dish on a plate!
This particular homemade creamed corn recipe coats beautiful pieces of crunchy corn (I love frozen for this reason) with a light, flavorful Parmesan cheese sauce. This combination makes it an excellent homemade and fresh substitute for creamed corn without the can.
Creamed Corn vs Creamy Corn
This old fashioned cream corn recipe is not the same as blended down “creamy” corn, which I consider a blended down corn kernel vs. these whole corn pieces. Blended down corn leaves some of the waxy outer shell of a corn that you often taste in recipes like Corn Chowder.
You could easily alter this recipe by mashing down some of your corn with the bottom of a cup after cooking or throwing half the corn into a blender before putting it in the skillet, however the whole kernel is the best taste.
Southern Style Homemade Cream Corn
Embrace this side dish for what it is- a rich delicious recipe that is just so creamy and cheesy!
This corn recipe is also great for holiday servings and outside the norm of, let’s say, a traditional carrot side dish or potato side dish. And as a simple and popular side dish, creamed corn is ready for a place on your Thanksgiving table!
Ingredients
Here is a brief list of some of the most important homemade cream corn ingredients you need. Please refer to the full printable recipe at the bottom of the recipe for measurements.
- Frozen corn kernels – Bagged frozen corn works best for this recipe because it holds its shape and doesn’t have the same moisture content as canned corn. However, cans of corn work fine if that is all you have. Just be sure to remove all traces of excess moisture the best you can.
- Half and Half – Half and Half works perfectly for the right amount of flavor and texture.
- Salt & black pepper – You cannot have corn without seasoning, and salt and black pepper go great. Feel free to be generous.
- Granulated sugar – Homemade creamed corn has a bit of sweetness, so use plain white granulated sugar.
- Shredded Parmesan cheese – Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the perfect amount of sweetness and create the perfect side dish!
- Fresh parsley (optional) for serving – Parsley leaves make not only a beautiful color splash with all the yellow but taste great. Other topping ideas if you are serving holiday meal are below.
Best way to Cook Corn on the Stove
Cast iron is my favorite. If you do not have one, get one! This cast-iron skillet is my favorite go-to for all my dishes.
How to make Creamed Corn
No crockpot or canned corn is needed to make this perfectly delicious homemade cream corn. I’m not too fond of the overly soupy corn that falls out of a can on Thanksgiving (or any) night of the week.
Learn how to make your creamy corn recipe to serve up a delicious side dish recipe tonight!
- Add frozen but thawed corn, Half and Half, salt, sugar, butter, and pepper to a large skillet.
- Mix milk and flour in a small bowl and add frothy mixture to the homemade cream corn mixture.
- On medium heat, cook until bubbling, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, continue to heat/boil, and frequently stir until the cream-style corn mixture is thickened. This doesn’t take long, typically under five min.Feel free to lower heat if it starts to bubble.
- Once the liquid has been reduced and corn becomes more of a cream, you can remove it from heat, add Parmesan cheese, and stir.
- Parmesan will melt into the mixture, stir well to make sure all corn is covered in that cheesy goodness.
- Serve this corn side with fresh parsley or one of the topping suggestions below.
- Also, a little sprinkle of paprika for color or a little cayenne for some heat is delicious.
Can you use Heavy Whipping Cream instead of Half and Half?
You can! Half and Half are equal parts milk and heavy cream, while heavy cream itself is just that. If you prefer a richer flavor, you can use only heavy cream instead or look below at adding creamed cheese to this recipe.
Can you use Canned Corn instead of Frozen Corn?
I prefer frozen corn, but you can use canned corn (drain it) in this recipe.
You can also use fresh pressure cooked corn on the cob corn as well. Just make sure your corn is tender and cooked all the way through so you do not break a tooth on your bite!
Remember, different kinds of corn will change how long you cook, and this creamed corn recipe is based on cooked corn and not raw corn cob.
What kind of Toppings for Creamed Corn?
Want to dial up your corn side dish? Serve this creamy corn with bites of bacon, bread crumb topping like Panko, chives, fresh additional Parmesan cheese, shredded cheese, diced jalapenos, or a little bit of crackle pepper.
Another idea is the crunchy onions often used in green bean casserole!
If you need a little color, you can top with parsley (as shown) or even dash paprika, which puts a pretty read sprinkling like a deviled egg.
Old Fashioned Creamed Corn Recipe Notes
A few suggestions to get your mind flowing on altering this creamy corn recipe into a family hand me down recipe:
Sugar Substitute: Try honey over sugar to sweeten it up
Want your casserole a little thicker? Put a bit of corn starch into a glass and mix with water, then pour small amounts of liquid into your skillet at one tablespoon at a time to thicken.
Want your casserole a little lighter? This is a very rich recipe due to the cream and Parmesan; you can make it taste a bit lighter by using 1% milk in place of Half and Half; this may make it soupier and may need to add a thickener for the sauce (see above)
Want your cream corn even Richer? Want your corn even richer? Substitute your 1/2 cup of milk and flour for half a bar of cream cheese or replace it with heavy whipping cream.
Instead of shredded Parmesan, try other types of cheeses that you love, like shredded Asiago or Romano.
What to serve with Creamed Corn
Perfectly balanced for main dishes like Alice Springs Chicken (copycat) or Honey Garlic Chicken, you can serve corn in a variety of amazing ways.
Related Corn Side Dish Recipes
- You won’t believe how incredible this party dip is!
- A little spice goes a long way in this fan favorite appetizer Crack Corn Dip (hot)
- Southern style Fried Corn Fritters (with delicious honey)
- Thanksgiving Sweet Corn Casserole is a 5 star dish that will blow you away!
- This Mexican Corn on the Cob (elote) is so super creamy. You will want to make extra cobs for sure.
- While not full corn, this appetizer dip with tons of chunky beans and corn is so good you can make it for lunch.
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Old Fashioned Creamed Corn with Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz. frozen corn
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- dash of cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- fresh parsley optional for serving
Instructions
- Add frozen corn, half and half, salt, granulated white sugar, pats of butter, and black pepper to a large cast iron skillet.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk and flour and add to skillet corn mixture.
- On medium heat, cook corn until bubbling, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to heat/boil and stir frequently until mixture is thickened-. This process takes about 5 minutes. If corn hasn't thickened yet, turn down the heat even further and monitor another few minutes.
- Remove creamed corn from stove heat and add shredded Parmesan cheese and mix together until the heat from the dish melts the cheese.
- Serve creamed corn topped with fresh parsley or one of the other suggestions below.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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