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This easy creamed corn recipe is perfectly rich, buttery, and uncomplicated to let the natural sweetness from the corn shine. It’s the best version you’ll try!
You may also like my Easy Creamy Corn Pasta and Creamy Corn Chowder next.
Why you’ll love it
Cream style corn is perfect for an anytime side dish. It’s equally great for the holidays or as a BBQ side during corn season. You can’t really go wrong with butter and cream, in my opinion. I kept sneaking bites of this classic side dish while it was cooking!
I prefer my method since it’s definitely the easiest I’ve tried. You don’t need fancy ingredients to make good creamed corn, and it adds a comforting and creamy pairing to pretty much any main course, much like my Creamed Spinach or Creamed Peas.
What you’ll need
- Butter and flour – to make a quick roux for thickening it up
- Half-and-half – for that luxurious creamy quality
- Garlic powder – it’s a little additional savory flavor boost
- Cayenne – Just a pinch gives it that extra something-something. It won’t make the dish spicy or anything!
- Corn – I use frozen since it’s ultra convenient and frozen at the peak of ripeness. If using fresh corn, I’d use 8 ears or so. If using canned corn (I prefer frozen to canned), I’d try 2 (15 fluid ounce) cans or whatever’s closest to the frozen corn amount. Be sure to drain the cans well.
Helpful tips
- The key to success with this recipe is to let the corn simmer away long enough and at a low enough heat. That gives the sauce some time to thicken up and for the corn kernels to plump up nicely.
- If you want to add even more thickness/change up the texture a bit, take about a cup of the cooked creamed corn and blend it up, then add it back to the pot. Or use a stick blender right in the pot to blend some of it up.
How to make creamed corn
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Make a roux with butter and flour in a fairly large pot. Whisk in the half-and-half and seasonings until very smooth, then add in the corn and bring it to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to your liking and the corn is plump. Season generously with salt & pepper to bring out the flavors.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I used a Le Creuset Dutch oven to make this recipe.
- Use a wire whisk to make sure everything is perfectly smooth.
- This is my favorite cooking spoon for stirring it up. It won’t scratch your pans.
Substitutions and variations
- Want it spicy? Add more than a pinch of cayenne, or chop up some jalapenos and add them.
- Some recipes for creamed corn add in some extra sugar. I don’t do this. If you do like your creamed corn even sweeter, feel free to add a teaspoon or so, but I really don’t find it necessary.
- You may use heavy cream instead of half-and-half. It’ll likely thicken up faster, so you may need to adjust the heat and cooking time a bit (but this dish is best cooked low and slow, so keep that in mind).
What to serve with creamed corn
- It goes with so many weeknight mains. Try it with my Easy Baked Pork Tenderloin or Easy Baked Chicken Breast. It’s great with my Easy Meatloaf too or Garlic Butter Steak Bites. Or baked ham during the holidays!
- Cream corn is a favorite during summer BBQ season. Pair it with my Easy Grilled Pork Chops or this Crockpot BBQ Chicken.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover creamed corn in the fridge for a few days in a covered container.
- For reheating this recipe, reheat it on the stove on low heat, stirring occasionally, or in the microwave in 30-second increments (stir in between).
- I don’t recommend freezing it.
If you made this creamed corn recipe from scratch, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also find me on Instagram.
Easy Creamed Corn
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 5 cups frozen corn
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook it for a minute or so, stirring nearly constantly.
- Whisk in the half-and-half, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Make sure that there's no lumps.
- Stir in the corn. After about 10 minutes, it should start to bubble. Once it's bubbling, turn the heat down so it's simmering gently.
- Cook the corn for another 15-20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and the corn is nice and plump. Keep an eye on it, and stir it occasionally.
- Add salt & pepper as needed (I'm pretty generous with the salt).
Notes
- Here in Canada I buy a (750g/26.5 oz.) bag of frozen corn for this recipe (it equals 5 cups). If using less corn, add a bit less half-and-half (this recipe is pretty forgiving!).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on February 4, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
love this! How much does it make weight wise? I am trying to find a suitable receipt to replace canned cream corn in a cornbread recipe. Need 275g approx.
Hi! I honestly don’t know… I’m sorry. Math is really not my thing. You’d have to make it and weigh it out using a kitchen scale, I guess. Sorry!
I didn’t weigh or measure but I’d guess about 3 1/2 cups. Very tasty!
Loved this recipe ! Very easy came out good !
Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed it, Crystal. Thanks for leaving me a review. XO
Instead of using half & half I mistakenly used heavy cream. Hope it tastes just as good!
I’m sure it’ll taste great! 🙂
Can this be frozen
Hi Diane! I find creamy recipes don’t always freeze so well. I haven’t tried with this particular one. If you do try, reheat it on a low heat.
I made it with fresh corn, only a couple of ears, and only had milk on hand. Cooked it for 25-30 minutes waiting for rest of meal to cook. It was amazing. Thanks.
Excellent! So pleased you liked it!
Do you think you could freeze this cream corn?
Hmm… I’m a little worried the cream sauce might separate and/or get a bit watery, but re-heating it slowly should help with that.
Natasha, corn is one of our favorite side dishes and this recipe for creamed corn looks amazing! Definitely trying it out soon!
Simply perfect!
My husband totally loves creamed corned Natasha, and I haven’t made it in quite a while. Thanks for the inspiration. Your recipe looks delicious!
Thank you!!
One of my all time favorite sides, this will definitely be made here soon!
Thanks, Matt!
Looking forward to trying this… have always LOVED creamed corn…. I’m wondering… if you could lightly purée SOME of the corn (not all) and mixing it all together…? Might add even more “creaminess”? What do you think?
and OOPS! I just went back and read your notes before the recipe… where you suggested blending up some of the corn! Haha. I admit, I’m a “jumper”. (“Jump to recipe”) LOL! Thanks!
No worries! Yup, we like to include tips for success in your own kitchen in the body of the post in all our recipes. Enjoy the corn, and happy Thanksgiving, Kelly!! 🙂