Why It Works
- “Milking” the corn extracts the best flavor from fresh summer sweet corn while adding starch for a silky mouthfeel.
- A mix of heavy cream and sour cream balances richness and tang.
- Red bell pepper and fresh parsley add color for an especially festive side, evoking a famous Midwest “party dip.”
I have a proposition, and the purists aren’t going to like it: It’s time to put the cream back in creamed corn.
Yes, it’s true that the cans of gloppy “creamed corn” on the grocery store shelf are dairy-free, containing just corn and its effluence (and often, some added sugar). “Creamed” is a texture, not an ingredient list.
And there’s an elegance to that simplicity! Long before canned corn made its way to grocery store shelves, Indigenous cooks were making a version with just corn and “corn milk”—that sweet, starchy slurry of pulverized corn kernels and juice.
But augmenting that corn milk with a bit of cream can lend luxury to the dish, creating a velvety sauce that clings to each corn kernel. You may be tempted to lighten up the proceedings with whole milk or half-and-half, but I don’t recommend that route—the result will look less like creamed corn and more like corn in a bowl of milk. Instead, I use an equal amount of heavy cream and sour cream to ensure each kernel is coated in a silky, starchy liquid that complements the corn’s natural sugars and starches with a little acidic punch.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
From there, the dish is endlessly customizable—you can add alliums such as onions, garlic, or scallions, cheese, and any fresh herbs you like. But for this recipe, I’m leaning into my Iowa heritage (this is a corn recipe, after all), and suggesting you adopt the flavors of a classic Midwest party dip. You heard me: party corn.
If you go to a tailgate or potluck in Iowa, odds are you’ll encounter “Party Dip,” a sour cream-based chip dip that Midwest dairy Anderson-Erickson has sold since the 1960s.
You may naturally be wondering, “What does a party taste like?” And the answer, at least according to the ingredients on the container, is like confetti flecks of onion, red bell pepper, and parsley.
The flavor profile is a natural fit for corn—the finely minced red bell pepper calls to mind maque choux (a classic Louisiana dish of stewed corn and peppers) while the other ingredients—minced onion, a little cayenne, some optional MSG—lean into the chip dip gag without overwhelming the sweetness of fresh summer corn.
Whether you go full party corn or not, I strongly recommend blitzing at least a cup of the mixture in a blender or with an immersion blender to finish. Don’t overdo it—a few pulses will do. You’re after a slurry of crushed kernels that will add texture and a final burst of starch and sugar to the dish. This step is especially important if you’re using frozen corn and missing out on the corn milk.
The final touch is a heavy sprinkle of chopped flat-leaf parsley, which adds a festive color and jaunty freshness. There’s a time and a place for simplicity. But that time and place is not summer in Iowa, where fresh sweet corn is a weed and “party” is a flavor. This is your invitation to join.
Creamed Corn Deserves Better. This Recipe Proves It.
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2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
1/2 medium yellow onion (4 ounces; 110 g), minced
1/2 medium red bell pepper (3 ounces; 85 g), minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 cup (175 ml) heavy cream
3/4 cup (175 ml) sour cream
4-5 ears fresh corn, husked, or 18 ounces (496 g) frozen corn kernels (see notes)
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
On a large cutting board, stand each corn cob upright and use a sharp knife to slice kernels from the cob using your preferred method. Don’t worry about cutting every last morsel of corn from the cob on your first pass—only cut as close as you can get without encountering much resistance. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
Working with one cob at a time set over the bowl with corn kernels, run the back of your knife firmly over the surface of the cob to extract the “corn milk”—any remaining juice or particulate matter–directly into the bowl. All together, you should have about 1 pound of kernels and milk.
In a Dutch oven or large sauce pot, heat butter over medium-high heat until melted. Add onions and red bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers are soft and onions are starting to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cayenne, and black pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
Add heavy cream, sour cream, corn, salt, and MSG (if using), and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until flavors have melded and corn is tender and heated through, 8 to 12 minutes. If the mixture begins to boil, lower heat until the cream is just bubbling around the edges.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
Transfer one heaping cup of corn mixture to a blender (or blender jar, if using an immersion blender) and pulse until mixture is porridge-like but not completely smooth, 10 to 12 pulses. Return to pot and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
Off heat, add parsley and stir well to incorporate before serving.
Serious Eats/ Lorena Masso
Special Equipment
Dutch oven or large saucepan, traditional blender or immersion blender
Notes
Fresh sweet corn begins losing its sugars as soon as it’s picked. For the best flavor, make this the day you buy the corn—and if you can’t, store your sweet corn in the refrigerator.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Refrigerated in an airtight container, the creamed corn will keep for up to a week.
