Meow Recipes

Monday, November 7, 2022

Everybody’s Favorite Corn Casserole

Clear a spot on the Thanksgiving table this year for this deliciously savory, unstoppably scoopable corn casserole with its hint of sweet, its confetti of bacon, and pulls of sharp cheddar cheese. There is a new side dish in town and it is not messing around.

Corn casserole in a casserole dish with a serving spoon.

This post is sponsored by ButcherBox.

Corn Casserole and Holiday Turkey: A Match Made In Heaven

This corn recipe has been a holiday favorite with my family over the years (hence the name “everybody’s favorite”)! We make it every year.

This year, we get to re-share this favorite recipe in partnership with ButcherBox and I get to tell you about how you can get a FREE TURKEY to be serving alongside your corn casserole at the Thanksgiving or holiday meal.

How it works: if you’re a new member, click here to get a 10-14 pound turkey totally free in your first box! You just have to make sure you sign up by Sunday, November 13th.

I’ve been using ButcherBox personally for the last year – I actually signed up when they had their turkey deal LAST year, so I got in on the free turkey action myself!

Being a ButcherBox customer for the last year, I have felt so good about buying from a company that prioritizes family farms, sustainability, and humane farming practices.

And bonus – I love their bacon in this recipe!

Onto The Corn Casserole

This beautiful dish is not like a loose creamed corn and it is not sturdy or dry like a cornbread. It’s somewhere delightfully in the middle with a soft tight texture that feels almost more like a corn custard but also…not quite that? It’s a bit of a uniCORN situation (lol, sorry forever). It is a truly unique and highly inviting texture and we just cannot stop piling scoop after golden scoop onto our holiday plates. The sweet corn is speckled throughout so you get little bursty bites here and there. Plus, garlic and bacon and cheese so, you know, all the best things.

Also, we don’t want to brag but, it is just really beautiful. Sure, that whole slow-roasted turkey thing is often the star but….honestly, we would maybe just pop this gal in the center of the table and see how it goes.

In This Post: Everything You Need For Corn Casserole

VIDEO for How to Make Corn Casserole
Difference Between Creamed Corn vs. Corn Casserole vs. Cornbread
Ingredients You’ll Need
How to Make Corn Casserole
What to Serve with Corn Casserole
Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Scoop out of corn casserole in a casserole dish.

Creamed Corn Vs. Corn Casserole Vs. Cornbread: What’s The Difference?

Creamed corn — maybe you love it, maybe you hate it — has several different variations in its prep (heavy cream? cream cheese? corn milk from the cob? yes, that’s a thing), but one thing that is consistent is that it is well, creamy. A lot of sauciness among your corn kernels. There are several delicious recipes out there for it that go way beyond the canned version you may have discreetly pushed aside when passed to you during holidays past. And though a can of creamed corn on its own maybe isn’t everyone’s favorite, a can of it in this recipe is very chef’s kiss! It helps keep the casserole supple and thick enough that it holds together scoop after scoop.

Corn casserole, however, is entirely different than creamed corn. It is a very popular southern holiday side dish and it is super moist, almost creamy with bright bursty corn kernels throughout. It’s like creamed corn, cornbread and almost a soufflé all in one dish!

Ingredients For This Recipe

Straight-up corn casserole is nothing short of amazing but we’re feeling festive, and we wanted to zazz things up a little. And when one zazzes, one must gather:

bacon (ButcherBox bacon is our favorite to use!)
onion and garlic
sharp cheddar cheese
fresh chives

Once your zazzers are collected, grab your pantry basics (flour, sugar, baking powder, etc) along with some:

cornmeal
corn
can of creamed corn
sour cream
melted butter
eggs

No Jiffy Box Here! Corn Casserole From Scratch

We’re going fully from scratch here on this so you can tuck away that little box of Jiffy corn muffin mix.

No judgment on a box mix at all, we love a good shortcut. But bringing this casserole together from scratch is really key to its delicious flavor and addicting texture, you can adjust the sweetness and flavors as you see fit, and it really isn’t all that much more time-consuming!

How To Make Corn Casserole

You’ll start with crisping bacon and end with showering cheddar cheese and chives on top, and everything in between is pretty simple.

Bacon. You’ll start by crisping up your bacon and then you’ll get your onions and garlic going in that same pan for optimal yum boosts. You’ll chop up the bacon and save half for the mix and half to toss on top at the end.
Batter. Mix your dry ingredients and then whisk together your wet ones in a separate bowl. Add the corn, creamed corn, sour cream, onion mixture, half the bacon bits and all their salty goodness, and then slowly incorporate your dry ingredients.
Bake. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove and cover with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, the rest of the crispy bacon, and some fresh chives and bake for 5 minutes more.

Then plop that beauty IN THE CENTER OF YOUR TABLE and see if anyone can even finish their “oohs and aaahs” before digging into that rich golden goodness. It’s so, so good.

What To Serve with Corn Casserole

We’re hoping this is on the table for your Thanksgiving or holiday spread with all the other fixings, but in case you need some more guidance, here what it’s delicious with.

Meat: Obviously, turkey! But would also be great as a side to a delicious pot roast.
Veggies: If you want to cut through the creamy goodness of this casserole, this simple green salad is your zippy ticket, or these delicious roasted carrots.
Other sides: Some classic mashed potatoes, equally classic green bean casserole, or sweet potato casserole because the holidays are all about those casseroles.
Dessert: Pie, please! This creamy peanut butter pie is as easy as it is delicious.

If corn casserole is already part of your holiday feast, congratulations on being very smart and good at holidays, and also please consider trying this zazzed up version this year? If you’re new to it, whoo boy, you’re in for such a beautiful, rich, deeply comforting, delicious surprise. Merry holidays to you.

Corn Casserole: FAQs

How can I make this ahead of time?

You can prep this casserole by doing everything through step 2 and baking the casserole in a greased baking dish for 35 minutes. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Rewarm in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and complete the rest of step 3.

Can I freeze this casserole?

Yes! Store in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

How can I make this vegetarian?

Just leave out the bacon and add in a little bit more salt.

How do you store and reheat leftovers?

Cover your leftovers in the pan and keep in the fridge. When you’re ready to reheat, you can either heat up an individual portion in the microwave in a pinch, or cover the whole thing with foil and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Can this be made in a slow cooker?

We haven’t tested this in a slow cooker, but think it could work! If you follow a similar recipe like this one, you should be able to cook it on high for 2-3 hours.

Everybody’s Favorite Corn Casserole

4.7 from 20 reviews

Author: Eman @ Pinch of Yum
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Print Recipe

Description

Corn Casserole all zazzed up! Bursty bites of cream-style corn and sweet corn plus garlic, bacon, and cheese throughout – so you know it’s really, really good!

Ingredients

Units

1 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
one 15-ounce can corn, drained
one 15-ounce can cream-style corn
1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar
Chopped chives

Instructions

Video

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a pan over medium heat, fry the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove from the pan, but leave some of the bacon grease to sauté the onions. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt to the pan and cook until softened. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Take the pan off the heat. Chop the bacon into bits.
In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream, butter, and egg until smooth. Then, stir in the corn, cream corn, the onion mixture, half of the bacon. Add in the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the cheese and remaining bacon. Bake for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle chopped chives over the top.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Category: Casserole
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Keywords: corn casserole, corn souffle, casserole side dish

Recipe Card powered by

Thank you to ButcherBox for sponsoring this recipe!

More Thanksgiving Side Dishes We Love

One-Hour Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Sides (side dishes made easy!)
Miracle No Knead Bread (yes, YOU can make bread from scratch)
House Favorite Brussels Sprouts (so easy and so delicious)

The post Everybody’s Favorite Corn Casserole appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

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Monday, October 24, 2022

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars

This is a classic case of “it doesn’t have to be fancy to be amazing.”

In This Post: Everything You Need For Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars

How These Treats Came to Be
These Bars are Extra and Everything
Refrigerate These Rice Krispie Treats, Please
Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars: Frequently Asked Questions

The Rice Krispie Bar Love Story

I REALLY ADORE these Rice Krispie Bars.

I’ve been making them for a long time, ever since my cousin’s wife Erica brought them to us years ago and I fell absolutely in love with them.

I bothered her for the recipe, as one does, and she sent me this recipe from All Recipes.

The adjustments I’ve made over the years have mostly to do with convenience: standard-size boxes and bags rather than the hard-to-find ones, light brown sugar instead of dark, and ditching the corn syrup, since you already have the sticky caramel to hold it all together.

And also because I’m known to be a fan of short ingredient lists.

These Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars Aren’t For Everyone

If you’re the kind of person who likes an understated dessert, you might need to look elsewhere.

These are butter-forward, sugar-forward, and salt-forward. These are not subtle. They are simple, but they are also big, very sweet and salty, obnoxiously extra, and so deliciously life-changing.

They remind me of the Extra Good Puppy Chow – like, you’ve probably already had puppy chow, but you haven’t had AMAZING puppy chow until you’ve basically doubled the butter and chocolate and stuck the whole thing in the freezer.

That’s what’s happening here. You’ve had a Rice Krispie Bar, but you have not lived until you’ve had THIS Rice Krispie Bar. Extra butter, extra gooey goodness in the form of a quick homemade salted caramel, and extra textural goodness from a pop into the fridge. DIAL IT UP.

I won’t judge if you’re a person who takes their treats a little more restrained. But for those of us who enjoy a massively caramelly, unapologetically salty-sweet bite of a classic RKB, this one will deliver.

Please Refrigerate These Rice Krispie Bars – Yes, I Said It

Rice Krispie Bars usually aren’t refrigerated, but here is my weird secret: I really enjoy these Rice Krispie Bars cold out of the fridge.

For regular Rice Krispie Bars, that would not work. They’d dry out in two seconds.

But in this case, we have twice the butter (yay!) so the cold treatment tightens up the buttery-mallow-salty-caramel mixture into something a bit more firm, but still very soft and chewable. So what you get is a tight, tender, chewy, sweet and salty crispy-crunch that is just so ultra-satisfying.

They are a 10 in all forms, so room temp will also work for you and be nice and soft. But just try refrigerating them for a texture boost. See if I’m crazy.

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Bars: Frequently Asked Questions

Should my caramel be firm or soft?

You’ll want soft caramel for these bars. To achieve this, avoid boiling the caramel excessively. I’d recommend just keeping the caramel over low heat and heating it just enough to get it incorporated and slightly thickened.

Flaky salt? What’s that?

Get yourself some Maldon Sea Salt Flakes – just so good! (affiliate link)

Can I store these at room temperature?

You can, but please try them in the fridge. They stay cold, crispy, buttery, and are still deliciously soft and chewy.