Southern Style Creamed Corn is a rich, decadent side dish that’s surprisingly simple to make. Real cream and butter are essential, they create a silky, flavorful sauce that’s hard to resist. Sweet farm-stand corn, gently sautéed with cream and a few classic seasonings, transforms into a dreamy, comforting dish perfect for any time of year.

Ingredients to Make Southern Style Creamed Corn Recipe

Southern Creamed Corn is the kind of dish that speaks straight to the heart, and the belly. Rich, creamy, and full of down-home flavor, it’s not something we whip up every day, but when we do, it’s usually for a Sunday supper, our holiday table, or backyard gatherings when sweet corn is at its peak. This isn’t your everyday side, it’s Southern comfort on a plate. For the real deal, fresh corn cut straight off the cob is a must, but if you’re in a pinch, frozen will do just fine. Just don’t reach for the canned stuff, it won’t do this dish justice. Ingredients you’ll need to make Southern Creamed Corn from scratch: (Scroll down for full printable recipe card.)

Fresh Corn – Eight medium ears of corn husk and silk removed
Butter – Salted or unsalted butter to sauté the corn.
Heavy Cream – Heavy cream makes a rich and flavorful creamy sauce.
Granulated Sugar – Add white sugar for sweetness.
Seasonings – Salt and black pepper to balance the flavor.
Water – 1/4 cup cold water for mixing with and dissolving the flour.
All Purpose Flour – Two tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce.

How to Make the Best Southern Style Creamed Corn Recipe

Tasting and making adjustments to sweetness and saltiness as you go are all part of Southern cooking. That’s where the love comes into cooking. Be fearless, after all it’s only corn and cooking should not only be fun, but an expression of your own likes and dislikes. How to make Southern Creamed Corn Recipe:

Corn – In a large bowl, use a sharp knife to carefully remove the corn kernels from the cob. Turn the knife and with the dull side scrape any juices from the cob.
Melt Butter – Add butter to a large skillet with the corn, heavy cream, sugar, salt and pepper.
Simmer Until Tender – Simmer over medium-low until the corn is tender.
Thicken the Sauce – Increase the heat. Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the the corn stir to combine.
Continue to Cook – Cook the corn mixture per the recipe until thickened. If you prefer a thicker creaminess to the sauce, repeat.
Serve – Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Garnish – Optional garnishes i.e. chives or parsley.

Tips for Making Southern Creamed Corn Recipe

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: A large skillet, measuring cups and spoons, large bowl, a sharp knife and cutting board.
Alternative Bowl Trick: Use a Bundt Pan for steadying the corn while you use a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels. Place the tip of the corn cob in the center of the pan and cut downwards using a sawing action. The corn kernels will fall into the pan. Turn the knife and scrape the corn liquid from the cob with the back of the blade for extra sweetness.
Can I Make Creamed Corn in a Slow Cooker? Yes, checkout my recipe for Slow Cooker Creamed Corn topped with green onions and bacon. It’s a really terrific way to make creamed corn at the holidays to free up oven space.
When to Serve Creamed Corn: This simple dish is a delicious side dish for family dinners, Easter, summer potlucks, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

Corn Substitution: You’ll Need 6-8 cups of corn total, whether it’s fresh summer corn or frozen corn kernels. For this creamed corn recipe, I started with around 6 cups of fresh corn kernels.
Heavy Cream: You can make this using half and half or whole milk. Cream gives it the most luxurious rich texture. The amount of cream I recommend doesn’t make this creamed corn soupy which is to our taste. The amount of liquid can always be adjusted.
Adjust the Thickness of the Sauce: If you want more liquid in the sauce you can make that adjustment using more cream. Likewise, if you like a thicker cream sauce, add less cream.
Sugar: You may opt to use honey for sweetness. Add the amount that suits your taste.
Flour: You could use cornstarch in place of all purpose flour for thickening the sauce.
Spice: If you’d like to add spice, add a few dashes of hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the sauce.
Butter: If you prefer, you could use bacon grease in place of butter for a smoky flavor.
Bacon: Stir in 2-3 slices of crispy crumbled bacon to the corn prior to serving.
Garnish: If you’d like to garnish the corn use fresh chives or chopped parsley.
Adjust the Sweetness to Taste: The level of sweetness should be adjusted depending on the sweetness of the variety of corn you’re using. There are times I’ve have made this dish using only 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar and times that I’ve used up to 1/4 cup. It truly is something you have to decide in the moment. It’s the cook’s job to taste and adjust while you’re cooking. There is no wrong amount simply adjust to your taste.

Storage and Leftovers

Make-Ahead Tip: Can I make Southern Style Creamed Corn in advance? Yes, you can make it up to one day in advance. Reheat gently in a heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove top over medium heat or in the microwave on 50% power. Be careful, taking care that the cream base doesn’t separate.
Leftovers: Store Southern Style Creamed Corn in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Reheat in single servings in the microwave or in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
Freezer: You can freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat just before serving.

More Easy Corn Recipes to Make

This cheesy Hot Pepper Jack Corn Dip is perfection with fritos or tortilla chips for dipping.
Easy oven Roasted Corn on the Cob is a fantastic way to make sweet corn for a crowd on one fell swoop.
These Crispy Corn Fritters can be served as an appetizer or a side dish.
Corn Pudding Souffle is a holiday must-make.
Crock Pot Corn Casserole recipe using Jiffy corn muffin mix.
Roasted Sweet Corn Salsa is party ready.
These Loaded Corn Cakes are impossible to resist.
See How to Boil Corn on the Cob in a milk bath.
You may also enjoy this Pickled Corn and Peppers from Food Network.

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