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New-Fashioned Corn Pudding

Name: New-Fashioned Corn Pudding
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: Makes 1 1/2 quart casserole
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan; 1 large white or yellow onion, finely diced; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the onions; 2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced; 1 teaspoon ground mustard; 1 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 3 large eggs; 1 teaspoon hot sauce; 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 cobs); 3/4 cup grated sharp-as-possible cheddar; 6 tablespoons cornmeal; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

by: Emma Laperruque

August 3, 2018

29 Ratings

Photo by Ty Mecham

Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 1 hour
Makes 1 1/2 quart casserole

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Author Notes

Southern corn pudding gets a lil' sassier. We lose the sugar and gain a lot in return. Instead of just cream or milk, sharp-as-heck cheddar and buttermilk join the party. Meanwhile, onion and garlic add oomph, and mustard and hot sauce cut through all the richness. Make no mistake—corn is still star here. It just has some new (and improved!) backup singers. —Emma Laperruque

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: A Creamy, Cheesy Casserole That Treats Fresh Corn Right —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

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New-Fashioned Corn Pudding

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 large white or yellow onion, finely diced
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the onions
2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 cup heavy cream
¹/₂ cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 cobs)
³/₄ cup grated sharp-as-possible cheddar
6 tablespoons cornmeal
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons baking powder

Directions

Set a medium skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When it’s melted, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Turn off the heat. Add the garlic and mustard, and stir. Let cool while you tend to the rest of the recipe.
Heat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9x9 inch baking dish (or other 1 1/2 quart–sized baking dish).
Combine the cream, buttermilk, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and hot sauce in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Combine the corn kernels, cheddar, cornmeal, and baking powder in another, larger bowl. Stir with a spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Add the cooled onion mixture and stir. Add the liquid mixture and stir. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
Bake for about 45 minutes until the casserole has puffed up, is deeply browned along the edges, and browning on top. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

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Janet Martin
Regine
Cecile
Emma Laperruque

Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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29 Reviews

Katie H. December 3, 2021

This is good - but it is heavy. I prefer a lighter corn pudding, maybe even closer to a spoon bread? This just had so much cheese and dairy. NOW - my family loved it, but I felt like it was MUCH. Made exactly as advised.

Janet M. August 21, 2021

So good! I like using the 9x9" pan as it made the casserole thick enough to slice into nice portions. After reading the reviews, I did use 2 T of butter, buttered the pan generously, and used 1 c of Cabot seriously sharp home-grated cheddar, using 1/4 c as topping. It was between 5 and 6 oz of cheese or about 2/4 of a supermarket package of grated cheese. The only real change I made was to add a 4 oz can of drained green chilies--would have used fresh had I had any. I would not ever reduce the onion amount--my onion was just over 6 oz.

Mika August 8, 2021

Delicious but EVEN BETTER next day, refried in a little butter, with maple syrup and a little extra cheese on top. ::chef’s kiss::

Nibbles November 28, 2019

Son made this tonight(added a little more hot sauce as per his audience). It was delicious!

Emma L. December 4, 2019

Yahoo! I'm always down for more hot sauce.

tia November 2, 2019

Has anyone made this ahead and reheated? I'm thinking it would be really nice for Thanksgiving but I only have one oven.

MacGuffin November 9, 2020

Look for a vintage Nesco Roast-Air on eBay, either a 12- or 18-quart. Roast your turkey in it and keep your oven available for other stuff.

Mil July 17, 2019

Made this today and the amazing aroma coming outta my oven told me this was going to taste amazing and it does. I want to share it with the whole world so nobody misses out. Thank U!!

Emma L. July 18, 2019

So glad to hear that—happy corn season!

Heather November 22, 2023

Emma, do you have recommendations for pre baking and rewarding. I am tripling recipe for big crowd. Worried a little about the reheat causing dairy to fall apart.

Marie F. September 5, 2018

I brought this to a dinner party, and the whole thing was gone in a very short time! Delicious!!! Everyone loved it. I am going to take it again for a dinner next week.

Emma L. September 6, 2018

Yay!

Paula M. August 20, 2018

Just made this dish Saturday night for a dinner club and it was the hit of the dinner. I made it as per the recipe and paired it with grilled salmon and a salad. Perfect summer side dish.

Emma L. August 20, 2018

Thanks, Paula! That sounds like such a perfect summer menu.

Nancy August 14, 2018

Do I dare make this with whole milk instead of cream? Will it 'gel' or just be soggy/soupy?

Emma L. August 15, 2018

Hi Nancy! I wouldn’t...but I’m pretty risk-averse :) Half-and-half would be a safer bet. If you give either a try, let me know how it goes!

Nancy August 23, 2018

I ended up replacing half the cream with whole milk. It turned out just fine. I would not hesitate to substitute whole milk for all the cream next time.

Emma L. August 23, 2018

Thanks for reporting back, Nancy! So glad to hear it turned out well.

Regine August 11, 2018

I too could not really tell there was cheese in mine although I used an extra sharp (white) cheddar but I think that is the point so that the buttery flavor of the corn can shine. But I could see myself maybe doubling the cheese next time and leave some of it to sprinkle on top.

Cecile August 11, 2018

This was absolutely delicious! I also needed a bit more butter when sautéing the onion. I let them cook until a touch brown. I couldn’t taste the cheese unless I had the crusty part on the sides. But that’s probably due to my brand of cheddar. All the other flavors were well balanced. The fresh corn gave it a nice crunch with a touch of sweetness. Definitely rivals my mil southern style corn pudding. I see a cook-off in the future!

Emma L. August 12, 2018

Hi Cecile! Thanks for reporting back and so glad you enjoyed. The cheese flavor is subtle—I wanted to give the corn a chance to shine—but you can certainly increase the quantity if you want a cheesier flavor.

Regine August 10, 2018

Correction to my email. Read this one please. This is very delicious. I loved it. But I was a bit lazy so instead of using fresh corn, I used Trader's Joe frozen fire roasted corn. I also ended up using a 9x13 pyrex so I took it out of the oven after 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes as per the instructions. Also, a whole large onion for this recipe may be too much for some but for me it was good because I love the flavor. Mine ended up being a bit charred because the 1 tbsp. butter was probably not enough. I am saying this because if you don't want your onion to be a bit charred, I would suggest you add more butter (maybe 1 additional tbsp).

Emma L. August 10, 2018

Thanks for reporting back, Regine! So glad to hear that adapting to frozen corn worked. And I love onions, too :)

Regine August 10, 2018

This is very delicious. I loved it. But I was a bit lazy so instead of using fresh corn, I used Trader's Joe frozen fire roasted corn. I also ended up using a 9x13 pyrex so it took it out of the over after 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes as per the instructions. Also, a whole large onion for this recipe may be too much for some but for me it was good because I love the flavor. Also, mine ended up being a bit charred because the 1 tbsp. butter was probably not enough. I am saying this because if you don't want your onion to be a bit charred, I would suggest you add more butter (maybe 1 additional tbsp.

Beth100 August 8, 2018

This has all of my bases covered – no sugar, butter milk/cream combination for balanced richness and tang, a judicious amount of aggressively sharp cheese and fresh corn front and center. Can’t wait to try this.

Regine August 8, 2018

Mine is in oven now. But I used regular salt instead of kosher salt. My mistake. It will then be a bit saltier. I will let you know how I like it (independent of my salty mistake o:)).

Marti B. August 8, 2018

A lot of ingredients. I have a simple one that always get raves from friends

Annabanana August 11, 2018

Please share your “simple” recipe; this one looks great but I know l’ll never make it with all of those ingredients.