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Corn casserole is a favorite holiday side dish. The creamy corn center is topped by a golden bread layer for a delicious, crunchy texture.
This corn casserole is a true Southern recipe. My good friend, Alyssa, was kind enough to share her grandmother’s special recipe, and it has been a family favorite ever since. The crispy golden bread layer gives way to a creamy corn center that is bursting with flavor and tantalizing textures. It’s an easy casserole dish to make ahead of time for a holiday meal, but is just as simple to throw together for a busy weeknight supper. Serve alongside roast turkey, slow cooker pork, beefy chili, or even simple chicken tenders.
Table of Contents
Ingredients in Corn Casserole
You may be surprised that we don’t use any sort of cornbread mix in this recipe! A lot of corn casseroles call for Jiffy cornbread mix or another boxed mix, but not this one. Here’s all you need for this easy corn casserole recipe:
- Creamed corn – a couple of 15 ounce cans of cream-style corn is perfect for one batch.
- Whole corn kernels – I use a can of drained whole corn, but you could use frozen or fresh corn off the cob if you’d like.
- Saltine crackers – Here’s where our recipe differs from so many others. Crush up some soda or saltine crackers for a delicious crunch. This version tastes less like cornbread and more like an actual corn casserole.
- Milk – use whatever you have on hand.
- Sugar – regular white, granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness to this recipe.
- Eggs – three whole eggs, slightly whisked.
- Flour – all-purpose flour acts as a thickener when mixed with butter.
- Butter – melted. You can also use bacon grease! See notes below.
Method to Making Corn Casserole
Basically, this is a ‘dump all the ingredients into one bowl’ recipe, which happens to be my favorite kind! Simply stir all the ingredients together, add to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, and bake for about 90 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top.
**TIP** For a more “bread-like” texture, just bake the dish longer. It will come out more like cornbread if you add another 15 minutes to the baking time. But if you’d rather a texture along the lines of corn pudding, pull out the dish at about an hour.
Corn Casserole vs Corn Pudding
You may be wondering, what is the difference between corn casserole and corn pudding? In a couple words: not much. Some may argue that corn casserole must be cornbread based, but as long as it has a bready texture, it qualifies. Same with corn pudding. Corn pudding may be slightly less done than corn casserole, making it more “pudding-like” in texture, but it uses the same ingredients. This will vary from family to family and region to region. It really depends on where your recipe is from. But honestly, the biggest difference between the two is simply the name.
Tasty Variations
This recipe is delicious as-is, but if you are wanting to put a spin on it, try adding some (or all) of these ingredients:
- Crumbled bacon (also use some of the bacon grease instead of the melted butter, YUM)
- Chopped jalapeño (the kind in the can, the texture is better than using fresh)
- Add diced onion to the mixture before baking
- Diced green chiles
- Mix in shredded cheddar cheese
- Add a dollop of sour cream to the top of each serving
- Add diced green onions as a garnish
Frequently Asked Questions about Corn Casserole
It could be the moisture from the corn kernels. Make sure to drain the canned corn or thaw frozen corn entirely before adding to the batter.
Yes! After baking, cool completely, then store in an airtight container that’s also freezer safe. You can keep it in the freezer for up to three months. Make sure to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the oven.
Keep leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can reheat the entire pan in the oven, or place individual servings on a plate and microwave.
More Tasty Corn Side Dishes
Who doesn’t love sweet, crunchy corn as a side dish? It goes well with just about anything! Here are some of our favorite ways to prepare corn for dinner:
How to Make Corn Casserole
Corn Casserole
Video
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well.
- Pour mixture into a greased 9×13 glass baking dish.
- Bake for 1 – 1 ½ hours or until cooked through and golden brown on top.
- Cool and serve on individual plates.
Notes
Recipe Tips:
- If you like it more bready, bake longer. It will become more like a cornbread. If you like it more like a corn pudding, bake for less time.
- To freeze, store in an airtight container that’s also freezer-safe. You can keep it in the freezer for up to three months. Make sure to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the oven.
- Mix it up by adding different ingredients to the mix like crumbled bacon, jalapeño, onion, green chiles, shredded cheese, or sour cream.
Love it! 😊
Can I just use 2 cans of corn (one of each) and if so, does the rest of the recipe need to be adjusted? Or is it solely to my discretion? Thank you!
We haven’t tried tweaking the amounts of corn in this recipe, so I can’t say for sure. Let us know how it turns out if you do try it!
Where are the “notes above “?
Just a note in the Tasty Variations section that says you can add bacon to this recipe and use the bacon grease instead of butter!
This looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
It had been years since I thought about corn casserole, I was happy to see this recipe! It was just as tasty as I remember it being!
I like this recipe but am looking for the similar corn recipe, but made with a box of corn bread?
Try this one! https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/cake-y-cornbread/