This sweet corn pudding is truly the best ever: tender, creamy, corn custard with some bonus corn kernels for contrast and crunch.
The first time I ever had corn pudding it was life changing. Mike and I were on a leaf-peeping trip through the Great Smoky Mountains and we stopped at a BBQ joint in North Carolina for dinner one night. The place was Buxton Hall — sadly it’s now closed — and my life was forever changed. I had my first Cheerwine (1000 out of 10 would recommend) and my first corn pudding.
Buxton Hall corn pudding
This is the only corn pudding I’ve ever made so when I say it’s the best, you’ll have to take that with a grain of salt. That being said, it is the Buxton Hall corn pudding recipe, which I scoured the internet to find. Comparing Buxton Hall’s corn pudding to other corn pudding recipes, it looks like BH’s pudding is more of a custard whereas most internet corn puddings are Jiffy Box-based with creamed corn. This corn pudding is a simple combination of standard pantry and fridge ingredients. It’s so simple to whip up and I’ve made three batches and counting with my fresh corn.
What is corn pudding?
As a person who has never had corn pudding before, seeing the words “corn” and “pudding” together didn’t exactly conjure up joy. But, I love corn and I especially love side dishes. So of course, I had to have a side of corn pudding with our BBQ. It turned out to be my favorite part of the meal: creamy, sweet, with just a hint of savory, tender, and absolutely delicious. It was so good that I ordered an extra for dessert and a bonus to take home with us so I could have it for breakfast the next day.
Corn pudding is essentially a corn casserole, beloved in the South and often found on Thanksgiving tables. In my opinion, it’s a perfect side dish and compliments almost anything. Think of it like a softer, more delicate cousin of cornbread or the sturdier brother of creamed corn. Corn pudding is a tender, spoonable, corn custard, held together by eggs and just a touch of thickener. It holds its shape when you spoon it up, but just barely. It’s soft and smooshy and even people like Mike, who doesn’t like mushy textured foods, likes it. I just love it! I knew I wanted to make it at home, but I just never got around to it, until now.
How to make the easiest corn pudding
All you do is blend everything together – not too much, just until barely smooth – pour it into a casserole dish and bake. Let it cool slightly before digging in.
Corn pudding ingredients
No Jiffy Mix here, just whole, fresh ingredients:
- corn – of course you’ll need corn for your corn pudding. I used fresh corn because, well, fresh corn, but this will work with frozen or canned corn as well.
- eggs – eggs are the base of the corn custard and give the pudding some structure.
- heavy cream – heavy whipping cream adds a dreamy, smooth creaminess to the pudding
- buttermilk – just a bit of buttermilk adds tang and contrast. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, just substitute with a tiny bit more cream mixed with water and a touch of vinegar or lemon juice.
- sugar – you can leave this out if you don’t have a sweet tooth, or adjust it as needed. I’ve had it both ways, depending on how much extra sugar I’m willing to have. It’s good with and without but I’m going all out, I include it.
- butter – just a bit of butter because what is corn without butter?
- baking powder – a bit of baking powder is going to fluff everything up so it’s not dense or gloopy.
- cornstarch – see below
Cornstarch
The original recipe I found uses flour as the thickener, but I swapped it with cornstarch and found it just so much more silky. Plus, using corn starch for corn pudding just seems more fitting. You can use flour if you don’t have cornstarch but I couldn’t resist the elegance about using cornstarch in a corn pudding.
Corn season
Late summer is corn season. It’s when you start to see bushels of corn at the grocery store and if you’re lucky, the drive-thru corn huts on the side of the highway. I truly love corn in all and any preparations and feel so lucky that there are fields and fields of corn growing just a couple of hours away from home. Fresh corn season is truly the best, mostly because it’s the only time you can hit up the corn-drive-thru, which is exactly what we did on the way home from a camping trip.
The best corn is fresh picked
If you’re lucky enough to live near a corn farm, then you know that the best corn is right from the field, into your mouth. Fresh picked corn is just better: it’s sweeter, juicier, and more crisp. You can even eat it right off the cob, no cooking involved. Some farms even let you u-pick corn from the fields! We haven’t done that this year yet, but we have visited the drive-thru corn huts twice. We actually have a corn loyalty punch card, which are words I never thought I’d say in my life. Every year, when we drive into the interior, Mike and I spot the green and yellow corn huts on the highway, just hibernating until it’s their time to go to work. This is the first year we’ve done the corn drive-thru and it was everything I dreamed.
Corn drive-thru
It sounds like something out of a movie, but it’s real! You drive up to the corn hut and tell them how many ears of corn you want – either half a dozen or a full dozen. The full dozen comes with 13, so obviously you want to go with that. The corn is super fresh and fragrant and when you put it in your car and drive home, the smell of fresh corn will drive you insane in the best way possible. When the hut sells out, you’re out of luck because they only sell corn they’ve picked that day.
I am in love with corn pudding forever and ever. In fact, I’m going to go make some right now. Happy pudding-ing!
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn kernels fresh corn preferred, canned if needed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp corn starch or flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ºF. Combine all ingredients and blend until almost smooth.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish. Optionally top with more corn as desired.
- Bake until the top is golden brown and the center is set, about 45 min. Pudding is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy!
