You will probably go back a third helping of this Thanksgiving Corn. Fresh corn is sliced off the cob and cooked with bell peppers and seasoned with cream cheese, paprika, and chili powder.
The satisfying crisp texture of the corn and bell peppers is the perfect contrast to the mashed potatoes it will sit beside on your plate on Thanksgiving. The bold flavors in this Thanksgiving corn recipe make this a memorable side dish you will make again and again.
The corn has just enough smoked paprika and chili powder to add flavor, but not spice to this side dish. You can add more of these spices if you want to give the side dish a kick of heat.
The cream cheese and half and half make this corn really creamy - it's basically a more gourmet version of creamed corn. If you want to shave off some calories, you could use reduced fat cream cheese and fat free half and half.
Although I must say that this corn is so wonderful that it is certainly worth every single calorie.
Believe it or not, this recipe is a much healthier version of another recipe that involved frying the corn in the fat from 8 slices of bacon. Sure, bacon tends to make everything better, but I think it would overpower the taste of the corn.
Before we jump to the recipe, here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes to help you round out your menu.
Thanksgiving Corn Recipes:
This Creamy Parmesan Lime Corn with Shishito Peppers combines corn in a creamy parmesan lime sauce with smokey spicy blistered shishito peppers.
Comeback Sauce Corn gets its zesty flavor from the addition of Mississippi comeback sauce!
Thanksgiving Side Dishes:
I love these Brown Butter, Roasted Garlic, and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. They are creamy, cheesy, and rich, and they taste great on their own or covered in gravy!
This recipe makes the lightest and fluffiest Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
These Dill Cottage Cheese Rolls are worth the extra effort they require and they are a perfect base for a post-Thanksgiving sandwich.
And you can't have Thanksgiving without gravy - here are my easy instructions showing how to make gravy from pan drippings.
Or check out my complete Thanksgiving Guide! This guide is packed with recipes for appetizers, cocktails, turkey, side dishes, and desserts!
The Most Delicious Thanksgiving Corn Recipe:
Ingredients
- 7 ears of Corn
- 1 small Red Bell Pepper
- 1 small Green Bell Pepper
- ¼ cup of Water
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- ½ cup Half and Half
- 2 tablespoons Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan
Instructions
- Shuck the corn, rinse it, and slice the corn off the cob. Finely dice the bell peppers.
- Heat the water and butter in a pot. Once it starts steaming, add the corn and the bell peppers. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the Parmesan), and stir to combine. Once the cream cheese has melted, pour into a casserole dish.
- Top with the Parmesan and bake for 375 degrees for 15 minutes. You can prepare this recipe up to this point a day or two ahead of time and then bake it just prior to serving.
Cori
Sunday 17th of November 2024
Could you make this without the flour? Any adjustments or substitutions you would make? Thinking of making this but have a few people who are gluten free. Don't wanna sacrifice the quality of the recipe though and would rather reserve it for non-GF peeps if the flour really makes a difference. Thanks in advance! Looking forward to trying this recipe!
Kit
Monday 18th of November 2024
Hi Cori, The flour thickens and binds together the cream cheese, half and half, and spices into a sauce. I think that you could mix one tablespoon of cornstarch into the half and half, instead of using flour. I haven't tried it, but I think it should work.
Cheryl
Saturday 25th of November 2023
This is the most delicious corn recipe! I made this for Thanksgiving and friends and family loved it! I can’t wait to make it for Christmas! Thanks for sharing this recipe! YUMMY!!!!
Diane
Thursday 23rd of November 2023
Made this recipe for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it! It will become a regular addition to future Thanksgivings. I used 5 cups of frozen corn instead of fresh. Tasted fine. I also didn't have any smoked paprika but used smoked chipotle chili powder instead and it was fine.
Mitch
Wednesday 22nd of November 2023
Could you make this in a crockpot?
Kit
Wednesday 22nd of November 2023
I don't recommend preparing the full recipe in a crockpot. You could prepare it in a skillet following the first 3 steps, and then pour into a crockpot to keep warm instead of baking. I hope that helps!
Karrie
Tuesday 21st of November 2023
I love this dish. I have been making it for several years. I just have a few people coming this year and wanted to trim down the overall meal a bit with fewer sides. I was thinking about adding zucchini to the corn dish this year. Have you added anything like that?
Karrie
Tuesday 21st of November 2023
@Kit, Awesome! I was thinking about the added liquid from the zucchini, as well. I am conflicted though because it is so delicious, as is, I don't want to compromise that. Oh the pressure. Ha ha ha
Kit
Tuesday 21st of November 2023
Hello! I absolutely love hearing that this dish is part of your Thanksgiving tradition. Adding zucchini sounds delicious. I haven't tested this, but here is how I would do it. I could start by sautéing chopped zucchini, and then I would add corn. Zucchini has a lot of moisture, so I think you can omit adding water to the pan (add a little water if it seems necessary). Otherwise, I think you could follow the instructions as is. If you try it, please report back. Happy Thanksgiving!