It’s almost Thanksgiving, and you’re thinking about what dish to bring to the family dinner. Sadly, you first remember a messy kitchen, cranky kids, and feeling tired and cranky yourself after you finished making a complicated side dish to take to Thanksgiving dinner. 

Two square baking dishes of baked corn pudding sitting on a wooden cutting board.

You don’t want a repeat of last year, so you’re searching the internet for an easy side dish to make. Look no further! This corn pudding will become a family favorite for holiday meals. It’s a staple of my family’s holiday meals. And it’s so good that even kids enjoy it! This corn pudding recipe is so easy to make that you’ll definitely make it more than once a year.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Corn Pudding Recipe

  • It’s made with simple ingredients you usually have on hand.
  • Easy enough for kids to help make it.
  • This corn pudding recipe is one of those easy sides to make any time of year.
  • Corn pudding is a delicious side dish that’s great warm or at room temperature.
  • You can make it ahead and reheat it or let it come to room temperature.
Top-down view of ingredients for a corn pudding recipe on a wooden surface: a bowl of beaten eggs, a bowl of melted butter, a bowl of milk, and corn kernels surrounded by small bowls of flour, sugar, and salt.

Key Ingredients to Make Homemade Corn Pudding Recipe

  • Large eggsUsing eggs of a different size will change the texture of the corn casserole.
  • Whole milk enhances the texture and flavor because it has more fat than other milk, like 2% milk, for example.
  • Canned sweet cornAny brand will do.
  • Unsalted butterIf you have only salted butter on hand, just leave the salt called for out of the corn pudding recipe.
  • All-purpose flour—If you use bread flour, the corn pudding will be too dense because bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour. If you use whole wheat flour, the finished corn pudding will taste different and be more dense because it also has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour.
  • Granulated sugar adds a little sweetness to the dish.

Our Latest Video: Simple Corn Pudding Recipe

How to Make Corn Pudding

A glass bowl with flour, sugar, and melted butter sits on a wooden surface, ready for making a corn pudding recipe. A whisk is placed inside the bowl. Two empty small bowls and a decorative tile are nearby, setting the perfect stage for culinary creativity.

1.Melt butter and add it to a large mixing bowl. Also add the flour, sugar, and salt and whisk to combine the ingredients.

A glass bowl on a wooden surface holds a mixture of butter, sugar, and three raw eggs ready to be whisked into a corn pudding. Nearby, is a small empty blue bowl.

2. Crack the eggs and add them to the butter, flour, sugar mixture.

A glass bowl with a mixture of ingredients to make a corn pudding recipe sits on a wooden surface. Surrounding it are a measuring cup with milk, a whisk in a blue bowl, and a brown bowl filled with corn kernels.

3. Whisk in the eggs until the ingredients are combined.

A glass bowl with corn pudding ingredients rests on a wooden surface, next to a whisk in a small green bowl to the left and a small brown bowl filled with corn kernels to the right.

4. Add the milk and stir to combine.

A bowl of corn pudding mixture with visible corn kernels sits on a wooden surface. Beside it, a whisk sits in an empty green bowl. A smaller pink bowl with extra corn kernels is also on the surface.

5. Add the corn and stir gently.

A white oval dish filled with corn pudding mixture, sits on a wooden surface. Next to it is a clear bowl with a whisk, containing remnants of corn pudding mixture.

6. Pour the corn pudding ingredients into a buttered baking dish and bake in a preheated 325 F oven for about 45 minutes.

Holiday Foods Are Often New Foods

Including corn pudding. I also wish I offered it throughout the year so it wouldn’t be a new food each year to my kids. So many holiday foods are new foods for children.

I know at my house, they see corn pudding, stuffing, roasted turkey, and cranberry sauce only once per year. These tips for picky eaters can be helpful for navigating the holidays.

For more cautious eaters and picky eaters, we shouldn’t expect them to eat food they’ve seen for the first time or haven’t seen in 364 days. Then, we add on the pressure and excitement of the day! Honestly, I don’t see why we think our kids will eat anything on Thanksgiving! 

Expert Tips From a Registered Dietitian

  • Always include one item you know your picky eater will eat. This helps them know they can “make do” and will reduce their and your stress.
  • Another of our tips for picky eaters to help increase acceptance of new foods is to make the corn pudding (and other holiday foods) at other times of the year.
  • Involving kids in the kitchen also helps with food acceptance. My daughter was so happy to crack the eggs and mix the ingredients. She was proud of serving it to her siblings and, of course, had to try her masterpiece. Cooking with kids can feel overwhelming, so we have some simple tips for cooking with kids for you.
Preschooler cracking an egg into a mixer bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions About Corn Pudding

Can I use creamed corn instead of sweet corn in this corn pudding recipe?

Honestly, I haven’t tested the recipe with creamed corn. But I think it will work as long as you decrease the amount of milk to 1 1/4 cups.

Can I use frozen corn instead of canned in this easy corn pudding recipe?

Yes, just thaw the corn before adding it to the egg mixture.

Can I freeze corn pudding?

Yes. After baking it, allow it to cool completely. Cover it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and then either reheat it in the oven or allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

How do I reheat corn pudding? 

​Remove the plastic wrap from under the aluminum foil and then reheat it in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes. 

Can I make this corn pudding recipe with fresh sweet corn?

Yes. It will work just as well as with canned corn. If you want to take advantage of freezing fresh corn off the cob during the summer, you might like to watch our video on how to freeze fresh corn.

Preschooler helping making corn pudding.

Kentucky Corn Pudding

When I was a child, each summer, we would load up the wood-paneled station wagon and head west. We drove from Raleigh, North Carolina to Moreland, Kentucky where my mother’s aunt lived. She lived on a big farm and I remember climbing the willow trees and playing in the corn fields.

On many of these annual trips, we visited Shakertown, a historical site, and an interactive museum. We always ate at the Shakertown restaurant, where we enjoyed the farm fresh foods and recipes of the Kentucky Shakers, who once lived on the site.

One year, we went to Kentucky for Thanksgiving and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at Shakertown. No matter when we went, we always enjoyed corn pudding. 

Corn Pudding is an Easy Thanksgiving Side

Since then, my family has included corn pudding in our Thanksgiving tradition. This is an extremely easy recipe for corn pudding that can be enjoyed at any time of year.

Each year, when we make this simple corn pudding recipe at Thanksgiving, I wonder why we don’t make it more often. It can be made with ingredients we usually have on hand, milk, eggs, butter, flour, and canned corn. The recipe simply requires mixing and putting it in the oven.  

I’ll say it again: I plan to cook corn pudding more over the next year. It’s warm, nourishing, easy, and yummy. 

Baked corn pudding in a round pottery dish with fluted edges.

Easy Recipe for Corn Pudding

Easy Recipe for Corn Pudding
Anna Lutz
An easy recipe for corn pudding that makes a simple holiday or weeknight side dish.
Adapted from Shakertown Cookbook,
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course side
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven 325 F degrees.
  • Butter a deep dish pie pan.
  • Whisk together flour, salt, melted butter, and sugar.
  • Add eggs, and beat well. 
  • Stir in the drained corn and milk.
  • Pour into a buttered casserole dish – a deep dish pie pan works well. 
  • Stir once halfway through baking.
  • Bake 45-60 minutes.
  • Remove from oven when a knife comes out clean, and the corn pudding is golden brown on top.

Notes

  • Place the pie dish or casserole dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Next, pour the corn pudding mixture into the pie dish. The baking sheet under the pie dish will catch any spills as you slide the corn pudding into the oven. 
  • ​You can test for doneness by gently moving the baking sheet. If the pudding doesn’t jiggle and is golden brown, it’s ready to come out of the oven.
  • If you double or triple the recipe for a crowd, cooking time will increase. 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Baked corn pudding in a round pottery dish with fluted edges.

More recipes and tips for the holidays

Two females standing at a kitchen counter making a salad.

We’re Elizabeth & Anna!

It’s great to have you here. We’re registered dietitians and we share tips to support you in raising kids with a healthy relationship with food.

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