You can think of this corn casserole recipe as a cornbread lover’s hedonist fever dream. Variations on the popular savory side dish abound across Appalachia and the South, with names like Mississippi corn pudding, country pudding, hoppy glop, and more. Generally, they’re custardy, cornmeal-thickened dishes studded with sweet corn kernels and enriched with butter, eggs, and sour cream. This Mississippi-born version from chef Elle Simone Scott calls for adding cheddar cheese to the mixing bowl and topping the dish with crushed butter crackers before baking for a holiday-worthy recipe you won’t soon forget.
While many traditional recipes call for stirring Jiffy corn muffin mix into a few cans of whole kernel corn and creamed corn, Scott takes a more from-scratch approach. Seasoning the cornmeal with salt, pepper, and paprika adds just enough spice, while a cornucopia of dairy—melted butter, milk, heavy cream, sour cream, and cheddar—ensures the dish is appropriately rich and gooey. Along with fresh corn, you’ll fold in onion and celery for a well-rounded savory flavor and added textural interest. The finishing touch is a coating of crumbled Ritz crackers, which brown in the oven for a crunchy counterpart to the pudding-like casserole beneath.
Recipe information
Yield
12 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13" casserole dish with butter, making sure to get in all the corners and sides of the dish.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the melted butter, milk, heavy cream, and sour cream and whisk to incorporate.
Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, paprika, and baking soda.
Step 4
Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients, 1 cup at a time, into the dry ingredients until well combined.
Step 5
Fold in the onion, celery, corn, and cheese.
Step 6
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the cracker crumbs on top. Bake the pudding for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until lightly browned on top and the tip of a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make Ahead: Corn casserole can be baked up to three days ahead of time. Let cool and refrigerate. Reheat, covered, in a 350°F oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes, remove cover and bake another 5 minutes to re-crisp topping.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in ‘Tasty Pride’ and first appeared on Epicurious in June 2020. For more of our favorite Thanksgiving potluck recipes, head this way →
Leave a Review
Reviews (9)
Back to TopThis is a great recipe Mississippi Corn Pudding , had fun making it over the weekend. Recreated the meal that I get from <a href="https://www.flexpromeals.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">https://www.flexpromeals.com/</a> delivered. Good quality and fresh.
Vadim
9/30/2023
Just made this for a side on Thanksgiving. I made two changes, but I think the recipe is fine the way written. I had a bit of sweet red pepper that needed to be used so I added about 1/3 cup chopped pepper to the celery, which gave a nice look. I didn’t have any butter crackers like Ritz, so instead, I melted butter in a skillet and added panko, stirring until toasted. This worked well. Since there were only four of us, I split the mixture into two casseroles and froze one. I’m hoping it works to thaw and bake at a future meal. This pudding would be great alongside ham or a pork roast too.
Anonymous
Medford, OR
11/28/2020
I left out the sour cream and cheddar. Otherwise, followed exactly. Delicious!
amytaricco
Seattle, Washington
11/27/2020
Made this for Thanksgiving with the following adjustments: sautéed celery and onion until soft and added diced poblano pepper. Reduced sugar by about 1/3. Substituted chimayo chili and chipotle chili powder for paprika which added some nice heat.
marilynhb
Amherst, MA
11/26/2020
This is a keeper. Great for a crowd. However, be sure to make plenty, because we had 6 folks about polish the whole recipe off!!! I used frozen corn that I took off the cob this summer. Delicious!!
sweetiepetitti
Germantown, TN
10/19/2020
Yes, it looks like a crazy lot of ingredients, but this recipe is down-home comfort. Not only would I make it again, I have made it 3 times. I confess to adding lots more of both the onion and celery than called for. It's less of a pudding with the extra veggies, but I have no regrets. As a matter of personal preference, I also add a couple of roasted, seeded and skinned jalapeno peppers, minced, instead of the white pepper and paprika. Savory, barely sweet, slightly zippy. For a guest who doesn't like spicy, I used smoked paprika, although significantly more than the 1/8 tsp called for. And yes, it's yummy cold out of the fridge.
Anonymous
Atlanta, GA
9/12/2020
Tasty
Anonymous
2/23/2023
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