Cream Cheese Corn Casserole
This easy, decadent cheesy corn casserole is soon to become your family’s new favorite side dish! Cream Cheese Corn Casserole with Green Chiles is delicious served up right out of the skillet or made ahead and baked up hot and bubbling later. Read on for a secret tip that will make any corn casserole better! The perfect side dish for Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs!
“This is such a great corn recipe, and it’s gluten-free too! Creamy and delicious!”
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
Corn casseroles are a favorite with my personal chef clients. I’ve been making this Corn Casserole with Cream Cheese and Green Chiles for a number of years and it always gets rave reviews. The delicate tanginess of cream cheese pairs perfectly with the sweetness of sweet corn!
- With green chiles added, it’s a great side dish for Southwestern and Mexican-inspired meals. A nice change from beans and rice!
- Can be made with frozen thawed corn kernels for ultimate ease or with fresh corn kernels when fresh corn is in season.
- Can be served up straight out of the skillet or refrigerated then baked up hot and bubbling later.
Let’s make this creamy, cheesy corn casserole!
How to Make Cream Cheese Corn Casserole:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this corn casserole with cream cheese recipe, along with how to prep. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Scallions: I like scallions in this recipe because of their delicate onion flavor and because they cook quickly in the butter. You can use onion if you prefer, but you may need to add oil to keep the onion and butter from burning because onion takes longer to soften.
- Milk or Half-and-Half: You can use either; whole milk is preferable to anything lower fat, such as 2%, 1% or skim.
- Corn Kernels: Use frozen thawed corn kernels for ease or fresh corn kernels when fresh corn is in season.
- Mexican Blend Cheese: I used Mexican blend cheese because it melts nicely. You can also use Monterey Jack or Pepperjack cheese.
- Cream Cheese: You can use full-fat cream cheese or reduced-fat Neufchatel.
- Green Chiles: Use hot or mild canned green or Hatch chiles. If you have your own roasted Hatch green chiles, by all means, use them. I used my own, and they really pack a punch to this cream cheese corn casserole recipe. Leave them out completely if you don’t care for anything hot.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1 to 1 1/2-quart baking dish or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Here’s my secret tip (more information in the Chef Tips and Tricks section): Place the milk or half-and-half in a blender or container that will allow you to puree some of the corn with an immersion (hand) blender. Add 1 cup of the corn kernels to the milk or half-and-half and puree until smooth. (It won’t get completely smooth because of the nature of corn.) Set aside.
- Heat the butter in a skillet or saute pan over medium heat.
- Add the scallions, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until softened.
- Add the pureed corn combination and the remaining corn kernels to the skillet, stir and bring to a simmer.
- Add the cream cheese and green chiles. Cook over medium-low heat until the cream cheese is incorporated.
- Add additional milk or half-and-half if you like it looser and creamier.
- Stir in half the shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- MAKE AHEAD: Can be made 1 to 2 days ahead of time to this point. cover and refrigerate. Let sit out at room temperature while the oven preheats. You may need to add additional baking time.
- Bake the cheesy corn casserole for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbling.
Creamy, cheesy, decadent, delicious, spicy! Cream Cheese Corn Casserole with Green Chiles!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- One thing that always bothered me about cheesy corn casseroles was that the corn flavor wasn’t throughout the creamy base; it was just corn combined with cream cheese. To solve this, I puree some corn kernels into the milk or half-and-half to bump up the corn flavor throughout the casserole.
- Breaking the cream cheese into smaller bits after adding it to the pan will help incorporate it faster.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Sure can! Cook the scallions in the butter then transfer them to the slow cooker. To the slow cooker, add the pureed corn, corn, cream cheese broken into small bits, green chiles and some salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Add half of the shredded Mexican blend cheese; stir until the cheese is completely melted and the corn is creamy. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Stir in more milk or half-and-half if the sauce is too thick. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately or set the slow cooker to warm and serve from the slow cooker.
Absolutely! It can be made 1 to 2 days ahead of time to the point of baking. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Let sit out at room temperature while the oven preheats. You may need to add additional baking time because the dish will still be fairly cold.
Yes! Freezing a corn casserole is best done with fresh corn but because the corn in this corn casserole recipe gets heated through in the cooking process, it will be okay to refreeze. Cool the casserole down completely then wrap it securely. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator then bake at 350 degrees until heated through to 165 degrees in the center.
Serve with:
- Boneless Short Rib Recipe (Mississippi-Style)
- Chorizo Brown Rice Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- Southwestern Beef and Barley Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Chicken and Spanish Rice Stuffed Peppers
- Chicken Tostadas with Black Bean Guacamole and Salsa Fresca
- Nashville Style Hot Fried Chicken
- Seared Sea Scallops
- Grilled Shrimp
Get all my great vegetable side dish recipes at: Vegetable Side Dish Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen
More great corn recipes you’ll love!
- Zucchini Corn Casserole
- Zucchini Corn Fritters with Basil Buttermilk Sauce
- Seared Scallops with Smoky Sweet Corn Puree
- Southwestern Summer Squash Corn and Poblano Casserole
Cream Cheese Corn Casserole
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Ingredients
- Butter or nonstick cooking spray - for baking dish
- 2/3 cup whole milk or half-and-half - or as needed
- 2 bags (12-ounce) frozen corn kernels - thawed under warm running tap water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 bunch scallions - white and light green part only, chopped
- 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese - softened to room temperature
- 1 can (5.25-ounce) diced green chiles* - or 1/4 cup roasted, seeded and chopped Hatch green chiles
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend - divided
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1 to 1 1/2-quart baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the milk or half-and-half in a blender or container that will allow you to puree some of the corn with an immersion (hand) blender.
- Place 1 cup of the corn kernels in the milk or half-and-half and puree until almost smooth. Set aside.
- Heat the butter in a nonskillet or saute pan over medium heat.
- Add the scallions, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1-2 minutes or until softened.
- Add the pureed corn combination and the remaining corn kernels to the skillet, stir and bring to a simmer.
- Add the cream cheese and green chiles to the skillet. (Breaking the cream cheese into smaller bits will help get it incorporated faster.)
- Cook over medium-low heat until the cream cheese is incorporated. Add additional milk or half-and-half if you like it looser and creamier.
- Stir in half the shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Transfer to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbling.
Recipe Notes
- You can use onion in place of scallion if you prefer, but you may need to add oil to keep the onion and butter from burning because onion will take longer to soften.
- Use Monterey Jack or Pepperjack in place of the shredded Mexican blend cheese.
- Breaking the cream cheese into smaller bits after adding it to the pan will help get it incorporated faster.
- Can be made 1-2 days ahead of time to the point of baking. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Let sit out at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake as directed. You may need to add additional baking time because the dish will still be fairly cold.
- Freezing a corn casserole is best done with fresh corn but because the corn in this corn casserole recipe gets heated through in the cooking process, it will be okay to refreeze. Cool the casserole down completely then wrap it securely. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator then bake at 350 degrees until heated through to 165 degrees in the center.
- Cook the scallions in the butter then transfer them to the slow cooker. To the slow cooker, add the pureed corn, corn, cream cheese broken into small bits, green chiles and some salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Add half of the shredded Mexican blend cheese; stir until the cheese is completely melted and the corn is creamy. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Stir in more milk or half-and-half if the sauce is too thick. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately or set the slow cooker to warm and serve from the slow cooker.
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Can I use fresh corn cut off the cob?
Hi, William, Thanks so much for your question! Yes, I wish you would! Fresh corn would be perfect. I do mention that in the Ingredient Notes. Thanks so much and hope you enjoy!
This is such a great corn recipe and it’s gluten-free too! Creamy and delicious!
Hi, Juenessa, Thanks so much and happy you love this recipe! Appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate.
This is delicious and easy! Went great with spicy chicken 😋
Hi, Mary, Thanks so very much and so happy you enjoyed!!