Cream Cheese Corn Casserole

4.78 from 18 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Side Dishes - Vegetables

Cuisine: American, Southwestern / Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Carol | From A Chef's Kitchen

Equipment

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.

Notes

*No need to drain.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

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.

TIP:

Breaking the cream cheese into smaller bits after adding it to the pan will help get it incorporated faster.

MAKE AHEAD:

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.

FREEZER-FRIENDLY:

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.

SLOW-COOKER INSTRUCTIONS:

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.

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