Swedish corn pudding is a pillowy, savory side dish with a texture that reminds me a little of scrambled eggs – a staple of my family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner!
You could almost imagine that this dish is cheesy, although most of the dairy is cream and milk. The corn kernels provide the perfect little pockets of sweetness, and I encourage you to start with the highest quality fresh or frozen sweet corn you can. Here in Colorado, that means Olathe sweet corn – we buy a bunch in the fall and slice it off the cobs to freeze.
We’re the sort of people who eat the same meal every year for Thanksgiving and corn pudding is a life-long member of that roster. Making this recipe growing up was a sort of “by-feel” situation until I worked out how to actually quantify the ingredients. The other difference is that when we were growing up, we made this with canned creamed corn. Creaming corn yourself is the obviously superior flavor and texture combination, but to be honest – I can’t knock the canned version. There’s something just so nostalgic about it. If you opt to use canned cream corn vs making it, you’ll need 3-4 cans.
I always bake corn pudding in a round, 2 1/2 quart baking dish similar to a soufflé dish. It’s pretty and decorative, although not strictly necessary. You can achieve the same thing in a square or rectangular dish, as long as the volume is high enough. Just keep an eye on the baking time if you use a rectangular, less deep baking dish- it may not need the full hour and a half!
I was surprised and pleased to learn that this is a Swedish recipe. My guess would have been the American South, but it turns out my mom grew up eating this with her family. The one change I have made to the “Swede-ness” of this recipe is the addition of garlic- my mom insists this is incorrect but I think it’s a flavor match made in heaven!
Looking for other Swedish recipes? Check out my Swedish Rye Bread, Smörbakelser (Swedish Butter Cookies) (LINK), and Swedish Pancake recipes!
Swedish Corn Pudding
Equipment
- 2 1/2 quart round baking dish
Ingredients
For creamed corn:
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 7 cups fresh or frozen corn
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- salt + pepper to taste
For Corn Pudding:
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 20 golden round (Ritz) crackers
- 2 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
Make creamed corn:
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add corn, heavy cream, sugar and garlic powder. Stir and heat through.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup milk and flour.
- Pour flour and milk into the saucepan and stir to combine.
- Cook until thickened, 5 minutes or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Assemble Corn Pudding:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Pour creamed corn into a 2 1/12 quart casserole and let cool a little.
- Crack eggs into the corn mixture and stir thoroughly to combine.
- Add milk to casserole dish. Crush golden round crackers into dust and stir in.
- Cut butter into 5-6 smaller pats and arrange on top of the mixture.
- Bake for 90 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer jiggly in the center.
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