This cheesy sweet corn spoon bread is like if souffle and gluten-free cornbread had a baby. It's naturally gluten-free and works well as a vegetarian main dish or holiday side dish.
Spoon bread, where have you been all my life?
All those times when I wanted a quiche but was too lazy to make a crust, I could have had you. All those brunches with gluten-intolerant company when I laboriously stirred polenta for hours, I could have baked you in the oven. All those summers when I wanted to gussy up corn kernels into a substantial, one-dish meal, I could have suspended them in your cheesy batter.
Indeed, spoon bread is pretty much the answer to everything. Too much sweet corn? Spoon bread. Got a problem with dry cornbread? Spoon bread. Vegetarian, gluten-intolerant guests? Breakfast, lunch or dinner? Spoon bread.
Yes, but what is spoon bread? you may ask. Spoonbread is magic. It's like a cheese souffle meets cornbread meets quiche. Fresh from the oven, you can scoop out servings with a spoon. When cooled, it settles into sliceable wedges.
Spoonbread can be sweet or savory. It can be enjoyed with honey and berries for breakfast or dessert, or (in this case) packed with chives, chiles and cheddar cheese for a savory brunch or supper. This version is adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by the mama of vegetarian cooking, Molly Katzen. Every recipe in there is a gem. If you are a hippy, foodie, vegetarian, or lover of cookbooks, you should own this book. Though the base recipe is flawless, I added chives and minced jalapeño for kicks, and increased the cheese a bit, because even with 3 cups of sharp cheddar, this spoonbread still manages to taste light, in a rich sort of way, if that makes any sense. The original recipe says that the egg yolks are optional, which is convenient for avid custard makers who might have extra whites lying around after making, say, a batch of mint chip ice cream.
Spoon bread is quick and easy to throw together. Heat the milk, add it to the cornmeal, stir in the flavorings and egg yolks, whip the whites and fold them in, pour the whole thing into a hot skillet and bake. The spoon bread puffs into a sturdier and less snooty souffle of sorts, with a craggy top and crispy edges. Corn kernels burst in your mouth, tasting like sweet sunshine.
I hope you fall for spoon bread the way we have. Just don't try to physically spoon it; that would be messy.
More Corn Recipes:
- Corn and Scallion Griddle Cakes
- Sweet Corn and Roasted Poblano Chowder
- Creamy Thai Zucchini and Corn Soup
- Sweet Corn Grits with Berries and Honey
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this spoonbread recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Sweet Corn Cheddar Spoon Bread
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3 large ears of corn, shucked (or about 3 cups frozen corn kernels)
- 2 cups milk
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) yellow cornmeal (medium grind)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 bunch chives, snipped into 1/4" bits
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar, grated, 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling on top (about 3 cups packed)
- ½ - 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
- 6 large eggs, separated (see note)
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Prepare things
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400ºF.
Prep the corn
- If using fresh corn, stand an ear of corn in a wide, shallow bowl, and use a sharp knife to cut off the kernels. Reverse your knife and scrape the juices from cob into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining cobs and set aside. (Skip this step is using frozen corn.)
Make the batter
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan over a medium flame until it comes to a rolling simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning on the bottom or boiling over. Place the cornmeal and salt in a large bowl. When the milk is near boiling, gradually whisk it into the cornmeal (which will thicken and clump and become difficult to whisk, so you may need to switch to a spoon). Stir in the corn kernels, then the chives, 2 ½ cups of the cheese, the jalapeño, and (optional)egg yolks.
- Place the butter in a 10" oven-proof skillet (see note) and place in the oven to melt. When melted, brush the butter up the sides of the pan.
- In a spanking clean, dry bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Quickly stir one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten it, then quickly but gently fold the rest of the whipped whites into the batter until no white streaks remain.
Bake
- Scrape the batter into the hot, buttered pan, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of cheese, and place in the oven. Bake at 400ºF for 35-45 minutes, until the spoon bread is puffed, deeply golden, and set when you give it a wiggle.
- Serve immediately with a spoon, or let it settle a bit for cleaner slices.
Storage and make-ahead
- The spoon bread keeps beautifully, refrigerated, for up to a few days. Feel free to make it a day or two ahead to ease day-of prep. Reheat the baked spoon bread in a 350ºF oven until heated through, 20-30 minutes, before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Surly Scott says
Looks great! I'll give it a try.
Alanna says
Thanks!
Anonymous says
Thank you so much for all your wonderful beautiful recipes! I too am a recovering? Pasty maker and cake decorator. I am having so much fun cooking for my family members, either raw, GF, natural or Vegan. Your recipes are really so great for us 'foodies". I enjoy 'creating" er, "copying" yours with my little tweaks. I have pinned so many of them. Thanks so much. I will pin photos of the ones I make on my boards. My name is Patricia Cummins, also Angellsvi.
I don't know if you are still active, but I am posting anyway.
Alanna says
Hi Patricia! Thank you so much for the sweet note! This completely makes my day! Congratulations on your recovery. :) I would love to see your photos of recipes of mine that you've made, but I'm not finding them on Pinterest. Please give me the link? Or feel free to post them on my Bojon Gourmet facebook page. Thanks for reading and trying my recipes!
E says
Can this be made and then frozen for a meal in the future? Usually I don't freeze cooked dairy but I can't remember the rule exactly. I am thinking I might make this up until the point of baking it and freeze it instead to be cooked day of (Thanksgiving). What do you think?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hm that's a great question! I'm concerned that the whipped egg whites would deflate if it isn't baked right away. I wonder if baking it and freezing the whole thing might be a better bet? Then you could defrost it in the fridge the day before, then pop the whole thing in the oven the day of until it's heated through.
I know what you're saying about freezing dishes with dairy in them (like custard-type things). In this case, I don't think the texture would get weird. Please let me know what you try!
Jill Surdzial says
Sadly, fresh corn season has passed by. Could I use canned or frozen corn, and if so, how much is equivalent to 3 ears of fresh?
I love your recipes and am always inspired to try them.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh great question! The internet says that a medium corn cob yields about 3/4 cup of kernels. So you would want to add about 2 1/4 cups of kernels here, which is equivalent to about 10 ounces of frozen kernels. I'll update the recipe with these notes.
Please let me know if you make it!
Jill Surdzial says
I made it today with Bob’s cornmeal and a bag of frozen corn. It set beautifully and I was able to cut it into wedges. I thought it would have a more creamy texture, but it was on the dry side. We had some hatch chili sauce, so we dolloped that on and it was very tasty. I baked it for 40 mins in a steel skillet and it was firm and browned. Did I bake it a touch too long? Should I have let the cornmeal absorb more of the milk before baking-it never seemed to get thick. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Jill,
Thanks very much for the feedback! I'm so glad you liked this recipe, but I'm sorry to hear that it turned out dry. Assuming you used Bob's medium grind cornmeal?
When I developed this recipe, I think I used Arrowhead Mills cornmeal, which had a different consistency than Bob's. But that cornmeal sadly no longer exists, so I need to retest this recipe with Bob's! I'm guessing that might be the problem.
In any case, I think you could use a little less cornmeal or a little more milk next time to make it more moist. Please let me know if you make it again and I can update the recipe!
Happy baking,
Alanna
Rosanna says
This looks delicious! I’m thinking of making it for Thanksgiving this year to switch things up. Does the grind of the cornmeal matter?…fine, medium or course? Also, do you happen to know the weight of cornmeal in grams?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Rosanna,
Great questions! I updated the recipe with a weight measurement. I was just about to recommend my favorite cornmeal, Arrowhead Mills, but I see that it's been discontinued and I'm SO SAD. I spent this year perfecting my gluten-free cornbread using that cornmeal. They didn't say what grind it was, but I would guess somewhere between fine and medium. So I would go with one of those for this spoon bread too. Please let me know which brand of cornmeal you use if you make it and I can add it to the recipe notes!
xo,
A
Rosanna says
Hi Alanna,
I made the spoon bread for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! I used Bob’s Red Mill medium grind, but ground it until fine, which is what I do with my cornbread, and the texture was perfect. I also made the chocolate cranberry pecan tart from your book and it was amazing! Thank you so much!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Ah brilliant! That's really helpful to know that Bob's medium grind can be ground more finely. I need to try that in my cornbread too. So glad you liked this spoon bread! And that cranberry chocolate pecan tart is a favorite of mine around the holidays as well. :)
xo,
A