30 Best Ways To Use Canned Corn

Tariq the Corn Kid was definitely on to something when he said that it would be hard to imagine anything more beautiful than corn. While he was referring to corn on the cob, corn takes on many forms, and they're all pretty darn great. Plenty of us grew up with canned corn as a regular dinner staple, but it's not just the nostalgia — canned corn should always be in your pantry because its uses in the kitchen are near limitless.

At this point, you might feel like you've tried canned corn every which way, from cooking it in an air fryer to eating it in a sweet corn quiche. Still, considering the abundance of recipes that make use of this one ingredient, chances are that canned corn still has some uses that could surprise you, and there's no time like the present to reignite your corny love affair with this multi-purpose cupboard superstar.

Now that you've exhausted all the spices and ingredients you have in your cupboard, let's take it to the kingdom of France for a moment. Soufflé may have once been popular mostly among the aristocracy, but it's long since turned into something that anyone can make at home.

Cooking the perfect soufflé may be a little bit trickier than just opening a can and running with it, but, let's face it, life is all about setting and achieving goals that once seemed unattainable. Corn soufflé can be prepared to be savory or sweet, so this is a dish that's worth the time it takes to learn.

Corn fritters are a classic comfort food, and it's easy to see why — the doughy mix of canned corn and flour, eggs, and milk is fried until it creates a crispy exterior, making for a treat that's unforgettable. With built-in sweetness, they can be served with or without maple dipping sauce and powdered sugar.

While they can be a bit of a mess to make from scratch, don't despair. You can always try cooking canned corn air fritters in the air fryer to save time and cut down on oil consumption.

Succotash is a vegetable mix that tends to rely pretty heavily on sweet corn, so if you're a succotash-lover who has managed to avoid this trick, that's a feat in and of itself. Not only does the mix of multiple veggies and grains (corn is maybe a grain? The jury is out) make for a flavor explosion in itself.

This is an incredibly healthy and filling food, so if you've never tried succotash, get to your nearest grocery store ASAP and give it a shot. You'll find canned corn at the top of the shopping list.

Speaking of corn on a salad, that brings us to a whole new chapter in our canned corn experience. There are as many salads in the world as you can imagine and then some, and canned corn is a component that you'll find popping up in seemingly countless recipes. From a simple green salad to more complex fare, canned corn can go a long way in adding a little life to your greens.

The possibilities are endless, so we'll leave it to your imagination to fill in the blanks on which salad recipes would benefit from canned corn. Our bet is that the answer is "all of them."

We've got the chips, and now we need the dip. Fortunately, canned corn is here for us once again. While we've already covered the benefits of using canned corn in salsa, that is far from the only dip that could benefit from these golden kernels. For instance, adding corn to hummus can give the creamy mixture an added sweetness.

Similarly, adding canned corn to guacamole can greatly compliment the taste of the avocado. Canned corn is easy to add to most dip recipes without creating too much of a shake-up, so don't be afraid to experiment a little.

When autumn comes around, you won't be alone if you find yourself naturally thinking of warm soups as part of the spirit of the season. Not at all regulated to the season, there is nonetheless a specific charm to chowder that comes out in colder weather.

While many will be familiar with clam and seafood chowders, corn chowder can be easily made vegan or vegetarian, and has a wide-ranging appeal for people of any kind of diet due to its heavy-hitting, creamy texture and sweet and saucy flavor. If you haven't tried corn chowder yet, you're in for a treat.

Pudding is another one of those foods that seems to have infinite possible variations, and if you're willing to take a step into the pudding-verse, you're likely to find a fast favorite. In your journeys, be sure to give corn pudding a try. While it might not be the first pudding you think of, it's an underrated great.

There are different ways of preparing corn pudding, but try baking it in a casserole dish for an easy-to-make treat. Adding a bit of cinnamon or cardamom on top will make this an unforgettable dessert.

If you've never tried corn pie, this is your chance. This is a dish that changes drastically according to the region from which the specific recipe hails, so you could try anything from Caribbean-style corn pie to Pennsylvania Dutch corn pie. In fact, why not try them all?

One great method is to use canned cream corn as a base to mix with other ingredients like corn meal and eggs to create a pie filling, then to bake it in a traditional pie crust. Add sour cream, salsa, and pepper-jack cheese to the top, and you've got yourself the perfect corn pie.

Fried rice is another food that can easily work as either a side or entree, and can be made vegan or not, depending on what you're going for. Regardless of direction, canned corn is a major recurring ingredient for fried rice recipes. Whether your fried rice is tofu, seafood, or chicken-based, canned corn will help balance out the many flavors at play.

This is another food that is simple to learn and which creates endless mealtime possibilities. Whatever road you choose, consider adding some canned corn to the mix.

Few things pack the satisfying flavors of enchilada casserole. Casseroles have long been a dinner-time standby due to how easy they are to make as well as how versatile the recipes can be, with everything from tuna to tamales serving as an excellent main character for the dish.

Regardless of what kind of casserole you're making, canned corn can be an ideal add-in. Particularly with enchilada casserole, the sweet and spicy mix that corn brings has undeniable charm, so try adding some in on your next foray into casserole cooking.

You can buy canned cream corn right off the shelves, or you can easily make your own. Either way, baking it in a skillet will create an ideal dish, bursting with flavor and calling back to childhood memories of dinners gone by.

You can also pull out the crockpot for an easy cream corn recipe that will hit all of your comfort food buttons and then some. Butter and seasoning will help this meal be all that it can be, but consider adding fresh chives or parsley to the top for an extra kick.

There are a lot of different ways of making shepherd's pie, including a lot of vegan recipes, but the general basis is that you take ground meat or substitute it with some veggies added in and bake it into a flaky crust. Not only is this tasty, but it also makes for a very filling food, which is why it's long been a favorite of the working class.

However you make it, chances are, you're going to need some veggies to fill it out. Along with onions, peas, and carrots, canned corn can be the ideal addition to the perfect shepherd's pie.

Potato pancakes and latkes have some subtle differences in their recipes, but either recipe makes for a tasty treat. Lightly fried and full of that starchy goodness potatoes are known for, this is the kind of food that can fill you up fast.

Filling out your potato pancakes recipe with some other vegetables will only boost the health benefits, and ingredients like black beans, red peppers, and cilantro work great. For our money, putting some canned corn into the mix makes for a great flavor combination.

Chickpea wraps are a lunchtime favorite among many vegans due to how quick and easy they are to make as well as how satisfying they are to eat. That doesn't mean vegans get all the fun, this is a good treat for anyone looking to expand beyond the standard soup and salad a healthy but filling meal.

You can go in a lot of directions when it comes to making chickpea wraps, with elements like red pepper, onion, mustard, and lettuce all being great choices. But don't forget to try adding a little bit of canned corn to your recipe.

We already covered corn pudding, but that's just one of many ways that the sweetness of corn can lends itself to any number of desserts. Indeed, baking with corn can be a great way to get in touch with its true versatility.

Canned corn can easily make top-notch breakfast muffins, pastel de elote, cookies, and even ice cream. There are plenty of ways to turn canned corn into a sweet dessert, including leaning into the sweet rather than the savory with corn fritters by dusting them with powdered sugar rather than paprika.