Slow cooker creamed corn is the perfect side dish for the Thanksgiving table! Made with sweet tender kernels of corn, in a velvety smooth parmesan cream sauce. It comes together in a slow cooker, and you can customize it however you like!

I’m just going to do it.

I’m jumping right in with the Thanksgiving sides this week, starting with a classic that graces so many people’s Thanksgiving table — creamed corn. My slow cooker creamed corn makes it super easy to toss everything into the slow cooker and let it all just hang out and simmer until the flavors come together and the cream cheese sauce thickens right up.

I’m super finicky about creamed corn. I mean, as the name implies, you need some variety of ‘cream’ and ‘corn,’ but a lot of times, I’ve noticed when people make a stove-top version of the recipe, they often start with a roux, consisting of butter and flour. And though that may work for some, it’s not my thing. For me, a few cubes of cream cheese, a guzzle of heavy cream, and a generous sprinkling of parmesan thicken up the creamed corn sauce naturally without having that gritty texture that sometimes comes from making a butter and flour roux. It also makes it a heck of a lot easier to reheat leftovers or to freeze them! The flour-based sauce often changes once it cools in the fridge/freezer.

For me, corn is the center of all comfort food. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was born in the corn state. I’ll always use it in my chicken pot pie soup and chicken corn soup, sometimes I’ll throw it into my tater tot hot dish, essential for zucchini corn chowder, and it’s the star of my Mexican corn dip.

But one thing is for sure, good slow cooker creamed corn is the actual epitome of comfort food, and if made properly, I could eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon! Also, I use garlic in my creamed corn recipe?

Am I a rebel or what?

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE SLOW COOKER CREAMED CORN?

• butter
• sweet onions
• whole kernel corn
• heavy cream
• sugar
• seasonings
• bay leaf
• cream cheese
• grated parm

HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER CREAMED CORN:

1. Start by heating the butter in a skillet. Once it melts, add the onions and sauté them with a pinch of salt until translucent.
2. Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray, so it’s easy to clean up. Then, transfer the onions into the pot of a slow cooker. Add all the remaining ingredients, other than the grated Parmesan to the slow cooker, and place it on low heat for 4 hours or the high heat setting for 2 hours. You’ll want to stop by and stir it every hour or so to keep things smooth.
3. Once it’s done, add the parmesan and give it a good stir; you’ll also want to fish out the bay leaf before serving and adjust with salt as needed.

DO I HAVE TO SAUTE THE ONIONS?

I prefer to saute the onions as it sweetens them up a bit and doesn’t make them as harsh! Also, it’s essential to use sweet onions (or Vidalia onions) for this recipe as they aren’t as harsh as yellow or white onions. The good thing is that you can easily saute the onions a day ahead of time and store them covered in the refrigerator if you’d like to make the prep work easier for when you make creamed corn.

CAN I USE FROZEN CORN INSTEAD OF CANNED TO MAKE THIS SLOW COOKER CREAMED CORN?

Yes, frozen corn would work. You just want to be sure to defrost and drain the corn, so you don’t end up diluting the sauce with the additional water! Same with the canned corn, make sure to drain the cans before adding the corn to the slow cooker.

CAN I MAKE SLOW COOKER CREAMED CORN IN ADVANCE?

Yes, You can easily make this slow cooker creamed corn in advance, allow it to cool to room temperature, and then store it in the refrigerator. I would allow the creamed corn to come to room temperature for about 1 hour and then pop it back in the slow cooker on the warm setting for 1-2 hours before serving. All in all, you need to get the process started on reheating about 3 hours from serving time.

I hope you’ll give my simple slow cooker creamed corn a try! I’ve played around with this recipe tons, so it’s easily customizable. Sometimes I’ll add in a chopped jalapeño for a little heat. Sometimes, I’ll add a bit more sugar. Other times I’ll omit the salt and season it with ranch seasoning instead. So many ways to play around with this recipe!

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