Straight out of the South comes your next favorite comfort food – sweet, salty, and oh-so-creamy!
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If you ever grew up in the South (like I have), especially in small towns in rural counties (like I have), you’ve had your share of Southern comfort food.
Southern comfort is a broad term when it comes to classifying certain dishes, probably because what’s “comforting” changes from person to person. Everyone’s memories of the South, of a simpler time, of their grandma’s recipes are different and that generates some disagreement within the community regarding whose recipes are “most Southern” or “most comforting”. The one thing everyone can agree on, though: Southern comfort food feels like home.
Whether it’s Low and Slow Cooked Brisket, sinfully delicious Deviled Eggs, or the famous family flavors in your Southern-Style Potato Salad, everybody knows that for good food to qualify as a Southern comfort staple, it’s got to remind you of home. So, when I think back on my family and what reminds me of home, I can’t help but smell sweet corn in the air.
I know I’m not the only person whose grandma would whip up a batch of scrumptious corn pudding for every cook-out and family get-together! That creamy casserole dish filled to brimming with baked pudding, luscious lumps of absolutely DEVOUR-able corn! Just thinking about it is sending me back to those backyard barbeques with the whole family! Why don’t you join me on a nostalgic trip into a Southern classic with our take on grandma’s corn pudding?
Is Corn Pudding Healthy?
Most Southern comfort food is typically considered to be unhealthy, and corn pudding straddles the line between good for you and good only for your soul. Corn, the main feature in corn pudding, is low-calorie, low-fat and features vitamin C and fiber; though, that low-calorie, low-fat trait gets nullified by the inclusion of butter and whole milk. Corn is also naturally gluten-free but, with added all-purpose flour, that doesn’t matter much in a finished corn pudding.
The important thing to remember when making corn pudding is that many of the ingredients supplement another one’s nutritional shortcomings. For instance, corn is high in fiber but low in protein, while eggs are high in protein but low in fiber. All together, your corn pudding is putting it all out on the table for you and your family!
If you wanted to make your corn pudding vegan, it would take some substitution. I recommend using a vegan egg substitute, vegetable oil-based margarine, and unsweetened soy milk; though it may result in some textural differences in your finished pudding.
Soul food – What’s so comforting?
Southern comfort food always seems to hit the spot and leave you nostalgic for home. While many attribute Southern comfort food to soul food, it’s important to note that not all Southern comfort comes from the soulful South. That is, all soul food is Southern comfort but not the other way around! Defining the two can be difficult at times but, truly, there’s a really clear line between them.
Comfort food is generally used to describe foods that are carb-heavy and fat-heavy as these two traits tickle the reward-centers of our brains and bring us a literal feeling of comfort! Many of the food dishes bred from the American South, corn pudding included, happen to be heavy in carbs and in fat – hence the term Southern comfort.
Soul food is differentiated by the cultural history of a divided South. During times of slavery (and later segregation), the food that was provided to African American ancestors was being used in interpretations of living recipes from homelands. With the spices and means available to them at the time, these early Southern comfort engineers created a wholly different kind of cuisine – food that nourished the soul in such desperation.
Soul food, now, has been lumped into the comfort food category with recipes that overlap and sometimes even lose track of their essential origins. That said, it’s important to recognize when what you’re eating is comforting because of its effect on your brain versus when it’s comforting because it reminds someone of a home they could not return to.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 can (15.25 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can (14.75 ounces) cream-style corn
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat
Prepare oven and baking dish.
Mix
Combine eggs, butter, sugar, and milk.
Combine
Add dry ingredients, then fold in corn.
Bake
Pour into dish, bake until set and golden.
Devour!
FAQs & Tips
Corn pudding is a delicious dish that only gets better the more its flavors get to marry each other with proximity and time! Once completed and ready to store, refrigerate your pudding in its baking dish with a saran or aluminum cover and keep for up to 4 days. After about 24 hours, your corn pudding will taste even better as all of the flavors have gotten a chance to set and meld with each other!
It’s often said the only difference between corn casserole and corn pudding is the consistency, but soupy, runny corn pudding can be displeasing to serve. Try adding corn starch or a little more flour to the mix to bring it up to the right texture; however, if you’re done cooking, you might want to let your corn pudding sit overnight to settle (like a lasagna or casserole!)
Technically, it’s a Southern comfort food! The origins of corn pudding place it at the center of a union between Native American trading crops and old English pudding recipes brought over by colonists.
Serving Suggestions
No Southern banquet is complete without corn pudding! Serve yours up next to your favorite comfort foods like Keto Fried Chicken, Brisket Chili, and Cauliflower Skillets! If you’re serving up this pudding on your dinner table, why not pair it with soulful classics like Chicken and Waffles or an Oven-Roasted Brisket?
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 can 15.25 ounces whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can 14.75 ounces cream-style corn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 2-quart baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, and sugar until well combined.
- Add milk to the egg mixture and stir. In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
- Fold in both the drained whole kernel corn and the cream-style corn until the mixture is well combined.
- Pour the corn mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow the corn pudding to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy as a warm, comforting side dish.
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
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