creamy corn pasta
using fresh or frozen corn!!
Using corn in a pasta sauce was first introduced to me in the summer of 2016 when I was living in New York and got a gig food styling for Melissa Clark’s New York Times Cooking column. I fell hard for corn pasta, and wrote my own iteration of a creamy corn pasta for my first cookbook, Just Married.
A few days ago, my mom — who visited from North Carolina this week — and I swung by a local farm stand, and she said how jealous she is that our corn is already delicious, lamenting that she hasn’t had luck finding good fresh corn yet in Winston-Salem. We grabbed a bunch to make my creamy corn pasta for dinner, and when I took a bite and remembered how amazing it is — and how easy it is — I knew I had to share an even quicker version of it here on What To Cook.
I’ll share how to use either fresh or frozen corn in this recipe, because sometimes it’s not quite corn season yet, and sometimes it’s the height of corn season, but you just don’t feel like cooking (AKA, you don’t have the time to cut kernels off of a bunch of corn cobs!). Seriously, don’t feel guilty for using frozen corn in the summertime, it’s still absolutely delicious!
This pasta makes for a fast, filling, and delicious vegetarian dinner. It’s also perfect for summer hosting. I once cooked it for 30 people on a friend trip in Sonoma — half of them had accidentally eaten a lot of weed chocolate that afternoon, so needless to say, I achieved absolute hero status when I emerged from the kitchen with massive bowls of corn pasta for everyone. When I double or triple this pasta for a big crowd, I always use frozen corn — so much easier.
To stretch the meal, grill some chicken (here’s a recipe to follow if needed!), add any simple side salad from this list (I recommend the summer salad, which I actually made last night for a last-day-of-school party!), bake a loaf of crusty bread, and voilá! I also love the idea of marinating shrimp in pesto, skewering them, grilling them (1 to 2 minutes per side, medium-high heat!), and serving a skewer with each bowl of pasta.
If corn *is* in season where you live (or, as soon as it is!), you must make the sheet-pan summer corn pizza. If corn + pasta is your new favorite equation, make my one-pot sausage and corn pasta next. And for another quickie summer pasta that’s outrageously delicious (especially for how easy it is), go for tiny tomato pasta!
Serves 4 to 6
Cook time: 35-40 minutes
Tools:
Coffee mug or glass measuring cup
Large sauté pan or skillet
Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 pound farfalle, orecchiette, rigatoni gigante, cheese tortellini (!!) or another small-ish noodle
1 large shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 large ears corn, husked, kernels removed (about 2 3/4 cups [315 g] kernels) OR 2 (16 ounce) bags frozen corn (ideally white corn)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more as needed
1/2 cup water (not the reserved pasta water)
2 lemons
Kosher salt
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 bunch fresh basil
link to printer version
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook 1 pound farfalle until al dente per package instructions. Use a coffee mug or glass measuring cup to scoop up and reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water (!!! I’m bolding this so you don’t forget it!!! When you forget it anyway, see the notes section below!) and drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, make the corn pasta sauce! Dice 1 large shallot and mince 2 garlic cloves. Cut the kernels off of 6 ears of corn. To do this without kernels flying everywhere, lay your corn flat horizontally on the cutting board rather than putting a skinny tip on the cutting board!
In a large sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter. Add the shallot, garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shallot is translucent. Add the corn kernels and 1/2 cup water (just tap water! not the pasta cooking water) and cook over medium-high for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender.
If you’re working with frozen corn, dump 2 (16-ounce) bags of frozen corn right into the skillet along with the water — no need to thaw or prep them in any way. Might just take another minute or two to cook.
Transfer the corn mixture to a blender and add 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Blend on high speed until smooth. Add a little of the reserved pasta water, as needed, to make it pourable and smooth. Taste. This sauce should be absolutely delicious. If it is a little flat, it needs lemon juice and/or salt. If it is a little bland, your corn might not have been perfectly sweet and delicious. Add a tiny bit of sugar to bring it to life.
Pull the leaves off of 1/2 bunch fresh basil and thinly slice them (see notes for a tip!).
Add the cooked pasta back to the pot you cooked it in, then pour in the corn sauce and a big handful of sliced basil. Toss to combine, adding additional splashes of the reserved pasta water if the sauce seems too thick. Add additional lemon juice, kosher salt, or red pepper flakes if needed until it tastes delicious.
Transfer the pasta to bowls. Garnish with more basil, Parm, and red pepper flakes.
If your Parm isn’t pre-grated: Grate it in the blender before adding the corn! Cut off the rind and break the block of Parm into pieces. Blend until finely grated. Transfer all but 2/3 cup of the Parm to a container and refrigerate for later use.
Remind me how to mince garlic? Use the side of your knife blade to smash the cloves as flat as possible by placing the flat part of the blade over the clove, then your fist to smash it down into the clove, then use the blade to mince, AKA very finely chop, them up.
Why do I have to use a small noodle? I only have spaghetti! Spaghetti will be great, I just really like this pasta with a small noodle shape!
Cooking school: When you thinly slice basil, it’s called a chiffonade. To do so easily, stack the leaves together, roll the stack up tightly, then cut into very thin slices.
I forgot to save the pasta water womp womp: Mix 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1 cup of water. Use this as your pasta water.
Riff: Smoky corn pasta! Char the corn on the grill (or over the open flame of a gas stovetop) before removing the kernels to add a smoky depth to the pasta. You could also add a little smoked paprika in with the corn while blending (do this is you’re using frozen corn!). If you go the charred corn route, adjust your cook time accordingly — the corn won’t need as much time on the stove, since it’ll already be cooked.
Feeding kids: My kids LOVE this pasta. I call it “sugar pasta” because the corn makes it delectably sweet lol. If your kids hate all things green, just top your individual serving bowls with the basil rather than stirring it in! You can also omit the red pepper flakes if they’re super sensitive to spice. If you’re worried your kids might not love it, reserve some pasta on the side that isn’t tossed in the sauce and add whatever sauce they like to it. Grab an extra ear of corn and serve them pasta and corn separately instead of together!
Prep ahead/love your leftovers: This pasta is delish stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When you reheat, add splashes of water to loosen things up.
Gluten-free: Swap in your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Dairy-free: Just use DF butter and omit the Parm — it’s still absolutely delicious without it. Seriously: bookmark this one if you ever need to cook for someone who’s dairy-free!
Must have meat: Grilled chicken, shrimp, pork tenderloin, or salmon would be lovely with this pasta! See the “summer feast loading” note above the recipe for a specific idea.
Farfalle: The corn pasta sauce is SO GOOD WITH CHEESE TORTELLINI! I like another small-shaped pasta like penne, rotini, orecchiette, fusilli with this, but a long pasta like spaghetti would be great, too. Or you could use cooked gnocchi or a gluten-free noodle. Or fresh pasta cooked for just a few minutes — until they float!
Unsalted butter: Salted butter, but cut back on kosher salt a bit. Or DF butter. If you’re in a bind, use a neutral tasting oil instead.
Shallot: 1/2 yellow onion, 1/4 red onion, or the white parts of 2 to 3 scallions (thinly sliced)
Garlic: 1 teaspoon garlic powder — add it to the skillet when you add the shallot. Or 4 cubes frozen crushed garlic.
Red pepper flakes: Black pepper or a tiny bit of cayenne
Corn: Like I said, either fresh or frozen work! If corn isn’t your thing, go for another recipe I listed in the headnotes.
Lemon: White wine vinegar or another light-colored vinegar
Parm: Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, a vegan Parm, mascarpone, cream cheese, or just omit the cheese
Basil: Fresh flat leaf parsley or chives. I’ve also made it without any green herbs before and it was still delicious!
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Editor: Molly Ramsey
My kids are picky as hell. They won’t even eat buttered noodles. Sometimes they’ll let peanut butter toast pass their lips (no crust though, obviously)
But then… I saw this recipe and felt an unwarranted burst of confidence. Hey, no biggie if they throw this on the floor, we have a dog! And I’ll eat the leftovers.
THEY ATE IT. My almost 4 year old said “this is so so yummy!” and my 2 year old was taking fistfuls out of my bowl??
I could have wept. I feel like I could bench press a truck. If you’re a tired parent teetering on the edge and have the 5pm dinner scaries, make this recipe.
There is a restaurant in Portland that has a seasonal corn and blueberry pasta, it’s so good! I’m just saying, you are probably not going to be mad if you add blueberries.