Our best canned corn recipes will make you wallet friendly meals that are delicious and affordable. While we’ll always use fresh cobs of corn for these corn recipes when we can source them, tinned corn kernels are excellent in their absence. Canned course is rich in antioxidants and a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C, potassium, and iron.
As our collections of our best canned beans recipes and best tinned tomato recipes for thrifty meals proved so popular with you all, we thought we’d share a collection of our best canned corn recipes for even more wallet friendly meals for those of you feeling the pinch right now.
Like canned tomatoes and canned beans, cans of corn are a pantry essential as far as we’re concerned. In fact, we usually have a few tins of corn in our kitchen cupboard for emergencies, stacked alongside the cans of butter beans and lentils, and various kinds of tinned tomatoes, coconut milk and coconut cream.
If you don’t find cooking inspiration in this collection, then do browse our recipe archives, which is brimming with 15 years of recipes we’ve collected from around the world, from places we’ve lived, travelled and loved. Or peruse our compilation of the most popular recipes of May, which are the recipes our readers searched for, spent time on, and hopefully cooked.
Now before I tell you more about our best canned corn recipes, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting our work by supporting our epic Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon; by buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; booking a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or by buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, or gifts for Asian food lovers and picnic lovers. We may earn a small commission but you won’t pay any extra. Now let me tell you all about our best canned corn recipes.
Best Canned Corn Recipes for Budget Friendly Meals that are Delicious and Affordable
Our best canned corn recipes include everything from a grilled corn salad recipe with lime, chilli, and lemongrass mayonnaise to a corn chowder recipe for a creamy potato corn chowder with Parmigiano Reggiano, scallions and croutons.
Grilled Corn Salad Recipe With Lime, Chilli, Lemongrass Mayo and Sourdough Croutons
A fantastic salad for spring picnics and summer barbecues, which can also serve as a meal on its own, this grilled corn salad recipe with lime, chilli, lemongrass mayonnaise, and sourdough croutons is one of our favourite corn salads.
I originally created the salad to use up grilled corn on the cob leftovers from weekend barbecues but then I realised that it tastes just as delicious when it’s made with canned corn kernels instead of fresh grilled corn, making it one of our best canned corn recipes.
When I first made this Terence also happened to have a crunchy end of near-stale sourdough bread as, avid sourdough baker that he is, he’s pulling homemade sourdough boules out of the oven every few days (if you’re new to sourdough baking, see his easy sourdough beginner’s guide).
Naturally, I asked him to make some sourdough croutons and crunchy toasted sourdough crumbs, which gave this fragrant grilled corn salad fantastic texture.
Grilled Corn Salad Recipe With Lime, Chilli, Lemongrass Mayo and Sourdough Croutons
Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe with Potatoes, Parmesan and Croutons
Our corn chowder recipe makes a creamy potato corn chowder with Parmigiano Reggiano, scallions and croutons and it’s another one of our best canned corn recipes as it can be made with canned corn kernels or fresh corn.
The chowder is ever so lightly spiced with a little curry powder, turmeric and paprika to add warmth. A rind of Parmigiano Reggiano melts in the chowder adding a kick of umami, while crunchy homemade croutons add texture.
A deliciously dense creamy corn soup, traditionally made with milk or cream, I prefer potato to thicken the soup, which is imbued with spices and herbs. In the USA it was sprinkled or served with crackers or biscuits in the early days, although I opt for crunchy homemade croutons instead.
My corn chowder recipe is both dairy-free and vegetarian, which means I’ve skipped another key ingredient of old fashioned corn chowders, and that’s pork, which in modern day chowders generally takes the form of crispy fried strips of bacon sprinkled on top. You can certainly add bacon if you wish.
Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe with Potatoes, Parmesan, Croutons and a Potted Chowder History
Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe for a Taste of Mexico at Home
This Mexican grilled corn salad recipe can be made from scratch using either fresh corn or canned corn. It’s a terrific salad for corn lovers and is fantastic for summer barbecues and picnics, making it another one of our best canned corn recipes.
I don’t know about you, but we can’t always get ancho chilli powder here in Cambodia, which is why we say “and/or” dried chilli flakes in the recipe. We have to use dried chilli flakes most of the time, which we adore anyway. I can sprinkle chilli flakes on everything.
If you can’t get Mexico’s cotija cheese or Mexican crema (which we also can’t get here), use a white cheese or crumbly feta cheese (or a combination of both) and sour cream, cream or creamy mayonnaise (or a combination of all!).
Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe for a Taste of Mexico at Home
Mexican Corn Salsa Recipe for a Corn Pico de Gallo
This easy Mexican corn salsa recipe make a kind of corn pico de gallo – diced cucumbers, tomatoes, shallots, jalapeños, corn, and coriander, combined with a zingy dressing of vinegar, lime juice and olive oil.
The corn salsa makes for a fantastic topping for Mexican tacos or tostadas or a delicious dip or side to a Tex-Mex burrito or chilli con carne, and it’s another of our best canned corn recipes.
Our recipe came about rather serendipitously. Terence was refining his fantastic grilled chicken tacos recipe and we couldn’t decide whether to make a corn salsa or pico de gallo to go with the tacos, so we thought: why not combine them?!
This Mexican corn salsa recipe makes a delicious combination of the two and it’s so good! It’s also super easy to make, coming together in 15 minutes, plus it’s versatile. You could add diced avocado or pineapple or kidney beans, red capsicum or whatever you like.
Mexican Corn Salsa Recipe for a Corn Pico de Gallo for Taco Toppings, Dip and Sides
Mexican Street Corn in a Cup Recipe for Esquites or Elote en Vaso
Our Mexican street corn in a cup recipe for Mexico’s esquites or elote en vaso, which means ‘corn in a cup’, makes a Mexican street food snack or antojitos meaning ‘little cravings’, that we became addicted to on our first trip to Mexico many years ago.
Esquites or elote en vaso consists of steaming hot corn kernels with Mexican crema, cotija cheese, lime juice, and ancho chilli powder that’s sold in a takeaway cup. It comes with a spoon and you stir it all up and the first time you try it on the streets of Mexico City or Merida or Oaxaca, like a slap to the face – or a whack to a piñata – you realise what’s been missing in your life.
It’s quick to come together, too, particularly if you made our Mexican street corn on the cob recipe and have some corn cobs leftover, but you can easily make this dish with canned corn kernels, making it another of our best canned corn recipes.
Like most Mexican food, it’s absolutely delicious. If you’re planning to serve it as part of a Mexican feast, you might also like our recipes for authentic guacamole, an easy red tomato salsa, tortilla soup, tacos al pastor, grilled corn salad, chili con carne, nachos, quesadillas, and classic margaritas and micheladas.
Mexican Street Corn in a Cup Recipe – How to Make Esquites or Elote en Vaso
Best Breakfast Burrito Recipe with Scrambled Eggs
Our best breakfast burrito recipe makes a burrito with scrambled eggs, shredded chicken, melted cheese, charred corn, and pico de gallo. While that might seem like a loaded breakfast burrito, it’s actually a light healthy breakfast burrito compared to most takeout breakfast burritos, which is why you need to make your own breakfast burritos at home.
We were far more familiar with authentic Mexican food and Mexican tacos, having travelled widely across Mexico before we went to the USA and discovered burritos and breakfast burritos in Austin, Texas, on the global grand tour that launched Grantourismo in 2010.
However, once we tried our first breakfast burrito, we were hooked. We don’t make them nearly enough, as we much prefer a more authentic Mexican style breakfast taco or Mexican-American breakfast taco, made with soft tortillas. But when we do travel more north of the border and make Tex-Mex, it’s fun to make breakfast burritos.
Best Breakfast Burrito Recipe with Scrambled Eggs, Shredded Chicken, Cheese and Pico de Gallo
This Thai Corn Fritters Recipe for Tod Man Khao Pod
Our Thai corn fritters recipe makes tod man khao pod in Thai – crunchy, chewy corn fritters that we gently spice with a little chilli paste, and it’s another of our best canned corn recipes. While we usually make these fritters with fresh grilled corn they also work with tinned corn.
Eaten as a snack in Thailand and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, you could serve these Thai corn fritters as finger food or as an appetiser. They’re fantastic dipped into Thai sweet chilli sauce. They’re also delicious between burger buns; scroll down for that recipe.
If you made a batch of our homemade sweet chilli sauce, then you need to make these delightfully crunchy, chewy corn fritters, seasoned with a little chilli paste, which are perfect for dipping into that sweet chilli sauce. Bonus: these also happen to be vegan corn fritters.
This Thai Corn Fritters Recipe for Tod Man Khao Pod is Made for Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Thai Corn Salad Recipe for a Filling Summer Lunch or a Perfect Side for Thai Style Fried Chicken
Our easy Thai corn salad recipe makes a fantastic filling salad that is the perfect light summer lunch or an ideal side for dinner when paired with spicy Thai fried chicken.
Our recipe makes a simple tossed salad that’s based on a popular Bangkok som tam style salad that’s traditionally pounded in a mortar and pestle at a street food stall. While we do love a good som tam, for us this salad works best as a tossed salad.
Like all great salads, it requires fantastic fresh ingredients, so do try to get hold of fresh corn on the cob if you can. If you can’t – if corn is not in season in your neck of the woods – canned corn kernels do the trick, making this making another of our best canned corn recipes. Canned beans and tinned carrots will not.
Thai Corn Salad Recipe for a Filling Summer Lunch or a Perfect Side for Thai Style Fried Chicken
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
This corn fritter breakfast burger recipe is easily another of our best canned corn recipes. After making a final version of Terence’s delicious Thai corn fritters, above, we had a few leftover fritters – ok, a lot of extra fritters! – we also had burger buns from recipe testing, and a fresh jar of homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce, and, so his corn fritter and fried egg breakfast burger was born.
This corn fritter breakfast burger recipe with fried egg and Thai sweet chilli sauce makes an incredibly delicious vegetarian breakfast burger that’s packed with flavour and crunch. With a Southeast Asian twist on the classic breakfast burger, it’s so good you won’t miss the burger patty and bacon, and the grease that comes with it, one bit.
If you made our Thai corn fritters recipe and you have a batch of our homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce in the fridge, then you’re all set to go.
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding Recipe for Che Bap
This easy Vietnamese sweet corn pudding recipe makes che bap in the Hoi An style of Central Vietnam. Che bap is the Southern Vietnam sweet corn pudding, while che ngo is the Northern Vietnam sweet corn pudding.
This recipe makes the Central Vietnam sweet corn pudding called che bap or more correctly, chè bắp. We lived in the ancient port town of Hoi An’s atmospheric historic centre before we moved to Cambodia’s Siem Reap and might have still been living there if it wasn’t for a visa error.
Our recipe makes the chè bắp that we used to eat in Hoi An as a late afternoon treat, perched on the lovely chè seller’s tiny wooden stools on the sunny square by the river. Chè is a style of Vietnamese dessert that can be like a pudding, a porridge, even a soup.
Some chè sellers offer a dozen or more sweets, while some, like our chè bắp vendor in Hoi An, specialise in just a few. While it’s wonderful with fresh corn kernels scraped off the cobs, it can also be made with tinned corn, making it another of our best canned corn recipes.
Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding Recipe for Che Bap in the Hoi An Style of Central Vietnam
Please do let us know in the Comments below if you make any of our best canned corn recipes as we’d love to know how they turn out for you.
