This smoky Pepper Jack Creamed Corn is an easy appetizer recipe that balances spices with the tenderness of sweet corn for a restaurant-style dish that is sure to impress.
This Pepper Jack Creamed Corn recipe is inspired by a really memorable dining experience my husband and I had in Charleston, South Carolina.
My husband is a big steak-lover, and he wanted to visit the best steakhouse in South Carolina, Halls Chophouse! If you know anything about this steakhouse, you can imagine how difficult it is to get a table or even a seat at the bar without reservations.
Of course, on this night, we didn’t have reservations or even call ahead to see if they had space at the bar (not sure what we were thinking…). We showed up and after my husband spoke with the owner and shared his love for steak, and how we were celebrating the official launch of my cookbook, they actually ended up giving us the best seat in the house!
And while it was definitely a fun way to get into such a highly esteemed steakhouse, we had still been waiting a long time and I was hungry! In fact, after we sat down, I told my husband this better be the best meal of our lives because all that wait time was insane.
Now, not to tempt you, but the Halls Chophouse menu is really impressive. Just one look and you’ll see how many truly amazing dishes they have. However, the one that really struck me was their Pepper Jack Creamed Corn Skillet.
It was so good that I ate the whole thing! Considering that every dish they serve there is family-style, you can only imagine how much I ate of it. The dish was creamy and spicy with a smoky kick to balance out the fresh sweet corn.
If there was ever a time to play The Corn Song, it would be now.
I recreated this delicious dish with a super simple, beginner-friendly recipe because sometimes you want restaurant-style food without having to get dolled up and leave the house.
The best part is you probably have a lot of these ingredients in your home already! I used a blend of fresh and canned corn for this recipe, but you can use whatever is easiest for you.
A tip to make this even better is to roast your corn before assembling everything. I just slightly cook the corn in a skillet with a little bit of butter to get that skillet-style flavor that you might get at a restaurant!
Heat up the butter in a pot on med high heat, add in the onion, bell peppers and diced jalapeños. Cook this for 2-4 mins.
Next sprinkle in the flour and cook until the flour is golden brown, add in the half and half, milk, spices and both cheese’s. Stir until everything is well combined and all in your corn.
Transfer corn into a serving dish and sprinkle with chives, scallion or toasted panko bread crumbs. Enjoy!
Notes
Roasting the corn is optional but highly recommended it, I just slightly cooked the corn in a skillet with a little bit of butter.
I used a mixture of fresh and canned corn for this recipe
Just an East/West coast girl living the southern life. I love sharing all my tested and perfected recipes here, along with some travel guides and a little bit of my lifestyle
