Looking for a side dish that is filling, sweet and spicy, and goes with just about everything? Well, this is definitely it. This oven-baked cast iron skillet casserole is overflowing with corn, onions, jalapeños, and just the right amount of cream cheese and cheddar. It’s not too dry and not too wet; the perfect marriage between a traditional skillet cornbread and a cheesy corn casserole.
Say hello to my new favorite side dish. It’s not as dry as traditional cornbread and it’s not as wet as an egg-based corn casserole. It’s somewhere perfectly in the middle. And I’m okay with that, heck, I’m more than okay with that. And, once you add in the fact that it’s cheesy, without being too cheesy, and just spicy enough to make your mouth take notice, this is pretty much cornbread casserole perfection. Now, I am perfectly aware that this casserole isn’t about to win any great awards for its appearance. But you know what? I’m okay with that too. Y’all, with this cast iron baked side dish, it’s all about the taste.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Cubed
- 1 (15.25-oz.) Can Whole Kernel Corn No Salt Added, Drained
- 1 (14.75-oz.) Can Sweet Corn Cream Style
- 1 (8.5-oz.) Box Corn Muffin Mix
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar
- Sweet Pickled Jalapeños, Finely Chopped (2 Tablespoons to 1/4 Cup)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted add the onion and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, or until translucent. Stir often.
- Add the cream cheese to the onion and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the corn, cream corn, muffin mix, eggs, pepper, salt, paprika, and nutmeg.
- Add the onion and cream cheese mixture; whisk to combine.
- Add the cheddar and chopped jalapeños; whisk to combine.
- Pour the batter into the same cast iron skillet you sautéed the onions in.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Suggestions:
- If you use butter or corn with salt added, I suggest omitting any additional salt in this recipe.
- I very rarely ever use a medium-sized onion in a recipe because the ones usually available at my local market are so large. However, this time, my onion was a bit on the smaller side. Less onion or more onion won’t really make that much of a difference in this recipe. Use whichever size you choose.
- Cutting the cream cheese into cubes helps it melt into the sautéed onions faster.
- The spiciness of this cornbread will depend on which brand of sweet pickled jalapeńos you use and how many of them use. I used 1/4 cup of Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet Jalapeños. The first night, this cornbread casserole was pretty dang hot, however, the spiciness mellowed out a bit after sitting in the fridge overnight.
- The cornbread will begin to pull away from the edges of the cast iron skillet when it is done and the edges will be golden brown.
Improvements:
- Reserve a few tablespoons of corn and a teaspoon of chopped jalapeños to sprinkle on top of the casserole as a garnish.
- After 25 minutes of baking, sprinkle the top of the casserole with an additional 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Continue baking until the cheese is melted and the casserole is cooked through.
- Replace the sweet pickled jalapeños with finely chopped fresh jalapeños or plain pickled jalapeños.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese, Cubed
- 1 (15.25-oz.) Can Whole Kernel Corn No Salt Added, Drained
- 1 (14.75-oz.) Can Sweet Corn Cream Style
- 1 (8.5-oz.) Box Corn Muffin Mix
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar
- Sweet Pickled Jalapeños, Finely Chopped (2 Tablespoons to 1/4 Cup)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted add the onion and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, or until translucent. Stir often.
- Add the cream cheese to the onion and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the corn, cream corn, muffin mix, eggs, pepper, salt, paprika, and nutmeg.
- Add the onion and cream cheese mixture; whisk to combine.
- Add the cheddar and chopped jalapeños; whisk to combine.
- Pour the batter into the same cast iron skillet you sautéed the onions in.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
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