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This skillet fried corn recipe is a quick and easy side dish! The kernels come out tasting sweet, buttery, and smoky—each bite is irresistible.
Got corn and want a fresh way to cook it? Here’s a simple recipe that will have you absolutely smitten: skillet corn! Pan fry corn kernels in a skillet with butter, garlic, and smoked paprika, and it comes out sweet, buttery and smoky.
In fact, we couldn’t stop sneaking bites after we first made it! You’ll be amazed how just a few ingredients and 5 minutes transform corn into pure gold. Frozen and canned corn work as a swap too!
Ingredients in skillet corn
During corn season, we’ve been buying a lot of corn from the farmers market and we’ve been looking for creative ways to cook it “outside the cob.” Enter skillet corn! Just a few ingredients come together to make beautiful sweet corn magic. Cook corn in a skillet with seasonings and it’s ready in just 5 minutes. Because it’s such a simple recipe, you’ll need each one of these ingredients: no substitutes! Here’s what’s in skillet corn:
- Fresh sweet corn (or frozen or canned corn; see notes!)
- Salted butter
- Garlic
- Smoked paprika
- Onion powder
- Salt
- Fresh sage and/or parsley (optional)
Tips for cutting corn off the cob
The only part of skillet corn that requires technique is cutting corn off the cob. This is a notoriously tedious process that often ends with kernels all over the floor (it always happens to us!) Here are a few of our favorite mess-free methods for cutting corn:
- Bundt pan method: Place the corn cob right on top of the raised center part of a Bundt pan. When you slice downward, the Bundt pan catches all the corn kernels! Go to How to Cut Corn Off the Cob.
- Inverted small bowl inside larger bowl: You can also use an inverted small bowl inside a larger bowl to catch the kernels (here’s a video).
- Mandoline: If you have a mandoline, you can use it to cut corn off the cob. It slides right off without making a mess!
Tips for making skillet fried corn
This skillet corn recipe is very simple. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you prep for the recipe (or scroll down to the recipe):
- Use the smoked paprika: no substitutions! Smoked paprika Spanish version of paprika made of dried pimiento peppers that that are smoked over a fire, then ground. It adds a smoky flavor to this dish that’s irreplaceable. When shopping for it, you may find it labeled as pimentón, Spanish smoked paprika or sweet smoked paprika.
- Cook for just 5 minutes. All you need is a few minutes to get the corn bright golden and tender.
- Fresh sage is optional, but adds flavor intrigue. We happened to have some fresh sage on hand in our garden, and adding a few whole leaves imparts an interesting complexity. You can remove it prior to serving!
Variation: use frozen or canned corn
You can also use frozen or canned corn for this skillet fried corn, though it’s tastiest with fresh corn.
- Frozen corn can be swapped in without any changes. It won’t taste quite as good as fresh sweet corn, but it still tastes delicious!
- Canned corn works, but needs some modifications. Use 2 15-ounce cans, drained. Decrease the salt to starting with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, then add more to taste (since canned corn has added sugar and salt).
Ways to serve it
Skillet corn is like a simple version of creamed corn, and pairs well with many types of main dishes! It’s fast, easy and relatively healthy, perfect as an easy side dish in the summer or anytime. Here are a few great ways to serve it:
- Vegetarian or vegan mains like grilled veggie skewers, grilled tofu, black bean burgers, zucchini fritters, eggplant rollatini, and more
- Fish like salmon, tilapia, cod, mahi mahi, swordfish, sea bass, or ahi tuna
- Shellfish like garlic shrimp or Cajun shrimp
- Chicken like garlic chicken, pan seared chicken, or chicken thighs
Dietary notes
This skillet corn recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For dairy-free, plant-based and vegan, use vegan butter.
Skillet Fried Corn
This skillet corn recipe makes incredible pan fried corn! It comes out sweet, buttery, smoky, and absolutely irresistible.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 4 cups corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 4 large cobs or 6 small)*
- 2 tablespoons salted butter (or vegan butter)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Scant ¾ teaspoon kosher salt*
- 2 sage leaves (optional)
- Fresh parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the corn, garlic, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, and sage leaves, if using. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium and cook another 3 to 5 minutes until bright yellow and tender.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Sprinkle with parsley to serve (remove the sage leaves prior to serving).
Notes
*You can also use frozen or canned corn here. If using canned corn, use 2 15-ounce cans, drained, and start with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, adding more to taste.
More corn recipes
There are so many fun ways to enjoy corn in the summer! Here are a few more of our favorite corn recipes to enjoy:
- Learn how to grill corn, or make zingy and creamy elote.
- Make oven roasted corn on the cob instead.
- Go for corn fritters, corn salsa or creamed corn.
- Boil up corn Soup, corn chowder or chicken corn chowder.
This skillet fried corn recipe is amazing! The sweet, smoky flavors are irresistible and it’s so quick to make. Thank you for sharing!