Easy Honey Butter Skillet Cornrn

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This Honey Butter Skillet Corn features two kinds of canned corn in a creamy honey butter sauce. It’s a quick and simple side dish that your whole family will love!

Wooden spoon rests in black frying pan of honey butter skillet corn on white table.

I’ve never been a huge fan of creamed corn, so it’s a good thing that this recipe for honey butter skillet corn is nothing like it!

While it does have a creamy sauce, the flavor is so much better.

It’s like eating a piece of cornbread covered in honey (without all of the calories).

This recipe works because it’s:

Made with pantry ingredients. You likely already have the ingredients you need sitting in your pantry and refrigerator right now.
Tasty! Think the delicious flavor of a piece of honey cornbread in every bite.
Quick to make. The easy side comes together in about 10 minutes.

This recipe was adapted from Together As A Family.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Bowls of ingredients of white table including corn kernels, honey, and cream cheese.

MELT 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of honey in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

Square of butter and some honey in black frying pan on white table.

ONCE the mixture is bubbling, add in 4 ounces of softened Neufchatel cheese. Mix well until the sauce is creamy.

Chunk of cream cheese and honey butter sauce in black frying pan.

REDUCE the heat to low and add 15 ounces of drained yellow corn and 15 ounces of drained white corn to the skillet. Stir to make sure all of the corn is covered in the sauce.

Piles of yellow and white corn kernels in black frying pan.

LET the corn simmer for 3-5 minutes until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking.

REMOVE the corn from the heat and allow it to sit for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken up before serving.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

Close up photo of wooden spoon holding yellow and white corn kernels.

The canned corn needs to be well-drained for this recipe, or else you’ll add too much liquid and make the sauce runny.

Start with 4 ounces of the cream cheese and add more if you’d like a thicker, creamier sauce. In addition, you can use regular cream cheese or low-fat. I used Neufchatel because that’s what I had on hand.

If you find that the sauce isn’t sweet enough or salty enough, add more honey or salt. This is a very simple recipe that can be customized to your liking.

If you’re out of specific ingredients and still want to make this, try these swaps:

Substitutes for cream cheese
Substitutes for butter

You can keep this recipe warm for a party or large crowd by transferring it to a Crock Pot on the warm setting.

Made this a spicy side dish by adding a finely chopped jalapeno when you add the corn.

You can also make a spread out of the butter, honey, and cream cheese to go on freshly cooked ears of corn. Just mix softened butter, honey, and the softened cream cheese together in a small bowl until well combined. Spread it on the cooked corn and enjoy!

FAQs

Wooden spoon rests in black frying pan filled with honey butter corn.

Can I use frozen corn in this recipe?

Yes. You’ll want to use either a 32-ounce bag, or two 12-14 ounce bags. You’ll also want to cook the corn longer in the sauce so it’s heated through. Be sure not to overcook it though or the corn could become tough.

Can I use fresh corn in this recipe?

Yes. You’ll want to make sure the corn is cooked before you add it to the skillet. You can either microwave the ears of corn or boil them in water for 3-5 minutes.

Once you’ve pre-cooked the ears, cut the kernels off and add them in like you would the canned corn. This method would also work with leftover corn-on-the-cob that has been refrigerated.

Does this dish reheat well?

Yes, it does. I find that the sauce is even creamier and thicker after sitting in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure that you save any leftovers in an airtight container and you should be good to go.

Can I freeze this corn?

I would not recommend freezing this corn after you’ve made it. Since dairy is known to change textures once frozen, the cream cheese in the sauce would likely make the corn an unappetizing texture.

If you do want to freeze a batch to save for later, I would skip adding the cream cheese and freeze just the honey butter corn. Then when you’re ready to eat, you would add the frozen corn to a skillet to reheat and add the cream cheese in once the corn has thawed.

What can you serve with this skillet corn?

We love to serve corn with Mexican food, summer barbeque, and Southern dishes like jambalaya. Here are a few of our go-to recipes that pair well with corn:

–Sour Cream Enchiladas
–Grilled Sausage Kabobs
–Cafe Rio Chicken Salad
–Creamy Avocado Picante Chicken

I hope your family loves this honey butter skillet corn! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!

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