Today, I have a devilishly good recipe for spicy deviled corn recipe for you. This makes a great Halloween side dish or dip for a Halloween-themed party.
Spicy with jalapenos and guacamole salsa, creamy with cream cheese, and sweet from the corn and a touch of honey and brown sugar, you’ll even love serving this deviled corn as a side for Taco Tuesday or even for Thanksgiving.
Looking to devil all the things? Don’t miss my Halloween deviled eggs recipe!
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This recipe was created as part of our #HalloweenTreatsWeek celebration sponsored by Big Bear’s Wife and Dixie Crystals. The recipe and all opinions are my own.
OMG I made this tonight. It’s beyond delicious!!! I had to use minced garlic and honey and a fresh jalapeno. Couldn’t find candied jalapeno, but now I’m on a mission to find it!
Reader (and former teacher colleague) Maria
What Makes This Recipe So Great
This is a great recipe to make any time of year since it doesn’t rely on fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Of course, you could make this during the height of corn season, but sometimes it’s great to have a recipe you can make whenever you have a hankering for creamy, spicy deviled corn.
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This is a one-pan recipe, so there is minimal clean-up.
Serve deviled corn as a dip or as a side dish. It is equally at home as a Halloween dish as it is as a spicy side dish for a burger or even for Thanksgiving.
You can make this as spicy or as mild as you like.
How to Make Spicy Deviled Corn
Get ready to make this easy deviled corn.
First, I’ll give you the ingredients you’ll need along with substitutions if necessary.
Then, we’ll take a short run-through of all the steps involved and any equipment you may need. (Spoiler: minimal equipment!)
Ingredients and Substitutions
- avocado oil: You can substitute any cooking oil, butter, or coconut oil
- onions: sweet onions or yellow onions, chopped
- fermented honey garlic: You can make this yourself or buy it on Amazon. Pictured is my homemade. You’ll need the garlic and also a little bit of the honey. If you don’t have (or don’t want to get) this ingredient, use plain garlic cloves, freeze-dried garlic, or granulated garlic and a couple of teaspoons of honey
- salt: I use kosher salt. If using fine salt, reduce the amount by 1/3 to 1/2
- pepper: freshly ground or pre-ground is fine. If you have some, smoked pepper makes a nice addition
- cumin: I purchase ground cumin rather than the whole seeds, but if you have whole cumin, grind them with a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle
- brown sugar: You just need a little bit. I used sponsor Dixie Crystals light brown sugar
- corn: fresh or frozen. You can even use canned. Just drain it very well
- cream cheese: for body and creamy goodness. You can substitute heavy cream, whipping cream, full-fat Greek yogurt, or creme fraiche. If using Greek yogurt, stir it in at the very end to avoid curdling.
- avocado salsa: I get the Herdez brand. It is incredibly delicious and has a nice bite
- candied jalapenos: Substitute pickled or fresh jalapenos, and feel free to use more or less depending on how spicy you like things. Substitute with chopped mild green chiles for less heat.
Not pictured: water
Procedure
Here’s how to make spicy deviled corn:
This collage shows cooking the onions in avocado oil and then a photo of all the spices and garlic in with the onion. You can see that the onion has taken on some color and has softened up quite a bit. Total cooking time for this part is about 6-7 minutes over medium heat.
- Heat your pan, then add oil.
- When the oil is hot (just a few seconds), add onions.
- Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin.
- Cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the corn and some water, bring to a boil, put a lid on the pan, and let the corn cook for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add candied jalapenos, cream cheese, and avocado salsa.
- Stir and cook until sauce is thick and creamy and all corn is nicely coated.
- Serve hot or warm
This collage shows adding the cream cheese, guacamole salsa, and chopped candied jalapenos and then stirring it all into the corn mixture:
Tips for Success
To make the cooking process go quickly, chop onions, candied jalapenos, and garlic before getting started.
Allowing the corn to simmer in water for a few minutes allows the seasoning to penetrate the corn so it is full of flavor and not just coated with a flavorful sauce.
When serving as a dip, keep warm in a small slow cooker.
To make it extra spooky-looking for Halloween, add a couple of drops of green food coloring to some extra Herdez guacamole salsa (or your preferred brand) and drizzle it over the deviled corn as I did in both the top photo and the one below under “Serving Suggestions.”
Variations
There are lots of ways to vary deviled corn to suit your (or your kids’) taste.
Use jarred chopped green chiles, chopped pimentos, or roasted red pepper in place of, or in addition to, the candied jalapenos.
Or cut the amount of jalapenos in half from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.
Consider serving this as a side dish in individual ramekins. Top each ramekin with shredded pepper jack or cheddar cheese and broil until the cheese gets some blistered spots on it.
Stir in a little bit of bacon jam or green tomato chutney. The bacon jam will make it smokier and the tomato chutney will make it tangier.
Keep it vegetarian and up the smoky factor by adding a teaspoon or two of liquid smoke and using chopped chipotle peppers in adobo instead of candied jalapenos.
Deviled Corn Q & A
As written, as soon as you finish cooking it, it will be very spicy. The heat mellows after a day or two in the fridge, but straight out of the gate, deviled corn is HOT. If you are not a fan of super spicy foods, either let it mellow in your fridge or start with 1/4 cup of chopped candied jalapenos instead of a 1/2 cup. Check the variations for more ideas for making this recipe a bit more mild.
As written, this is indeed a gluten-free recipe.
Absolutely. This recipe scales beautifully with simple math, x2, x4, or 1/2 batch.
Keep this covered in the fridge for up to a week.
Two ways: Put your leftovers in a small saucepan, add a little bit of water, and reheat over medium heat stirring occasionally. You can also reheat in the microwave in 1-minute bursts until hot. Stir between each minute to make sure it heats evenly.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve creamy deviled corn as a dip.
- Serve as a side dish for any meal. It would be really good with my gordita burgers.
- Tuck some deviled corn into a corn tortilla along with some beef carnitas. The Mexican flavors in the corn will pair nicely with most taco fillings.
- Add vegetable or chicken stock to make a really delicious creamy, spicy corn soup
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.
You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
Spicy Deviled Corn Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil sub butter, or other vegetable oil
- ½ finely chopped sweet or yellow onion
- 3 cloves fermented honey garlic minced and 2 teaspoons of the honey (sub plain minced garlic and honey)
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 4 cups sweet corn fresh or frozen
- ½ cup water
- 1/4-1/2 cup minced candied jalapenos or pickled jalapenos I used 1/2 cup
- 4 oz cream cheese 1/2 block
- ½ cup guacamole salsa I use Herdez
Instructions
- Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet over medium until hot.
- Add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, salt, and ground cumin and continue to cook until onion is starting to turn golden, about 5 more minutes.
- Add honey, corn and water. Bring to a boil.
- Put a lid on the pan and let the corn cook for 5 minutes. This will help get some of the flavor into the kernels.
- Remove lid and add jalapenos, cream cheese, and salsa.
- Stir well as the cream cheese melts.
- Let simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Enjoy hot or warm.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Variations
Substitute chopped green chiles for the jalapenos for a milder flavor. You can also use pimentos, jarred roasted red pepper, or even Ro-Tel if you want to introduce some tomato flavor. Stir in some bacon jam or green tomato chutney. For a smoky flavor that keeps this dish vegetarian, substitute minced chipotles in adobo instead of candied jalapenos. Add a teaspoon or two of liquid smoke or add a touch of smoked salt instead of regular. OPTIONAL: put into individual ramekins or into a casserole dish, top with shredded pepper jack cheese, and broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown.Serving Suggestions
Serve as a side dish, as a hot dip, or even as a filling/topping for a taco or burrito. Consider offering deviled corn as a Thanksgiving side dish as well.Storing
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.Heating
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. If heating in a pan on the stove, add a couple of tablespoons of water and stir it in so the mixture heats evenly. Heat in 1-minute bursts in the microwave stirring every minute to make sure it reaheats evenly.Nutrition
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I’ve been looking forward to this one all week. That fermented garlic honey is really intriguing and the corn looks scrumptious.
I need to make this side dish so I can have it with some chips. I can see myself eating a TON of this!
I only allow myself to heat up a bit at a time or I’d eat it all. It is surprisingly easy to eat!