Spicy Deviled Corn Recipe

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.

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.

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.

1. Heat your pan, then add oil.
2. When the oil is hot (just a few seconds), add onions.
3. Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin.
4. Cook for another couple of minutes.
5. 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.
6. Remove the lid and add candied jalapenos, cream cheese, and avocado salsa.
7. Stir and cook until sauce is thick and creamy and all corn is nicely coated.
8. 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

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

Other Halloween Treats

Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today

• Blood Splatter Cakesicles from Semi Homemade Recipes
• Pumpkin Pinata Cookies from Big Bear’s Wife
• Jalapeno Mummy Poppers from Jen Around the World
• Halloween Brownies from Devour Dinner
• Candy Coated Strawberry Witches from The Redhead Baker
• Mummy Macarons from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifles from Cookaholic Wife
• Monster Mix from House of Nash Eats
• Candy Corn Carmel Thumbprint Cookies from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Candy Corn Popcorn Balls from Sweet Beginnings
• Deviled Corn from Pastry Chef Online You’re here!
• Mini Halloween Cheesecakess from Cheesecurd in Paradise
• Hocus Pocus Billy’s Grave Pudding Cups from I am a Honey Bee
• Hocus Pocus Hot Chocolate from For the Love of Food

A Note About Measurements

For convenience, consistency, and accuracy, almost all my recipes are written by weight, either in ounces and/or grams, even the liquids.

I strongly encourage you to purchase a kitchen scale and learn to use it.

This is the one I used for years. I love it and highly recommend it:

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11/30/2023 07:35 am GMT

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Spicy Deviled Corn Recipe

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Jennifer Field

This spicy deviled corn recipe is easy to make and is very versatile. Use it as a side dish, as a warm dip for your Halloween or fall party, as a spicy addition to your Thanksgiving table, or as a topping for Taco Tuesday!

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Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dishes

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 234 kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil 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.
• 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.
• Enjoy hot or warm.
• 
  

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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.

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

Calories: 234kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 310mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7g

Keyword corn dip, corn side dish recipe, deviled corn, Mexican corn

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For the 4th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 28 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week!

Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media and look at the bottom of each post to see all of the Halloween recipes that we’re sharing!

Prize #1 from Dixie Crystals

41 Pieces Silicone Bakeware Set

3 Piece Halloween Silicone Spatula Set

Nordic Ware Haunted Skull Cakelet Pan

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsor to winner, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from October 11th – October 15th at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 1 (ONE) prize pack and therefore we will have a total of 1 (ONE) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing brand sponsors: Dixie Crystals that provided a prize pack for our giveaways and also sent some samples and products to the #HalloweenTreatsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.