15 ways with a tin of sweetcorn
Katy Salter
Can openers at the ready! You’ll love these 15 easy and delicious ideas for tinned sweetcorn.
A tin of corn costs as little as 55p. And this humble storecupboard ingredient adds instant sweetness to midweek mainstays, like pasta, hearty soups and veggie burgers. Those hardworking kernels also form the backbone of side dishes that transform everyday meals like chilli, nachos and roast chicken thighs into something special. We’re talking zingy salsas, punchy corn relish and chaat, and hearty cornbread.
Sweet, tasty, budget-friendly and available at your local newsagent: tinned sweetcorn is one seriously useful ingredient…
What makes tinned sweetcorn a great ingredient?
It’s time to rescue that tin of sweetcorn lurking at the back of your larder. This storecupboard dweller is an incredibly versatile ingredient.
Tinned sweetcorn makes a budget-friendly alternative to the fresh stuff, which is only in season during late summer. It comes in all manner of can sizes, from the teeny to the (ho ho ho, green) giant – so you can choose the right amount for your household and avoid food waste.
Corn is canned within hours of harvesting, preserving its natural sweetness – which deteriorates the longer fresh corn lingers in the store or your fridge. And while fresh cobs are one of the highlights of the seasonal calendar, they’re not without faff – peeling away the silks and leaves, cutting the kernels from the core. Meanwhile, the humble tinned stuff is ready to go, year round. Canned corn also counts as one of your five-a-day.
Tinned sweetcorn adds a sweet note to any number of savoury dishes, fritters, salsas, veggie burgers, soups and stews. Read on for some of our favourite tinned sweetcorn recipes…
Our best tinned sweetcorn recipes
Fry up a batch of classic sweetcorn fritters. This is a useful recipe to have in your repertoire for brunches or brinner (AKA breakfast for dinner – you know it makes sense). Sweetcorn fritters have lots of friends: try them with crispy bacon, crumbled feta, poached or fried eggs, chilli jam, avocado or hot sauce to name a few.
Sweetcorn salsa is the side dish you’ll return to all summer. It’s delicious alongside roast or barbecue chicken thighs or spooned over pulled pork. Try subbing sweetcorn salsa for chips, like in our steak with charred corn salsa recipe, or 5:2 diet-friendly peri-peri chicken with cauliflower rice and charred corn.
Chetna Makan’s recipe for corn chaat offsets the sweetness of corn with sour, tangy chaat masala, mango powder and fresh lime. Her recipe calls for frozen sweetcorn, but drained, tinned sweetcorn will also work.
Stir a few spoonfuls of tinned corn into a creamy pasta sauce – and no, it doesn’t have to involve tuna. We’ve created a bowl of summery goodness by tossing orecchiette with creamy ricotta, a generous handful of fresh basil, lemon and sweetcorn.
Serve cornbread – that American cowboy classic – alongside big bowls of chilli. Go panning for gold by folding some drained, tinned corn into the batter. Our recipe gives cornbread a flavour boost with the addition of fiery jalapenos, spring onions and cheddar.
Another corny staple from across the pond. Sweetcorn chowder is a simple, creamy soup made with fresh or canned corn, cream or milk. Try it in this more traditional smoked haddock and corn chowder, or in our vegan spin (below), enriched with coconut milk and smoked paprika.
Click here for the vegan chowder recipe
Fold some kernels into savoury muffin batter. They’re one of the easiest bakes you can make, and very flexible when it comes to add-ins. Think a strong cheese, a veg or two, and possibly some herbs, chilli or smoked paprika. Perfect for lunchboxes, picnics, or to serve alongside lamb stew.
These budget-friendly vegan burgers are made with sweet potato and frozen sweetcorn (but drained, tinned corn will work just as well). Serve with plant-based mayo and avocado if you’re vegan, or a cheeky slice of cheddar if you’re not.
The sugars in sweetcorn can handle a whack of spice and savouriness to balance them out. Take this simple sweetcorn soup, which is bolstered with chilli flakes and the salty, umami hit of crisp pancetta on top.
Feta, spinach and sweetcorn pie
For a twist on the Greek staple, spanakopita, stir some kernels into the filling of this quick and easy feta, spinach and sweetcorn pie topped with crisp filo pastry.
If a big ol’ sharing tray of pulled pork nachos smothered in cheese is feeling a bit too rich and savoury for comfort, restore balance with generous spoonfuls of zingy sweetcorn salsa – made with plenty of coriander and lime – over the top.
Sufferin’ succotash! Always wondered what Sylvester the cat’s favourite saying referred to? It’s this: a Native American vegetable dish made with corn, lima beans and peppers. Our update is more of a creamy stew, with broad beans, bacon and cheese getting in on the action.
Eggs Benedict with corn fritters
Swap the English muffins for sweetcorn fritters in this indulgent brunch recipe. We can’t promise the corn will magically make eggs Benny healthy, but hey – it’s an extra one of your five-a-day!
Sweetcorn relish is summery salsa’s replacement for the colder months. Serve this fiery relish hot from the pan with chicken or fish, or cool and preserve in a sterlised jar for up to 3 months. It’s a good way to preserve fresh corn, but the tinned stuff works well too.
Sticky roast chicken with carrot and sweetcorn salad
Work tinned sweetcorn into your midweek meals, like this easy recipe for glazed chicken thighs with a simple carrot ribbon, sweetcorn and pea shoot salad.
Need some ideas for cooking fresh corn? Try our 13 best corn cob recipes.
Click this way for more budget recipes, and keep that can opener handy for these 16 easy and wallet-friendly tinned fish recipes.
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