Spicy Corn Dip with Jalapenos and Cheddar

The first time I made this spicy corn dip was many years ago. We went to a birthday party and the birthday girl requested that I bring a dip of some sort. I was more than happy to oblige. I decided to make a spicy corn dip that I had ran across a few months ago that I bookmarked as a good spring dip because it looked like it would be good with fresh spring corn.

I must admit though, I was skeptical about how good it would be, so the first time I made this baked dip I actually didn’t take any photographs of it and didn’t intend to write a post on it. HOWEVER, it was a huge freakin’ hit at the party. The whole dish was gone in like three minutes and people were scampering for the recipe.

So, I remade the corn dip the next weekend (and many times since) so I could share it with all of you. Trust me it wasn’t that hard because this stuff is seriously good.

What corn works best for this recipe?

This is truly a simple recipe, but the corn you pick is probably the most important element of the recipe because the recipe is at least 50% corn. 

Especially in the summer, use fresh corn. It’s perfectly in season, cheap, and so delicious and sweet. 

I get that it isn’t always available and I do make this dip when fresh corn isn’t in season. The next best bet is frozen corn, which you can thaw and use in the recipe.

Personally, I would avoid canned corn for this recipe since it has more water in it and it’ll water down your dip.

Cut the fresh corn off the cob, I’ve learned that the best way to cut corn off the cob when it isn’t cooked is to use a large serrated knife, like a bread knife and do inside a large bowl. Otherwise, the kernels will fly all over the place.

Cooking the vegetables

This spicy corn dip recipe has just a few simple ingredients. I wouldn’t be surprised if you already had most, if not all of them, in your fridge. Besides the corn, you need a sweet onion, some garlic, a red pepper, and a jalapeno pepper. 

Once you have the kernels off the cob, heat up 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and toss in your kernels. Stir every once in a while until the kernels are slightly browned.

You should be stirring this every once in a while but no reason to watch over it or anything. After 8-10 minutes, the corn should be lightly browned.

Then you can add the other diced vegetables and continue to cook until those veggies are softened, maybe another 5-6 minutes. 

Be sure to season all the vegetables with salt and pepper while they cook. 

Baking the spicy corn dip

Once your vegetable mixture is sauteed, transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and add your 1/2 cup mayonnaise and half of your cheddar cheese along with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Then grab your cayenne!

The original recipe called for 1/4 Teaspoon of this stuff. I probably used closer to 1/2 – 3/4 of Teaspoon (BAM right back at ya Emeril!). Once all of the ingredients are mixed up, put it in a 8 x 8 baking dish or a medium-sized one. Top with the rest of your cheese and diced green onions and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.

Here is my advice. Make this spicy corn dip, buy some chips, and take this to the next barbecue you get invited to. I promise that you will make new friends.

Substitutions and Ideas for this dip

The flavors in this dip are really classic and work well together, but as with so many dips, there are many options for substitutions depending on your taste or ingredients you might already have.

• Cheese substitutions are probably the easiest change to make here. I used fresh shredded cheddar cheese because it’s readily available. But, you could use queso fresco, pepper jack cheese, monterey jack cheese, or even cream cheese for half of the cheese to make the dip even creamier. 
• Add 1/2 cup crema to the dip if you want an even creamier dip.
• Instead of jalapenos, feel free to use green chiles or other spicy peppers you have.
• Instead of tortilla chips, use fritos or even flatbreads to dip in the delicious spicy corn dip.

Spicy Corn Dip

Print Pin

3.88 from 8 votes

Author: Nick Evans

Servings: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Fresh sweet corn is the perfect base for this simple and delicious baked dip. Make it when corn is cheap and delicious!

Equipment

• 1 8×8 baking dish

Ingredients 

• 4 ears of corn, cut off the kernels
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 4 scallions, the green and white part chopped
• 1 Jalapeno, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar
• ½ Cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoons cayenne pepper
• Tortilla chips for dipping

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Instructions

• Cut corn kernels off the cob into a bowl so they don’t fly everywhere.
• Add kernels to a large skillet with a few tablespoons of butter and cook until kernels start to brown over medium heat (about 8-10 minutes).
• Meanwhile, dice onion, peppers, scallion, garlic, and jalapeno. Add veggies to pan and cook for a few more minutes to mix veggies and lightly cook the veggies.
• Add all the veggies to a large bowl along with other ingredients (just half of the cheese). Stir together.
• Add to an 8×8 baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbling.
• Serve with chips!

Notes

Adapted from an Emeril Recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 602mg | Potassium: 299mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1381IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 285mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Appetizers, Dips

Cuisine: American

Reheating the Spicy Corn Dip

This dip reheats perfectly for later. It’ll keep in your fridge for 4-5 days and I would reheat it in the oven at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes if you have the time. 

In a pinch you can stick it in the microwave for a few minutes until melted, but the microwave will reheat the dip in an uneven way so you’ll have some very melted, hot sections and some ice-cold parts.

Here are a few other great corn side dishes

• Street Corn Guacamole
• Corn Souffle from scratch
• Bacon cornbread
• Blackened Salmon with Corn Salsa
• Creamed Corn Au Gratin from Chew Out Loud