Ingredients (~6-8 servings)
- 6 strips bacon, diced
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3/4 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels (~1 ear of corn)
- 1 can (14 oz) creamed corn
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar, divided
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh chives
- 1/2 cup cheez-its crumbs
Cook the Bacon and Shallots
Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×9 baking dish with softened butter.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat and add the diced bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy but not burned – this usually takes ~8-10 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl. Keep that rendered fat in the pan.
Bump the heat up to medium and add the chopped shallots to the same pan. Cook for ~4-5 minutes until they’re soft and starting to brown. The leftover bacon fat makes them taste way better than cooking them separately.
Mix Your Dry and Wet Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The sour cream might clump at first but keep whisking – it’ll come together.
Whisk in the creamed corn, then pour this wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
Fold Everything Together and Bake
Use a rubber spatula to fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined – don’t overmix this.
Gently fold in the corn kernels, cooked shallots, jalapeños, chives, half the crispy bacon, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar.
Spread the batter evenly in your prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Add the Cheez-Its Topping
While the casserole bakes, put the cheez-its in a small ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into chunks – don’t pulverize them, you want some texture.
After 30 minutes, pull the casserole out and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining bacon, and the cheez-its crumbs.
Return to the oven for another ~15 minutes until the top is golden brown and the center is just set when you press on it lightly.
Let it rest for ~20 minutes before serving – it’s molten hot straight out of the oven and needs time to firm up.
Loaded Corn Casserole
Ingredients
Ingredients (~6-8 servings)
- 6 strips bacon, diced
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 3/4 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels, ~1 ear of corn
- 1 can creamed corn, 14 oz
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar, divided
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh chives
- 1/2 cup cheez-its crumbs
Instructions
- Cook bacon until crispy in skillet, remove and reserve fat.
- Sauté shallots in bacon fat until soft.
- Whisk dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures, folding gently.
- Add corn kernels, shallots, jalapeños, chives, bacon, and 1 cup cheese.
- Spread in greased 9×9 dish and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Crush cheez-its into chunks.
- Top casserole with remaining cheese, bacon, and cheez-its.
- Bake additional 15 minutes until golden.
- Rest 20 minutes before serving.