How to Cook Corn From A Can? Sweet & Easy Corn Recipes!

Not every house serves corn directly from the garden, you will find corn in a can in abundance at supermarkets. Cooking can from a can is not so complicated. But it’s definitely not as simple as keeping it directly into a bowl and in the microwave.

If you follow these steps, you can enjoy canned corn in the summer, winter, and early spring months without any problems. While will be some slight differences between fresh corn and canned corn, you can serve delicious corn nevertheless from a can.

But before you jump to conclusions, let’s look at the best ways of cooking corn straight from a can.

How to Cook Corn From A Can the Right Way!

First off, it’s not necessary to “cook” corn from a can. Because it’s already cleaned and cooked before packaging.

So does this mean you can eat straight from a can?

Yes and no!

Yes, the corn is ready to eat straight from the can. But no, it’s not the ideal way to eat corn without first popping it in a microwave, skillet, or grill.

This depends roughly on the type of dish you’d like to add corn to. If it’s a salad, making the corn slightly warm in a microwave will work. The same applies to soup where you can add corn to a bowl of hot soup.

Grilled corn is good for salads too but you can also add it to chicken and rice recipes. With some seasoning, butter, and lime, it tastes greats as a plain snack as well.

As you can see, the options are endless! So pick your favorite or try ‘em all…

Microwave

This is the simplest method of all. Remove the corn from the can, drain and rinse the corn using a strainer.

But wait, is rinsing necessary? Corn stored in a can for a long time contains high amounts of sodium for preservation. So I don’t know about you but too much salt makes me bloated! So I always rinse it before warming it up.

Transfer the corn from the strainer to a bowl. And put it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Depending on how much corn there is and how warm you’d like it to be.

Here’s a great tip! You can add some seasoning like sweet paprika, pepper, and a pinch of Pink Himalayan salt with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and some parsley. This will make a healthy snack that’s light on the stomach but lip-smacking delicious!

Skillet

Cooking corn from a can on a skillet or a pan is easy and fun. Easy because you get to add some seasonings, butter, lemon, and fresh herbs. Fun because it tastes way better than the microwave and can really spice up your meals!

While this recipe is for a side dish, I’ve found that having it on its own is also quite appetizing. So you do you!

To start with, drain the liquid along with the corn into a strainer. Rinse it a few times to reduce the sodium content. And set it aside.

In a skillet, melt a tablespoon or more of butter. Add single minced garlic with chopped parsley. Once the parsley and garlic start sizzling, add in the corn and mix well. Let the corn heat up and the butter coat every corn kernel before seasoning it with salt, pepper, and paprika.

On high heat, keep mixing the butter with the corn and seasonings until fragrant. You can finish off with the juice of a lemon and keep simmering for 1-3 minutes. Take off the heat and serve hot!

For added spice, you can also add some red pepper flakes with butter and parsley. Trust me, this brings out the sweetness of corn against the spicy and hot red pepper flakes!

Oven

The oven is the last place I’d go for cooking corn from a can. Because it takes a longer time. However, the upside is that you get to make roasted corn at home.

For a meal, roasted corn is great for salads, rice, and chicken dishes. So if I have the time for prepping, I do make a plate of roasted corn every once in a while.

You’ll need baking sheet, foil, olive oil, and some seasoning to start.

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Rinse and drain the corn and transfer the corn to a mixing bowl. Combine with olive oil and seasonings. You can also add some parsley, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice.

Spread it corn mixture evenly on a baking sheet. Make sure you do not crowd the corn. There should be just one single layer of corn so that they all roast evenly.

Roast the corn for 7-14 minutes depending on how crunchy you’d prefer them to be. Halfway through, use a flat spoon to flip and re-distribute the corn to cook the other side. Skip this step if you don’t want the corn to be too crunchy.

Final Thoughts

One of the frequently asked questions about canned corn is – How often does it go bad?

Well, this depends on the expiry date that the manufacturer has printed on the back of the product. On average, it takes about 2 to 5 years for corn from a can to spoil. But the “best by” date of the manufacturer will provide you with an accurate time frame.

However, if you find that the corn is swollen or has a rancid odor after opening the can, it’s spoiled. Any leaks, dents, or bloating of the can itself is indicative of spoilage. Do not eat it because it’s probably rotten even after heating.

Next commonly asked question is – Is there a bad way to cook corn?

No. There are endless ways of cooking corn. You can make them in soup, boiled, pan-fried, steamed, roasted, grilled, baked, etc. But make sure you get rid of the sodium in canned corned by rinsing it using a mesh strainer.

Corn tastes great with pasta, rice, chicken, seafood, noodles, between breads, in wraps or tacos, nachos, and even on pizza! So basically, you can make all kinds of recipes with corn from a can. It’s all about your personal preference.