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
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×9 baking dish.
- Cook diced bacon in a medium skillet over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes until crispy, then transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Add chopped shallots to the same skillet with bacon fat and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until soft and browned.
- Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth.
- Whisk creamed corn into the wet mixture, then pour into the dry ingredients.
- Fold wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
- Gently fold in corn kernels, cooked shallots, jalapeños, chives, half the bacon, and 1 cup cheddar.
- Spread batter evenly in prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.
- Crush cheez-its in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin into chunks.
- Remove casserole from oven and top with remaining cheese, bacon, and cheez-its crumbs.
- Bake for another 15 minutes until top is golden and center is set.
- Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
