Side dishes are things I sometimes struggle with. I tend to focus on the main entree and then build around that. But recently, I’ve been doing the opposite by gathering side dishes that group well together and deciding on a main dish to complete the meal. One side dish that caught my eye was this Sweet Corn Spoonbread. It’s light like a cake yet dense enough to be scooped when served. If you’ve ever heard of Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant, this reminds me of the sweet corn cake they served as a side to your meal – only better. Sweet corn is mixed throughout a sweetened cornmeal batter and gently baked to perfection…
This is a great side dish that has a bit of both sweet and savory. I especially like the texture where it’s not too dense and not too loose. The spoonbread can easily be adapted to something more savory and include additional add ins such as black beans, crumbled bacon, scallions, diced bell peppers, or even jalapenos. Whatever you decide, it’s worth trying out and makes for a nice side dish to a Southwestern, Tex-Mex or Mexican inspired meal.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 8.5oz can creamed corn
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
In your Instant Pot:
Plug in the IP with insert set in place.
Place trivet in IP with 1 cup of water.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until it is creamy. Add the flour and creamed corn and beat until well mixed. Stir in the thawed corn.
In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn mixture and stir to combine.
Pour batter into an ungreased 6 inch round baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil.
Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 15 minutes on HIGH pressure.
Once at pressure, the display will reflect 15 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pot.
Is 15 minutes the right amount of time? I have seen other recipes for this that say 45 minutes. Would love it if it only took 15 min!
Yes – this is spoonbread and is going to be pudding like and much looser than cornbread or tomalito, which is firmer.
If I double this, how much cooking time should I add?
I would add another 5-7 minutes to the original pressure cooking time
I have a 6qt IP. Is there enough room to double the recipe?
I made this in a 6qt IP but haven't doubled it – you can try it, but may need to adjust the length of time to ensure it's cooked through. Let us know how it turns out if you try doubling it!
I have the Chi Chi’s recipe from Top Secret Recipes and didn’t know how long to make it in the IP. I can’t wait to try it! This recipe looks good, but the thing I like about the TSR recipe is there is no flour in it. It has masa harina and a bit of corn meal instead.