Spicy Corn Dip with Jalapenos and Cheddar
This tasty and spicy corn dip recipe will be a real hit for you and your guests at your next gathering. Enjoy it with chips or crunchy vegetables!
Spicy Corn Dip with Jalapenos and Cheddar
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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 didnāt take any photographs of it and didnāt intend to write a post on it. HOWEVER, it was a huge freakinā 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 wasnāt that hard because this stuff is seriously good.
Table of contents
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, Iāve learned that the best way to cut corn off the cob when it isnāt 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 ā 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.
My Baked Spicy Corn Dip
Spicy Corn Dip
Equipment
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
- Ā½ Cup mayonnaise
- Ā½ teaspoon salt
- Ā¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Ā¼ teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Tortilla chips for dipping
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
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Snap a photo and tag @macheesmo so I can see your work.
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 350ĖF 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.
or
as an alternative?
i could make it
sit in a darkened room
eat the entire damn thing in one go
and not share a single delicious-looking mouthful with anyone.
just an idea.
Sounds like a good idea. It looks delicious can’t wait to make it.
you have no idea how jealous i am right now! i have been craving fresh sweet corn for WEEKS. it popped up at our grocery store for the first time recently but we stupidly didnt jump on it, and now it hasnt been back since! the other day when we made the bbq chick corn pizza i went to THREE grocery stores in search, to no avail… will have to try this as soon as the next batch of spring corn comes around to the stores… looks great!
Haha. I think it was a really early year for corn here. It started popping up in farmers markets a few weeks ago… definitely earlier than normal I think.
You could definitely try this with frozen corn, but I'm just not sure it would be as tasty…
haha Mandi didn't tell the REST OF THE STORY. After the 3 store fail, she proceeded to creep around our landlords garden for 15 minutes trying to burgle one off of their corn stalks without getting evicted.
The dip was amazing. I grabbed a spoonful and by the time I went for another spoonful it was gone. :( I am going to have to make some tonight.
if there had been one fully grown i woulda… but they were all still babies unready to be harvested… maybe best that i didnt though, dont need to be gettin tossed out into the streets!
I think kids would like this spooned onto their plates as a side dish. I admit I would too. Though there's no such thing as "spring corn" in New England; you have to wait until August.
This looks so glorious and I'm mad I wasn't at this party to try it! I will absolutelllyyy be making this tasty treat.
Awesome! I'm glad everyone likes it.
What though? No comment on my action shot? It only took me about 400 attempts to set that up. So you know… no biggie.
So on my phone I can tell it to take up to 13 shots back to back.Also our video camera lets you take pics from the video you took.maybe that might save some time :) just saying. it is a beautiful shot though.
This is my favorite dip. EVERYONE loves it, even my husband who hates jalapenos and onion. It's just perfect. And, I have to tell you, it is nearly as good with canned corn as it is with fresh. I've never tried it with frozen though.
Wow – what an original dip! The next time someone asks me to bring a dip to a party, this will be the one – with full credit give to you, of course.
Creamy, cheesey goodness! This would be so good right now. Anyone have chips?
that orange cheddar is nowhere in sight where I live.. I think cheddar's only orange in America? wonder whether it tastes the same…
The first thing I thought of was…football food!! But no deal, no fresh corn in the winter! I'm still excited though, my hubby is definetly a snacker and he'd love this!
Nick-
Made the dip, it was real good.
Any thought on adding chicken (or some kind of meat) to it?
Also- Love the site, great ideas, excellent photos. Love the Corn Toss!
Doug
I love how simple yet delicious this is. I think I probably would've thrown the corn all over the place during the toss.
Re Doug's chicken idea, I'll bet finely diced chorizo would be a terrific addition – and add to the heat quotient.
I hate to think how many calories are in this.
Jeez – this looks delicious! What a perfect recipe for game parties or summer picnics.
yummm…what an interesting and creative dip!!!! now we have an alternative for our usual guacamole.
That looks sooooo good! I'll definitely make it for our family and friends when we're in the States in August. They'll love it. Thanks for the recipe!
Two thumbs up to you in life. The natural sweetness of the corn is rock solid.
That hot corn dip looks so good! I am looking forward to the local corn and I will be making this again when it comes.
1. I so am making this next weekend! I might try to sub yogurt for the mayo though
2. did you have a friend take the corn toss shot, or did you use the timer? If you used the timer, HOLY CRAP
3. My favorite dip is yogurt, black beans, cumin and chipotles in adobo in the blender, served with tortilla chips
This dip made me think of my roommate. She puts canned corn on our homemade nachos. I was very skeptical at first, but I have to admit, it's pretty TASTY.
P.S. Love the site!
Made this for a birthday bbq and everyone loved it! Numerous requests to make for the 4th this weekend. Thanks!
Oh my gosh Nick!! We made this for the 4th and it was fantastic! Could not get enough of it! This is going to be a staple in my house from now on. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, we loved it!
Billie
Just making this although I bookmarked long ago. All fresh ingredients from the farmer's market and JIMMINY it's good! LOVE your blog.
Made this last night for an Aussie barbecue and it was a massive hit. A full lasagne tray of dip went between just 7 people!
Love your food and thought you should know that your older posts are still bring joy to people out there, all over the world.
-Lucy from Australia-
This is quite fantastic. I made it last weekend as a side for our grilled burgers. If you somehow have leftovers, it makes a great quesadilla filling.
Hi Nick
Sounds delicious, will be making it for our next get together,
have you thought about baking it in a cob loaf, maybe it is just an Aussie thing that we do, but it would be great.
Thanks for your delicious recipes.