I am fully ready to admit that I bought five ears of corn at the farmers’ market this weekend with the intention of making a corn salad from my cookbook. But then a lazy Sunday afternoon hit, and all I was craving was an easy, creamy, cheesy pasta. And so this Corn and Parmesan Pasta was born, and wow, does it taste like comfort in a bowl.
It’s perfect for an easy weeknight meal when nothing but cheesy pasta will suffice, or for a big weekend family dinner with a nice slab of salmon on the side. The recipe uses a pound of pasta, which I vehemently will argue serves four. The box that says eight servings? Dead to me.
This Corn and Parmesan pasta is inspired by cacio e pepe (as most good things are!), and uses a few low-waste hacks to make it extra delicious. The recipe reuses the corn cobs to make a corn broth, which we then use in the pasta sauce AND to boil the pasta. The corn is sweet enough to add a nice flavor to the sauce that is enhanced by the saltiness of the parmesan. Everything is perfectly in balance, and the minimal ingredients make it an all-time keeper.
Ingredients you will need for the Corn & Parmesan Pasta
What I love about pastas is they are usually 1) delicious, but also 2) VERY simple. This small ingredient list proves that! A few aromatics, corn and cheese are really all you need:
- 4 medium ears of corn, yields 21 ounces / 600 grams of corn kernels
- 1/2 large yellow onion, 3.5 ounces / 100 grams
- 4 garlic cloves
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 pound pasta of choice, I prefer linguine for this
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan, 4 ounces / 113 grams, plus more for serving
Step 1: Prepare your mise en place
This Corn & Parmesan pasta happens quickly, so it’s nice to have everything ready to go before you need it!
I like to cut the kernels from the corn cobs first, then halve the cobs. Cutting them in half makes it easier to fit them in the pot when you need to simmer them. Set the corn aside in a bowl so you have it ready to use.
Then thinly slice the onion and garlic (they will all get blended up later, so don’t worry about the cuts being perfect!) and set those aside.
If your pepper isn’t already ground up and if your parmesan isn’t grated, do that next. Then voila! You’re ready to go.
Step 2 – Simmer your corn broth
Now that everything is prepared, you’ll want to fill a large pot with water. Stop around 3 inches from the top. Add the corn cobs to this along with a heaping tablespoon of salt, and bring this to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let this go while you start the rest of the recipe, it will build flavor for the 15-16 minutes that it’s going!
Step 3 – Prepare the corn sauce and start the pasta
Right next to the simmering pot of corn broth, set a large sauté pan over medium heat. You’ll be working with both burners in tandem. That makes this pasta super quick and efficient, but you’ll need to keep you eye on both!
To make the corn sauce, first start with the aromatics.
Add enough olive oil to coat the surface, about 1/4 cup. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, allowing it to soften slightly. Add the garlic, black pepper and corn and cook for an additional 9-11 minutes or until the corn has softened, but before it takes on any color.
Remove the corn cobs from the simmering water. Using a ladle, scoop three cups of the corn broth into the sauté pan with the corn. This will be the base of the sauce.
Bring the corn broth to a boil, add the pasta and boil until just shy of al dente.
Now this is very important – turn off the heat under the sauté pan before using your immersion blender. For both safety and efficiency, don’t skip this!
Immersion blenders only work when the blender is fully submerged. So while the pasta is boiling, tilt the sauté pan to the side, make sure the immersion blender is fully under the sauce, and blend until smooth!
Step 4 – Add the parmesan to the corn pasta sauce
I like to grate my parmesan directly into the sauce. It just saves me a step during mise en place! Whether you are grating it directly into the sauce or you have it already prepped, make sure to add it in four batches. It will melt into the sauce, which is deeply satisfying.
Make sure to taste and season with salt after adding the parmesan. The cheese can be salty, so you don’t want to season beforehand!
Step 5 – Add the pasta, swirl and serve!
Now, the easy part! I like to use tongs to scoop the pasta directly from the pot into the sauté pan holding the corn sauce. You could also do this with a slotted spoon. Don’t drain the pasta water just yet, though!
Swirl the pasta into the corn broth, adding splashes of pasta water as needed. When it’s all smooth and saucy, it’s ready to plate!
Portion into four bowls, top with more parmesan and pepper as you prefer, and serve.
Looking for other pastas to love?
Here are a few favorites from the blog!
And that’s it for this Corn & Parmesan Pasta recipe!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Corn & Parmesan Pasta
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 large pot
- 1 high sided sauté pan
- 1 Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 4 medium ears of corn yields 21 ounces / 600 grams of corn kernels
- 1/2 large yellow onion 3.5 ounces / 100 grams
- 4 garlic cloves
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper plus more for serving
- 1 pound pasta of choice I prefer linguine for this
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan 4 ounces / 113 grams, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Begin with your mise en place. Cut off the kernels from the four ears of corn and set them aside. Halve the remaining cobs and set them aside.
- Finely slice the 1/2 yellow onion and 4 garlic cloves and set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water, stopping 3 inches from the top. Bring this to a simmer and salt generously with a heaping tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Add in the corn cobs and let simmer for 15-16 minutes while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Set a large, high-sided sauté pan over medium heat next to the simmering pot of water. Add enough olive oil to coat the surface, about 1/4 cup. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, allowing it to soften slightly. Add the garlic, black pepper and corn and cook for an additional 9-11 minutes or until the corn has softened, but before it takes on any color.
- Remove the corn cobs from the simmering water. Using a ladle, scoop three cups of the corn broth into the sauté pan with the corn.
- Keep the pot of water over the heat and increase the heat so that the pot of water reaches a boil. Add the pound of pasta and cook according to package instructions to reach al dente.
- Turn off the heat under the sauté pan (this is very important for safety!). Tilt the pan to the side, fully submerge your immersion blender, and blend until the corn is a smooth sauce.
- When you're done blending, turn the heat under the sauté pan back to low. Add the parmesan cheese in four batches, letting it melt into the sauce. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as preferred.
- When the pasta is finished, scoop it directly into the corn sauce. Add a splash of pasta water to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Mix until creamy.
- To serve, scoop the pasta into four bowls and top with more parmesan cheese and black pepper!
I made this sauce tonight and I LOVED this sauce. It’s perfect for summer! Thank you for cooking accessibly fancy faire and sharing it with us.
So SO happy you liked it!! And happy summer cooking 💚💚💚
Yum! I made this tonight for my family. I have one kid who despises all things tomato, so we are always looking for non-red pasta sauces that are not just butter and heavy cream. This fit the bill.
So SO glad you liked it, that’s why I love it, too 💚
Very good, the corn sauce needs more kick. But it is delicious icl.
Glad you liked it! If the cacio e pepe style of black pepper + parm isn’t enough for you (I totally get it lol), feel free to add a few teaspoons of red pepper flakes (go crazy) or some chopped Calabrian chilies!
made this tonight and it came out great! used a regular blender for the sauce and pappardelle + also added some lemon zest to the top — think next time i’ll probably try toasting some panko bread crumbs with parm, lemon zest and red pepper for more texture 🙂 super versatile and great summer recipe!! always looking for more corn-related things and this fit the bill excellently
So glad you liked! And the breadcrumb idea sounds phenomenal, red pepper would definitely be a welcome addition to this!
I made this tonight and we thought it was delicious! I can see this paired with grilled shrimp or salmon as well as just a straight-up pasta dish.
So thrilled you liked it!! And with grilled shrimp it sounds AMAZING.
Do you think nutritional yeast would work in place of the parm? Trying to stay away from dairy but I love the idea of this recipe!!
I love that as a sub! The sauce might not get as glossy, but the flavor will still be great!
Can this dish be served at room temp? I was considering bringing it to a picnic but am worried about how the sauce will present once the dish cools down and is sitting out for a while.
Hi! The sauce will definitely thicken so I’m not sure it’s the most delicious at room temp. I have an Aleppo Pepper Pasta Salad here that is just as summery and great for a picnic though! https://justinesnacks.com/aleppo-pepper-pasta-salad/
Made this tonight. Incredible flavor and texture! So so good.
Omg thank you for taking the time to leave a review! It helps the blog more than you know and I’m really glad you liked it <3
Loved this recipe! One question: when you say to add three cups of the corn broth, do you mean three ladle-fuls? I wasn’t sure and opted for three cups, which made my pasta quite a bit saucier than yours. Still delicious, but I’d love to know for next time!
Hi! It’s three cups (my ladle is measured to be 8 ounces, which comes in handy!) but the sauce should thicken as it cooks down, so for next time I’d suggest letting it cook a bit longer to help get it to a thicker consistency that I think you are looking for! Sorry that it got too saucy on you, but I’m glad it was still delicious <3 I hope this helps for next time!
this was DELICIOUS and so easy to make! I’ve never cooked with corn off the cob before (only canned) and it was so quick to do, also worked flawlessly with a normal blender. the flavour is surprisingly complex considering how simple it is <3
This comment makes me so happy! I beyond thrilled you liked it!
The taste was incredible and nicely sweet, but it didn’t come together properly for me. I really want to make it again, but would like some suggestions on a few things. 1) The receipe says that I should cook the corn for 9-11 minutes, but before it turns color. My corn turned color pretty quickly. Any suggestions on what I can do differently? 2) The parm cheese didn’t mix into the blended corn and water at all for me. The product was a very watery dish with clumps of parm cheese. I don’t have an immersion blender and so I put all the ingredients into a blender and then transferred it back into the pan. Maybe this is why it didn’t work? I love all of your receipes I’ve tried and I know this one will be perfect once I get it down!
Oh my GOSH how did I miss this! I’m so sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but we can definitely fix some things!
Your first question regarding the corn – this is an easy solve of just lowering your cooking heat a touch. It’s better for the corn to get cooked through, which is why it takes 9-12 minutes. Cooking it on a medium to medium-low heat lets the corn become softer and easier to blend into the sauce. Too often corn will be golden on the outside but not softened throughout, so just lower your heat a touch, keep stirring, and you should be good.
Second, the emulsifying might depend on your parmesan and how finely it’s grated. If its the pre-grated stuff in the green bottle (which is delicious, not gonna lie), that has stabilizers in it that prevent it from fully melting. If it’s *fancy* parmigiano, it should be grated as finely as possible. You blender should honestly give you a better result than an immersion blender. But just be sure to blend in batches and only for a short amount of time so the heat from the sauce doesn’t cause pressure in the blender…which may lead to a blender explosion (not dangerous, just messy). And of course, getting the corn cooking longer will help with the smoothness issue too!
I’m so sorry it took me so long to get to this, but I truly hope it helps!
xx,
Justine