Make a Creamy Corn Pasta recipe with simple ingredients including delicious sweet corn. Serve with lots of fresh basil for the perfect summer dinner.
Quick
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to create a smooth sauce
Worth It: Simple method, great results without fussy steps
Bonus: Reheats well
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Great way to enjoy corn – I love summer sweet corn. I usually use it for a simple corn salad, but I was inspired to make a pasta dish with a cream sauce and lots of fresh basil.
- Easy to make – The best part is this pasta it is so simple to make. Saute corn in a skillet over medium heat while you cook the pasta. Add ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese, then combine and enjoy!
- Summer comfort food – This pasta dish is the perfect combination of comfort food and fresh seasonal flavors. I am sure you will love it whether it is serves as an entree or a side dish.
Serving Suggestions
This corn pasta is delicious serves on its own with extra parmesan cheese on top. It is also delicious when served alongside tomato focaccia.
If you want to serve it as a side dish it makes for a hearty side to a steak. I like to serve it alongside some air fryer flank steak or grilled steak. It is also great when paired with a fresh summer salad like a peach burrata salad or caesar salad.
Ingredients
- Pasta – I recommend rigatoni or penne, but any shape will work
- Sweet corn – definitely go for corn on the cob in season! Nothing beats the flavor of fresh corn kernels from the cob
- Olive oil – I use extra virgin olive oil, but you could use a neutral oil as well
- Salted butter – the butter adds a nutty aroma to your sauce that is so delicious
- Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes – a simple combination of spices brings this dish together
- Ricotta cheese – ricotta is one of my favorites, especially in summer recipes
- Parmesan Cheese – no pasta dish is complete without a bit of parmesan. Make sure to use freshly grated in order for it to melt smoothly. Use a blender to quickly grate the cheese.
- Fresh basil – I love the herby flavor from the basil in this recipe. You can also use fresh parsley
Ingredient Substitutions
It is very easy to turn this into a gluten-free pasta recipe. Simply replace the standard pasta with a gluten free pasta option. My favorite gluten free pasta is a brown rice pasta. You can get a delicious brown rice fusili at Trader Joe’s that would be perfect when mixed with the creamy corn sauce.
To brighten up the sauce, add a bit of fresh lemon juice. You can also add some cloves garlic to your dish. Sauté it for a minute or two before adding your corn. For variations on this dish, I like to add zucchini or cherry tomatoes to my corn mixture as well. The blistered tomatoes taste so good with the corn.
For a vegan version, use vegan butter, as well as a combination of dairy-free creamer and nutritional yeast.
How to make
Step 1: Boil pasta and saute corn
To begin, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then, cut sweet corn off of the ear.
Next, pour pasta into the boiling water. Then, heat oil and butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet and pour corn into the hot pan.
Toss the corn in the oil and butter and season with half teaspoon salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Toss and saute until the corn is soft and fragrant.
Step 2: Mix creamy sauce
Then, pour the ricotta and parmesan cheese into the pan and reduce the heat to low.
Take 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and pour into the pan with the cheese and corn. Mix until the water and cheese makes a smooth sauce. You can add a few extra tablespoons as needed until you reach your desired consistency.
Step 3: toss pasta in sauce and serve
Finally, drain the cooked al dente pasta using a slotted spoon and transfer directly into the sauce and stir to coat. Slice fresh basil into ribbons and serve the pasta with lots of fresh basil.
Storage and reheating
Allow the creamy corn pasta recipe to cool completely and then place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 6 days.
Reheat gently on the stove top over medium-low heat. Heat until the pasta and sauce are just warmed through and serve. If the sauce seems to thick, thin with a splash of water as you reheat. You can reheat leftovers in the microwave, but I find it tastes better on the stove top.
Garnish reheated pasta with extra parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and some fresh cracked black pepper.
Check out these other simple pasta recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Creamy Corn Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- 2 ears of sweet corn
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper optional
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- Lots of fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cut sweet corn off of the ear. Pour pasta into the boiling water.
- Heat oil and butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet and pour corn into the hot pan. Toss the corn in the oil and butter and season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.
- Toss and saute until the corn is soft and fragrant. Pour the ricotta and parmesan cheese into the pan and reduce the heat to low.
- Take 1/2 cup of the water from the boiling pasta and pour into the pan with the cheese and corn. Mix until the water and cheese makes a smooth sauce.
- Transfer the cooked pasta directly into the sauce and toss to coat. Slice fresh basil into ribbons and serve the pasta with lots of fresh basil
Recipe Notes
- You must use freshly grated parmesan for it to mix into the creamy sauce properly
- You can use any kind of dry pasta, but I prefer something like rigatoni or fusili
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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