Light and fluffy, these hearty griddle corn cakes are perfect for anything from a nibble to the base of a main meal. They are sometimes simply called griddle cakes, but this can also refer to pancakes so I don’t want to confuse anyone.
What are Corn Cakes?
Simpy put, they are a Southern traditional and fall someplace between corn bread and pancakes. Kind of like a cornbread pancake, acutally.
They are fried on a griddle so they get the crunchy exterior and airy middle of hush puppies, only flat.
Ingredients
The ingredients are pantry essentials and fridge basics, so you should be able to whip up a batch whenever you’d like! A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Whole corn– Corn is the essential element in corn cakes. Fresh, canned or frozen kernels are all acceptable. If you using frozen make sure they are thawed. Canned or frozen need to be well drained and fairly dry so they don’t add more moisture to the batter.
- Yellow cornmeal – Some only use cornmeal and that is fine. Corn meal is dried corn that has been ground down to a fine grain. It can be somewhat large grained and gritty or super fine. This depends on the brand you purchase. I like using yellow, but you can use white too. This provides structure and texture. They are a corn cake, after all. I used a fine cornmeal for this recipe. It gives a little texture, but isn’t gritty.
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Egg
- Milk
- Vegetable or canola oil
Perfect Pairings
I add corn to my griddle corn cakes batter, but you can add other elements too. Try these variations.
- Minced jalapeno
- Minced bell pepper
- Chopped okra
- Wilted kale
- Drizzle with honey
- Top with honey butter
- Sour cream or plain yogurt
- Top with salsa or guacamole
- Shredded cheese
- Crumbled bacon or bulk sausage
- Drizzle with maple syrup
Griddle Corn Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 egg , lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups corn kernels
- Vegetable Oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and kosher salt.
- Add beaten egg and milk, mixing until just wet- do not overmix!
- Fold in corn kernels.
- Set aside for 5 minutes to settle before frying.
- Heat griddle or cast iron skillet to 325 degrees (or medium heat).
- Drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil onto cooking surface.
- Ladle 1/4 cup onto hot surface. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Remove to a warm oven and continue with remaining batter.
- Top with desired toppings.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in comments or ratings.
Nutrition
Storage & Freezing
Corn cakes are best fresh off the griddle, but if you need to make them ahead of time, the best way to reheat is throwing them back on the griddle or in cast iron.
You can also warm them in the microwave by wrapping them individually in a damp paper towel and heating on 50% power for 20 seconds. This should prevent them from getting rubbery.
Yes, you sure can! Simply place in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months in the freezer.
More Corny Recipes
Whether using fresh summer corn, frozen or canned, you will love these corn recipes.
I made these this morning except I substituted an all purpose gluten free flour for the flour. I thought they were delicious and will definitely save this recipe!
I made these today as a snack. I added Splenda instead of sugar. Came out really good & tasty also did not put in the corn pieces. We love them easy to make also
I only had evaporated milk in the house, but the family really loved these!! They were dense in the best way possible. I did add about 1/2 cup more of the evaporated milk, made the consistency scoop-able and perfect!!! Thanks!!
Thanks for the feedback. They are a hearty cake!
Wow. This was a really fast and easy side dish to use up a bunch of corn that has been accumulating in my freezer. My teenage boys loved it! I drizzled mine with spicy honey. One of my boys topped his with regular honey, and the other boy put ketchup on top. Yum. Will make again.
Yay! Thanks for coming back to let us know!
I love that the batter is roughly as hard as a baseball and adding 5 more cups of milk made it the perfect consistency for pancakes
I needed to add 4 or 5 cups of milk to get this batter into a pancake batter
4-5 cups of milk would make this pure liquid and not pancake batter at all- I’m thinking maybe you added the wrong measurements of something.
Loved it! Fast and tasty. Removed the sugar so I could add honey on top with butter 😉
That sounds lovely! Thanks for coming back to let us know.
All the ingredients of the perfect comfort food! I can’t wait to try with fresh corn from the farmers market.
Yum! These look so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love these!