Cheddar-Corn Spoon Bread

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Prep Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Servings:
6

Spoon bread, a classic Southern side dish, is actually more like a pudding than a bread. It's so soft, it can be served -- and eaten -- with a spoon.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for baking dish

  • 2 cups milk

  • 1 ½ cups corn kernels

  • cup yellow cornmeal

  • Coarse salt

  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

  • 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese

  • 4 large eggs, separated

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart souffle dish or casserole; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Let cool until just warm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Stir in egg yolks until combined.

  2. In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the whites into cornmeal mixture until combined, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared dish.

  3. Place dish in oven; reduce oven heat to 375 degrees. Bake until browned on top but still slightly loose in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Notes

To avoid deflating beaten whites, use quick, circular motions, running spatula down through center then up at sides.

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