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You are here: Home / Blog / Cheesy Corn Cakes

Cheesy Corn Cakes

Published: Sep 21, 2016 · Modified: Jan 4, 2019 by Marisa Moore·

333 shares
Easy Cheesy Corn Cakes stack

These easy, cheesy corn cakes with sharp cheddar and scallions are the perfect whole grain appetizer, snack or base to hold more food! 

Jump to Recipe

Cheesy Corn Cakes

This month’s recipe redux challenge was to recall our earliest culinary memories. I immediately thought about summers spent shelling butterbeans and shucking fresh corn on the porch with my Grandma, then packing it to freeze and eat through the winter. On most weekends she’d make the handmade biscuits using White Lily flour, buttermilk, and shortening. During the holidays, the kitchen would be filled with rows of fragrant pineapple cakes. I’d get really excited to see her roll out dumplings on the same table where we’d eat chicken and dumplings later that day. So many memories flooded my mind as I took it back to the first time I remember cooking with my Grandma.

As I narrowed down what I’d make, I realized the recurring theme was seeing my Grandma at the kitchen table with some sort of cornmeal or flour in her hands. She’d make flour bread to sop up molasses or stewed fruit or cornbread “flitters” to go with greens. Yes. She called them “flitters.” At some point, I realized she meant fritters but now just saying that makes me smile.

I had to go with cornbread fritters. Today is the last day of summer and I’m definitely ready for fall. As such, I wanted to pair these with greens – since that’s the way we’d eat the cornbread fritters – but I just didn’t have time make a proper pot of greens.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Easy Cheesy Corn Cakes that happen to be gluten-free + whole grain! #EasyRecipes” quote=”Easy Cheesy Corn Cakes that happen to be gluten-free + whole grain! #EasyRecipes”]

I’m sure she used the stone-ground cornmeal because she’d always complain when she could only find the white one. I’m not sure if it was self-rising? Probably not – but that’s what I used. Unfortunately, I don’t have her actual recipe. I don’t think she used one. And my Mom doesn’t really cook. I had to consult Google.

Corn Cakes

I spent an afternoon (then evening) playing with cornmeal. The recipe below included a bit of sugar and whole wheat flour and tasted like a light and fluffy corn pancake. It was good and I may share the recipe on the blog later but it was not what I was going for. But those edges? Yeah… was definitely going for that!

Corn Cakes

Back to the actual recipe. It was special to be able to use one of Grandma’s cast iron skillets. But my first batch stuck to the pan. And you know what that means? It means my cast iron is not properly seasoned and THAT means I’m falling off my Carolina girl cooking game. The thing is this little pan is easily 50 years old and I don’t know how to clean it properly. I’ve read a million and one articles on the Internet about how to clean cast iron but this is the result.

hoecakes

Eventually, I got it together and landed on these light, cheesy corn cakes with green onions. And I couldn’t be happier with the results. I ate a couple last night straight from the griddle then popped a couple in the toaster oven for breakfast this morning with scrambled eggs.

corn-cakes-ig-overhead

In summary… I made a slightly elevated hoecake. That’s the other name you’ll find these under. A traditional hoecake is simply cornmeal and hot water with melted butter or some kind of fat – usually bacon grease. There are many stories about how hoecakes earned the name but no matter where your mind wandered, the most common explanation is that “hoe” was a colloquial term for griddle back in the day.  You’ll also hear them called johnny cakes but those recipes usually include flour. My Grandma’s corn cakes never included flour. They were dense in a good way and incredibly simple to make.

Here’s my take…

Cheesy Corn Cakes
Print Recipe

Cheesy Corn Cakes

These easy, cheesy corn cakes with sharp cheddar and scallions are the perfect whole grain appetizer, snack or base to hold more food! 
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: corn cakes
Servings: 8
Calories: 76kcal
Author: Marisa Moore, RDN

Ingredients

  • 1 - 1¼ cup boiling hot water
  • 1 cup self-rising yellow whole grain cornmeal
  • ¼ cup green onion , finely chopped
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil

Instructions

  • Preheat a griddle (cast iron is recommended) until hot. You can also use a large cast iron skillet.
  • In a mixing bowl, add the cornmeal then 1 cup of hot water. Mix until combined. Add the green onion and cheese. Stir until just combined. The batter will be a little thicker than pancake batter. For thinner corn cakes, add more water, a little at a time.
  • Add the coconut oil to the hot griddle. Brush or swirl it around to coat the pan.
  • Drop ¼ cup portions of the batter onto the griddle. Cook about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and the cheese is crisp. Serve immediately or reheat the next day in a toaster oven.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcal

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Easy Cheesy Corn Cakes

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333 shares

Filed Under: Appetizers, Blog, Breakfast, Recipe ReDux, Recipes, Snacks

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren

    September 21, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    Gorgeous, these look so tasty!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      September 30, 2016 at 9:04 am

      Thanks, Lauren!

      Reply
  2. Cara

    September 22, 2016 at 11:36 am

    Beautiful! These sounds so good – definitely some comfort food material here.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      September 30, 2016 at 9:04 am

      Thanks, Cara! That they are!

      Reply
  3. Julie Harrington

    September 22, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    I want to put a fried egg on top for breakfast!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      September 30, 2016 at 9:04 am

      Exactly what I did one day! So good!

      Reply
  4. Sherry Cheatham

    October 25, 2016 at 6:47 am

    Marisa you brought back such fond memories of me and my grandmother with your article. I am new to your site, and I am a Carolina girl! Yay!!!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      October 25, 2016 at 9:43 am

      Hi, Fellow Carolina Girl! I can tell you’re just as proud of that as I am. And those are the best memories :). Thanks so much for stopping by my site!

      Reply
  5. Sandra

    March 06, 2017 at 5:17 pm

    Those pancakes look delicious. I have cooked with Cast iron my whole life. We don’t have anything else in my house no non-stick ever. One way you can season it is to put a high smoke point oil(canola, peanut, vegetable) in the skillet. Heat it over a very, very low heat on the stove top eye (for about 5 to 10 min) you don’t want the oil to burn. Wipe out the access and it should be okay. Just remember to use oil each time you cook. Once it’s re-seasoned you can use a spray, but I usually pour oil in the pan and wipe it out with a paper towel. You can use the oil soaked paper towel to oil the pan as you cook. Be patient it will re-season.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      March 06, 2017 at 5:21 pm

      You make it sound so easy! Thanks for the tips! I think I’m missing the main ingredient – patience 🙂

      Reply

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Marisa Moore in a yellow top in a white kitchen

MARISA MOORE

Hi! I'm Marisa, a registered dietitian nutritionist living in Atlanta, GA. I use this blog to share (mostly) vegetarian recipes, credible nutrition information and a peek into my Southern roots and travels!

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