The Canned Vegetable That Transforms Creamy Pasta into a Comfort Meal

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I have seen a lot of canned vegetable upgrades lately. One person suggested adding canned mushrooms to a grilled cheese, and another said to pour canned collard greens over white rice. I thought those tricks were pretty smart, so I asked our team if anyone had any other hacks tucked up their sleeves. One canned vegetable our team reaches for a lot is creamed corn. If you’re unfamiliar, most canned versions of creamed corn don’t actually contain any cream or dairy but get their consistency from cobs being scraped or squeezed. This is called “corn milk,” and it’s combined with corn and sugar to create creamed corn.

Food Editor Patty Catalano recommends adding creamed corn to chicken pot pie, enchiladas, corn chowder, and chili to make the dishes creamier. Senior Recipe Editor Christine Gallary likes to add a can to egg drop soup. Senior Culinary Producer Rachel Perlmutter adds it to corn chowder to make it creamier without adding more dairy. But what I was really interested in was adding a can to Alfredo sauce. So I followed our recipe for the best-ever fettuccine Alfredo with a slight twist. Here’s how it turned out.

How to Upgrade Alfredo Sauce with Creamed Corn

• Make your pasta. Start by boiling a pot of water, and cook your fettuccine until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water and strain.

• Make the Alfredo sauce. Melt butter in a large skillet. Stir in Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, heavy cream, garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently until it thickens. Once the sauce is thickened, pour in a 15-ounce can of creamed corn and stir to combine.

• Mix pasta in sauce. When the creamed corn is mixed into the Alfredo sauce, add the pasta to the skillet. Add the reserved pasta water as needed until it reaches a smooth, glossy consistency.

My Honest Review of Creamed Corn Alfredo Sauce

Who knew my favorite ingredient in a fettuccine Alfredo was one day going to be a can of creamed corn? Well, it is now. An Alfredo sauce is obviously already very creamy. The main ingredients, after all, are Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano, heavy cream, and butter. They melt together into cheesy, creamy perfection, which can sometimes be a bit heavy. Adding a can of creamed corn helps to cut some of that richness.

Corn has a natural sweetness to it. You might think that quality would be weird in such a creamy, savory dish, but it really ties the flavors together. The nutmeg also does wonders to round things out in our recipe. Cooking is always a balancing act: While you can taste the corn flavor, the classic Alfredo flavors are also maintained without being overwhelmed.

The creamed corn also adds a fun texture to the dish. If the can were just regular corn instead of creamed, I think the kernels would have too jarring a texture. The creamed corn has a more velvety and smooth consistency, with slightly mashed kernels that melt away into the sauce. The creaminess of this pasta dish was unmatched, and I would love to see what else I could add a can to for another comforting dinner.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: The Canned Vegetable That Transforms Creamy Pasta into a Comfort Meal

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