This creamy corn pasta is the pasta we need in our lives this summer. It features a creamy sauce made with corn, miso, and a few simple ingredients. 30 minutes is plenty of time to slow down and make this comforting pasta. Warm comfort food is necessary even in the summer!
Found another place for corn this summer: in this pasta and the sauce for this pasta. Throw in some basil, tomatoes, and kale too. I used to multitask when I ate lunch alone, but I’m over that. Sometimes all you need is to sit in silence with a warm bowl and look out the window. And occasionally also look at the pasta in adoration because that’s the attention pasta deserves.
How to Make Creamy Corn Pasta
Boil pasta al dente. That means boil it in salted water and cook it about 75% of the way. That way when you heat it up with the sauce and any veggies you’d like, it won’t overcook.
Save your pasta water! It’s not necessarily key to do this for every pasta you make, but I’ve made it a habit. The starchy water helps the sauce stick to your pasta. Enter the creaminess.
Sauté corn kernels with onion, garlic, and red chili flakes. You could use frozen corn if that’s what you have, but the timing for this recipe was written with fresh corn in mind. If you’re using fresh corn, no need to do anything in advance. Simply cut the kernels off with a knife and they should easily separate into individual kernels. Then cook on the stove in olive oil with onion, garlic, and red chili flakes. It takes about 7-10 minutes for the corn to cook and I gotta say, I kinda wanted to eat it right after this step.
Blend the creamy corn sauce. Leave half of the corn kernels in the pot and blend the other half with miso, plant-based milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and pasta water. That’s it! So simple, but so good.
Assemble the pasta. Feel free to add more veggies if you’d like! Mushrooms, spinach, kale, and tomatoes all sound great. Simply pour the sauce over and you’re done.
Creamy Corn Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta of choice
- 2 ears of corn, separated into kernels
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ red onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp red chili flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp miso *sub 1 tbsp nutritional yeast + salt to taste
- ⅓ cup plant-based milk *I used oat milk, but anything should work!
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ cup pasta water
- basil for garnishing
- tomatoes *optional
- kale *optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions. Make sure to drain when it is still slightly firm so it doesn't overcook with the sauce later on. Save ½ cup of the water you cooked the pasta in.
- If using fresh corn, separate the corn kernels. Add 1.5 tbsp olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add garlic and chili flakes. Cook for a minute before adding corn. Sauté for about 8 minutes, or until the corn is cooked.
- Blend half of the saucepan's contents with the ingredients for the pasta sauce: miso, plant-based milk, pasta water, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Add the pasta to the leftover corn. Pour the sauce over and heat over medium-low for a few minutes until the sauce is well incorporated. Garnish with some basil!
For more summer pastas, check out:
Lemon Broccoli Pasta with Kale
