Name: Summer Sweet Corn Saute
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 4 Tablespoons butter or vegan butter; 4 ears sweet corn (kernels sliced from cobs, ~4 cups kernels); 3 green onions (chopped); 2 cloves garlic (pressed or minced); salt and pepper; 8 medium-sized basil leaves (chopped)

Summer Sweet Corn Saute is a buttery, 5 ingredient side dish recipe that pairs perfectly with any summer dinner!

scoop of summer sweet corn saute side dish on a plate

I realized as I dug into my sweet corn studded Scallops and Zoodles for dinner at Bol last week in Vail that it was the first bite of sweet corn I’d had all summer long. As an Iowan, that is a SIN!

I guess I had to go all the way to Colorado to ignite my craving because all I’ve been thinking about since returning home is all the ways to enjoy it. Raw, grilled, stirring in risottos, topping tacos, or simmered in soups, soups, and more soups!

To squash a sweet corn craving in nearly no time at all though, and enhance it’s natural sweetness with just a few fridge and garden staples, I’ve gotta go with Summer Sweet Corn Saute.

I cannot express how yummy this easy side dish is and, best of all, the recipe calls for just 5 ingredients plus salt and pepper. Sweet, snappy, and garlic-basil-buttery — it pairs with any summer dinner!

Sweet Corn Saute

Fresh sweet corn kernels sliced off the cob are sauted in butter with green onions, garlic, and an offensive amount of salt and cracked black pepper before fresh basil is stirred into the mix.

Let this recipe serve more as a guide versus a hard and fast one that you need to follow exactly. Truly all you need to do is add butter to a hot skillet then add sweet corn kernels, a few green onions and cloves of garlic, plus a small handful of fresh basil. Saute for a few minutes then serve.

This recipe is simple enough to whip up any night of the week, is great to prep ahead of time, and pairs well with pretty much anything — especially grilled chicken, salmon, sizzling steaks, or pork tenderloin.

How to Make Summer Sweet Corn Saute

Start by slicing the kernels off 4 ears sweet corn, for roughly 4 cups kernels total.

How to Slice Kernels Off the Cob — No Mess!

Next melt 4 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-heat. I always use salted butter but you can use whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Vegan butter works too!

Add the kernels to the skillet with 3 sliced green onions, 2 pressed or minced garlic cloves, and TONS of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Saute until the kernels are crisp-tender, 4-5 minutes, then add 8 fresh basil leaves that have been chopped and stir to combine.

Here’s my favorite method for chopping fresh basil leaves:

Stack the basil leaves on top of one another
Roll the leaves up like a cigar
Slice (aka julienne) the leaves into thin strips

For this recipe, since we want chopped vs julienned basil, take your knife then slice the opposite direction of the strips to chop them up. Easy!

Scoop Sweet Corn Saute onto plates next to whatever you’ve got cookin’ for dinner, then DIG IN (and don’t say I didn’t warn you about fighting over leftovers!) Enjoy! :)