Parmesan Corn on the Cob with Smoky Garlic Parmesan Butter
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Smoky Parmesan corn on the cob is the ultimate summer recipe. The corn is coated in a garlicky Parmesan butter, then grilled (or roasted) until deliciously smoky perfection. It’s a super easy-to-make side dish that everyone loves!
Of all the corn-on-the-cob recipes here, this one is the most popular. And there’s good reason for that … it’s amazingly delicious.
The way the Parmesan cheese and butter melt together and wrap themselves around the corn is almost too good to be true. Then there’s the smokiness from the paprika and a bit of garlic flavor that takes this corn over the top.
Salty Parmesan cheese and sweet corn are a match made in heaven. It’s a cheesy saying (pun totally intended!), but it’s true. These babies are DELICIOUS!
This Parmesan corn on the cob is also super versatile. Roast them in your oven, grill them on your BBQ, or wrap them in foil and cook them over your campfire. No matter how you cook them, they are amazing!
What to serve with parmesan corn on the cob
While this recipe can be made either in the oven or on the grill, I typically serve it in the summer when I’m craving all things BBQ. Since the grill is already turned on, I’ll usually make my grilled BBQ chicken as the main.
Coleslaw is another must for me, and I have many coleslaw recipes for you to choose from. And if I’m going for all the traditional BBQ sides I’ll sometimes add a creamy potato salad, a classic macaroni salad, and sometimes even baked beans with bacon.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
The Parmesan butter will keep for a long time (at least a week) in your fridge.
You can prepare the corn by coating it with the Parmesan butter up to 2 days before you plan to cook it. Put the buttered corn on a baking sheet and cover it with a beeswax wrap. Leave it in your fridge until you’re ready to cook the corn.
The corn is best cooked fresh, so leave the cooking part until you are ready to eat it.
Parmesan Corn on the Cob with Smoky Garlic Parmesan Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 ears corn (shucked and broken in half – see notes)
- Grated parmesan cheese and green onions for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the parmesan, butter, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt.½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, ¼ cup butter, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Spread the butter evenly over the pieces of corn, using your hands to press the butter on firmly.4 ears corn
- Choose one of the cooking methods (below) then serve the cooked corn with a little parmesan cheese and some sliced green onions on top.Grated parmesan cheese and green onions for garnish
- Baked Corn on the Cob: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the parmesan buttered corn on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes – do not turn the corn. For corn with a few char marks, broil during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- BBQ Corn on the Cob: Preheat your grill on high heat. Either wrap the parmesan buttered corn in foil or (preferably) use a grill mat. BBQ for 10-12 minutes, turning a few times until the corn is cooked through and has several char marks.
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Popular corn on the cob recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of my corn recipes!
I used softened butter and covered the corn with it and then rolled it around in the spices and cheese mix. Amazing!
It turned out too salty. I think the recipe could do with less salt, or none at all.
this is cooking in my oven as i type this, 15 min’s in and it smells good.
Wrap corn individually for grilling all together?
We wrap them individually. 🙂
Flavors are fine, but 20 min (oven) was WAY too under-done. Mine took 40 min. And this is sweet summer bicolored corn in Wisconsin, no broom sticks here.
I’ve never heard of corn taking so long to cook! I’m happy it turned out in the end.
In a word, SUPERB! Absolutely delicious, I will probably never make corn on the cob any other way again.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for coming back to let us know!!
This was a super easy delicious recipe. I chose to grill the foil packed corn but should have kept it on for longer than 10 minutes to get the char marks. All in all it was very good. I served it for a girls lunch with a curry chicken salad.
So happy to hear it was a hit!
I have made this several times and everyone loves it!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
Made this corn dish as a side to my smoky BBQ pork ribs with baked potato, sour cream and chives.
Omitted the parmesan cheese and it still was an amazing side dish. Have never baked corn in the oven before but will be doing this again. My partner thinks im a great cook now… but really i just followed your recipe.. so WE haveimpressed him greatly. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Sounds like an AMAZING dinner!!
Made this for my family last night…And it was the first time I ever cooked corn on the cob…And they loved it…I will be using this recipe every time…
I’m so happy the recipe was a win!!
I couldn’t find smokey paprika…so I made the original work…came out just fine “deelishes”
That’s so great to hear!
This looks so great. Even better bc we don’t have a grill. Do you take the husk off bc ur wrapping them in aluminum or do I leave the husk on?
Hi Christina,
Do take the husk off before wrapping them in the foil 🙂
Just wanted to let you know I tried this tonight on some fresh corn.. grilled it up; used your recipe, but used chipotle seasoning, instead of paprika.. and added cilantro and a touch of lime juice.. otherwise no change.. partially un-husked the corn, grilled on medium for 12 min (rotated 3 times) and when the cob had been inhaled.. the drippings of chipotle/parmesan/cilantro and garlic were soaked up with a lovely cut of grilled sirloin.. Oh> My< GOODNESS! Fresh flavor! Thank you!!!
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you so much for the feedback. You have me craving grilled sirloin now!
Not sure if I need to wrap them. Mouth is watering already lol
Hey Jaz,
You’ll find this recipe really easy to make and it will definitely be a hit. Do wrap them in foil before putting them on the grill.
They can be made (buttered and wrapped) a day before. Keep them in your fridge until you’re ready to grill them.
Enjoy!
Perfect recipe for a beginner like myself to go with our grilled burgers! One question..how do you grill these sexy babies??