This easy skillet corn recipe is inspired by 4 Rivers BBQ. It’s the perfect vegetarian southern side dish that uses canned corn for convenience – however fresh corn works, too!
Table of Contents
What is Four Rivers Inspired Skillet Corn
Get ready to savor the flavors of summer with my 4 Rivers Inspired Southern Skillet Corn.
This dish is the perfect marriage of sweet and savory, guaranteeing to make your taste buds do a happy dance.
It's made with sweet corn, grape tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro and sweet honey.
This dish will make you fall in love with corn all over again.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Olive Oil - You could use butter or margarine but watch so it doesn't butter.
- Red Onion - Any kind of onion or shallot will work.
- Grape Tomatoes - You could also dice up beefsteak tomatoes or even use cherry tomatoes.
- Red Pepper Flakes - Cayenne or another spicy dried spice will work.
- Garlic - Garlic powder will also work.
- Sweet Corn - You can use fresh or canned corn for this recipe.
- Salty butter - If you don't have salty butter, try margartine or unsalted with an added pinch of salt.
- Cilantro - A lot of people don't like cilantro and if you're one of them you can either leave it off or sub basil or parsley.
- Honey - Same goes for honey. If you don't like honey or are vegan, leave it off and add a pinch of brown sugar.
How to make it
Making 4 rivers skillet corn is super easy!
First, you'll want to add olive oil, red onion, tomatoes, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt to a saute pan (I’m using @ourplace!) over medium heat.
Cook this mixture down for 3 minutes or until tomatoes start to get jammy.
Now add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes until tender and fragrant.
Add the canned or fresh corn and another pinch of salt cook until heated through; about 1-2 minutes.
Once hot and cooked through, stir in butter and cilantro.
Finish with a drizzle of honey and some fresh cracked pepper and a sprinkle of finishing flaky salt.
What goes with Four Rivers Inspired Skillet Corn
This delicious side dish goes perfectly with my teriyaki turkey burgers, this sun dried tomato orzo, or even my sweet chili salmon sushi cups.
Or you could pair it with one of these tasty main dishes like Gochujang Pasta, Trader Joe's Sweet Corn Burrata raviolis with a lemon basil cream sauce, Creamy Pesto Pasta or One Pot Cheesy Orzo with Broccoli.
For dessert, you could try my No Bake salted caramel peanut butter pie as a delicious sweet treat.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns 4 Rivers Smokehouse?
4 Rivers is owned by John Rivers. It is said that he never set out to create the most successful BBQ chain in Florida but he did! He's not a classically trained chef or graduate of culinary school but his food is amazing.
Why did my canned corn turn brown?
Oh no! It turns out that canned corn may turn brown during processing because the very high temperature in the pressure canner may cause the sugar in the corn to caramelize. This happens more often with super sweet varieties and when kernels are immature. Processing at pressure higher than necessary increases browning.
Is canned corn already cooked?
Yes, canned corn is fully cooked, so it is safe to eat without further cooking. Canned vegetables are great to keep on hand. My tip is to look for “low sodium” or “no salt added” on the label, or rinse canned vegetables to reduce their sodium (salt) content.
Save this recipe for later
To make sure that you don't accidentally lose this southern skillet corn recipe, feel free to pin any image on this page to your summer recipes or side dish pinterest boards.
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And if pinterest isn't really your thing, you can always scroll down to the bottom of this post and print the printable recipe card.
Recipe
Four Rivers Inspired Skillet Corn Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Red Onion
- 1 cup Grape Tomatoes halved
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 6 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
- 2 cans Sweet Corn drained
- 1 tablespoon Salty Butter
- ¼ cup Cilantro roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
- Add olive oil, red onion, tomatoes, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt to a saute pan over medium heat. Cook down for 3 minutes or until tomatoes start to get jammy.
- Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes until tender and fragrant then add corn and another pinch of salt cook until heated through; about 1-2 minutes.
- Once hot, stir in butter, cilantro and finish with a drizzle of honey and some fresh cracked pepper and a sprinkle of finishing flaky salt.
