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Yeah, well this creamy corn pasta with fried herbs is one of those recipes. All summer long Iโve been trying to follow the motto, simple is best, and this pasta is just that. It focuses on two main summer garden staples, fresh corn and fresh herbs.
I used a little butter, and a lot of cheese, and I finished off with some pan-fried herbs. Iโm telling you, itโs kind of perfect.
Plus, I knew it would be a meal my mom would love and thatโs something Iโve been trying to achieve lately. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my grandma is pretty sick and fighting cancer the best she can. Thank you guys so much for your prayers and encouraging words, if you can keep them coming, both my family and I are so appreciative.
My mom was back in Cleveland for a week with her in early July and is headed back on Friday. Sadly Nonnie is not doing well and itโs been hard for everyone, but especially for my mom. Itโs truly one of the worst things to see someone you love so much going through so much pain. And for me that not only means my grandma, but also my mom.
We are praying like crazy over here and just trying to stay positive. I think that people deal with sadness in so many different ways, but for me, I love to try to help people through and show them I care with food. Itโs actually one of the reasons I started cooking in the first place, to give people one of lifeโs simple enjoyments, delicious food.



Today that simple life enjoyment is this pasta. Itโs buttery, basily, carby, and filled with corn kernels, and these are some of my sweet momโs favorite foods.
If thereโs one thing about my mom that I know for sure, itโs that buttery pasta is one of her ultimate comfort foodsโฆokay and maybe some homemade chocolate chips cookies too (I have her recipe in theย cookbook).
So, what makes this creamy corn pasta recipe so perfect? Three thingsโฆ
butterโฆof course.
sweet cornโฆsummer staple.
herbsโฆlots of them, and fried too, yummm.
oh, and the parmesan cheese helps a ton too, but if you asked my mom sheโd probably say to leave the cheese out because it distracts too much from the butter and pastaโฆshe really loves her butter.
And now you see where I get this love of butter fromโฆ

Hereโs how this quick recipe works. You ready, because it goes fast with simple ingredients.
Boil up some pasta, really any cut works, but I love a longer cut. Cook up a few ears of corn with some butter, garlic, and thyme. Add a little milk (I used goat milk, which is extra delicious), some parmesan, basil and your pasta. Toss it all up and then top with some herbs fried in a little olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt.
Done and DONE.
Dinner in under thirty minutes, made in one panโฆa meal that just about everyone will love.

Creamed Corn Pasta with Fried Herbs

Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 ears sweet corn, kernels removed from the cob
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3-2/3 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta.2. Add the butter to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the corn and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5-8 minutes or until the corn has browned lightly and caramelized. Stir in the chopped thyme, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes, and cook 1 minute more. Add the milk and simmer until warmed. 3. Add the pasta, parmesan, and splash of the pasta cooking water and toss to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the pasta is warmed throughout. If needed, thin the sauce with more cream or water. Remove from the heat and stir in a handful of basil. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a small skillet set over medium high heat. When the oil sizzles, add the basil leaves and thyme sprigs and fry 30 seconds or until crisp. Remove the skillet from the heat.5. Divide the pasta among plates and top with fried herbs. Eat!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.

Summer comfort food here we come.

























Quick and easy! This pasta was amazing.
Hey Hilary,
Thanks a lot for giving the recipe a go, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I just adore you! Thank you for all these yummy recipes. I have some extra fresh rosemary I want to use and no fresh thyme. I may just use dried thyme but was wondering if you think rosemary would be too overpowering for this recipe. What do you think?
Hey Robyn,
I think rosemary would work well here! I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this but added a couple of zucchini that I had on hand. They really brightened up the recipe. Was delicious.Li
Thank you so much Lisa!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
O my yum! My hubby and I loved this with our homemade pasta! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Homemade pasta is the BEST!! I am so glad you loved this recipe Em!
Just wanted to let you know I ended up substituting the dried thyme and it was really good! I was wondering though if the 1/3 cup of milk/cream was a typo, though, for next time I make it? I had 8 oz of heavy cream and had to use it all or it would have been really dry. Even then I thought it could have used more but that was all I had.
Hi Leanne! So happy you enjoyed this. I like to us the pasta cooking water to create a bite more sauce, but next time feel free to add as much cream as you’d like. SO happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I went to two grocery stores last night to get the ingredients to make this, but both were out of fresh thyme! Do you think dried thyme would work, or is the fresh thyme a key ingredient?
oh no! What a pain, I am so sorry! Fresh thyme will be great! Hope you love the pasta!