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The finished corn pasta dish with bacon in a white serving platter with a gold spoon.

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Creamy Corn Pasta with Bacon

Recipe by Kelli Avila

When corn is in season, make this Creamy Corn Pasta! Crisp bacon, sweet corn and sharp pungent Cotija cheese and orecchiette to scoop everything up make this weeknight pasta out-of-this-world-good. 

  • Total Time35 minutes
  • YieldServes 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • Salt (for pasta water and seasoning)
  • 1 pound dried orecchiette pasta
  • 6 slices bacon, diced
  • 2 green onions, trimmed and sliced thin, whites and greens separated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups fresh-cut corn kernels (cut from 4-6 cobs)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup grated Cotija (or Parmesan cheese)

Instructions

  1. Fill a large pot with water and add a big pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pasta and set the timer to cook to al dente according to package instructions. Set aside 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the large pot.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until crispy. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat from the pan.
  3. Add the green onion whites and garlic to the pan with the bacon and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the corn and cook until softened about 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in the cream and butter and cook until the butter is melted about 30 seconds. Shut off the heat.
  5. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the corn mixture. Stir together, adding the reserved pasta water a little at a time, until saucy and well coated.
  6. Right before serving, stir in the grated Cotija, then taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt as needed. Serve with the green onion tops for garnish.

Notes

Don't add salt until the very end. Because of the salted pasta water and the salty pancetta, you likely won't need to add salt to this dish at all. But if you do, add it in at the end after you've tasted it.

Use any pasta that you want here, though the orecchiette are fun for holding the corn and bacon

Bacon can be swapped out with ham or you can even omit it. Though you'll lose a bit of flavor, so I recommend increasing the garlic and adding salt.

Find it online: https://everydayfamilyeats.com/creamy-corn-pasta/