This Easy Low Carb Skillet Cheesy Corn BBQ-Style is famous in Kansas City. Just like Kentucky has its red slaw and Texas has its beans, this "mac and cheese" knock off uses corn and riced cauliflower instead of pasta for a delicious low carb treat!
Truth be told, I have actually never been to Kansas City.
Yup...it's true.
So how can one possibly create an iconic recipe from a place one has never been?
That's the beauty of restaurants!
Mr. Grumbles and I recently went to a BBQ restaurant specializing in Kansas City BBQ. All of their combo meals came with a side of Cheesy Corn Casserole. Intrigued, I decided to try it...and man, am I ever glad I did!!
Perfectly creamy with chunks of corn and a sweet yet slightly tangy taste from the added cheese, this Cheesy Corn BBQ-Style was absolutely AMAZING!
However, I am also sure that the amount of corn and who-knows-what-else that was added to the casserole made this delicious side dish way too heavy in carbs to fit into my "low carb/keto" diet.
So, wanting to replicate the delicious flavour yet cut way down on the carb count of this dish, I decided to recreate this corn dish to fit into my low carb, gluten-free and keto diet.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS EASY CHEESY CORN BBQ-STYLE?
- bacon crumbles (or bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces)
- whole corn kernels (I used DelMonte canned corn kernels)
- riced cauliflower
- ham steak
- sour cream
- cream cheese
- granulated garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt
- yellow cheddar cheese (or regular cheddar cheese)
IS CORN TOO HIGH IN CARBS TO FIT INTO A LOW CARB OR KETO DIET?
Technically speaking, yes, corn is high in carbs. In a ½ cup serving of drained whole corn kernels, there are about 11 g of net carbs.
So, to help reduce the number of carbs, I cut back on the amount of corn and replaced some of the corn with riced cauliflower. The riced cauliflower took on the flavour of the cheesy corn so you couldn't even tell it was cauliflower.
By keeping some of the corn in the dish, you still have the corn flavour and the corn pieces while keeping the overall carb count on the lower side.
Since this dish serves 8, the net carb count (which is the total number of carbs minus the fibre) comes in at only 7 grams. Pair this with some zero carb chicken, beef or pork and you have a delicious meal for a total of only 7 grams of carbs!
HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS SKILLET CORN DISH?
- Adjust oven rack to 6 inches from the top broiler element.
- In a large oven-proof skillet, stir together the corn, riced cauliflower, ¼ cup bacon, ham, sour cream and cream cheese, granulated garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne to the skillet, breaking up the cream cheese with a rubber spatula.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the cream cheese is melt and the mixture just begins to bubble at the edge (8-10 minutes)
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese
- Stir until the cheese has melted.
- Top the oven-proof skillet with remaining cheese and a sprinkling of remaining 2 tablespoon of bacon crumbles (if desired) and place the skillet under the broiler until cheese is spotty brown (about 3 minutes).
- Serve immediately.
Tips, Tricks and Substitutions for this Low Carb Skillet Cheesy Corn recipe:
- feel free to use 2-3 strips of real bacon that has been cooked instead of the bacon crumbles
- you can use frozen cauliflower - just make sure that you thaw it before using
- you can make your own riced cauliflower instead of buying it pre-riced
- feel free to use any type of cheddar cheese - yellow cheddar just gives it that bright yellow colour
- if you want to cut back even more on carbs, you could replace more of the corn with riced cauliflower
- if you don't have an oven-proof skillet, you can simply spread the mixture into a casserole dish before placing it under the broiler
- make sure that you stay close to the oven when you place this dish under the broiler as the cheese can burn
What could you serve along with this Low Carb Skillet Cheesy Corn?
Italian Pepper Pulled Pork - 3 Ingredients!
Crispy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (Whole30, Keto, GF)
Crispy Nacho Cheese Dorito Wings
Whole30 Air Fried Chicken - Quick and Easy
Low Carb Skillet Cheesy Corn BBQ-Style
Perfectly creamy with chunks of corn and a sweet yet slightly tangy taste from the added cheese, this Cheesy Corn BBQ-Style was absolutely AMAZING!
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup bacon crumbles, divided (or 2-3 stips of bacon, cooked and crumbled)
- 15 oz fresh whole corn kernels (drained)
- 12 oz riced cauliflower (frozen or fresh)
- 4 oz ham steak, cut into ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup sour cream
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 6 oz yellow cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to 6 inches from top broiler element.
- In a large oven-proof skillet on medium heat, stir together the corn, riced caulilfower, ¼ cup of the bacon crumbles, ham, sour cream and cream cheese, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne, breaking up the cream cheese while stirring all the ingredients together. Cook until the cream cheese is melt and the mixture just begins to bubble at the edge (8-10 minutes)
- Off heat, stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Top skillet with remaining cheese and 2 tablespoon of remaining bacon crumbles.
- Turn the broiler on "Hi" and place the skillet under the broiler until the cheese begins to brown brown (about 3 minutes).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- this recipe clocks in at just over 70% fat so it is suitable for a keto diet if you pair it with a
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: BBQ
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 294
- Sugar: 1
- Fat: 23
- Carbohydrates: 8
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 12
Sarah says
I had never heard of this. I made this recipe for dinner on Sunday. It was incredibly delicious.