A creamy vegetarian pasta dish made with fresh sweet corn cut from the cob and and tons of fresh basil. This easy and unique pasta recipe only takes 30 minutes to make for the perfect summer weeknight meal.
One of the best parts of summer is fresh, sweet corn on the cob. I just can’t get enough. This easy pasta recipe will quickly become your new favorite way to enjoy summer’s bounty. If you love creamy pastas, you will be amazed at how delicious and creamy this sauce is without using any milk or cream. It’s just so good!
This pasta is perfect during peak corn season when it’s super hot and you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. Sweet corn right off the cob is cooked with shallots and garlic in butter and olive oil and tossed with hot cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper and pasta water to create a velvety, creamy sauce. Stir in some fresh sweet basil at the end for a pop of fresh, herby flavor and you’ve got yourself an amazing summer meal that the whole family will love!
Ingredients
All you need is a handful of fresh ingredients to make this super easy recipe.
- Campanelle Pasta – this is my favorite type of pasta to use in this recipe. It’s shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge and perfect for catching the corn kernels. If you don’t have campanelle pasta, the best substitutes would be farfalle (or bowtie pasta), conchiglie (little shells), orecchiette, fusilli, penne or rigatoni.
- Fresh sweet corn on the cob – I highly recommend sticking with fresh sweet corn cut off the cob. Frozen sweet corn kernels will work in a pinch but it will just not taste the same using canned corn.
- Shallot – adds a mild, sweet onion flavor.
- Fresh garlic
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
- Butter
- Olive oil – use good quality olive oil as it will make up the base of the sauce.
- Cracked black pepper – a generous amount of black pepper really complements the flavor of the sweet corn.
- Pasta water – the best part about this recipe is that you don’t need any heavy cream to make creamy pasta. The starchy pasta water added to the dish helps transform the ingredients into a luscious, creamy pasta sauce. If you’re using and alternative or gluten-free pasta, you will need to substitute with a bit of water and cornstarch to achieve best results.
- Variations – add some halved fresh cherry tomatoes. Switch up the herbs and use fresh oregano, Italian parsley or mint. Swap a pinch or two of red pepper flakes for black pepper to add heat. Add some lemon zest or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Make it dairy-free and vegan and use vegan butter and vegan parmesan cheese.
Method
Shuck the corn and use a sharp knife to remove the kernels from the cob. After all of the kernels are removed, use the back of your knife to scrape the cobs and release all of the milky liquid. Don’t skip this step, it adds so much flavor to the sauce!
Boil the pasta in salty water and cook until one minute shy of al dente. While the pasta is cooking, mince the garlic cloves and shallot. Before draining the pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water.
In the empty pasta pot or a large sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add corn and juices to the pan, season with a pinch of salt and cook for an additional minute.
Add hot pasta, parmesan cheese, black pepper and half of the cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss until everything is well combined and the sauce has a creamy, silky texture. Add more pasta water if needed.
Chiffonade the basil leaves by stacking them on top of each other, rolling gently into a log and slicing into thin strips. Stir fresh basil into pasta. Serve topped with more parmesan and black pepper if desired.
Tips for success
- To get the most corn flavor out of the dish, don’t skip scraping the juices from the cob.
- Don’t forget to reserve some of the starchy cooking water from the pasta. This what makes the sauce creamy without using any cream. If you use alternative or gluten free pasta, the cooking water will not be starchy enough and you will need to supplement with this substitute.
- Use fresh, high quality ingredients. This recipe has very simple flavors and the ingredients will make a difference in how it tastes!
What to serve with Creamy Sweet Corn and Basil Pasta
This creamy vegetarian pasta is hearty enough for a main course and just perfect served with a simple green salad. You can also serve it as a side with:
- Grilled Mediterranean Chicken
- BBQ Baby Back Ribs
- Grilled steak, fish or chicken
More summer pasta recipes you will love
- Sungold Tomato Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle
- Farmer’s Market Green Pasta
- Casarecce with Broccolini and Italian Sausage
- Arugula Pesto Pasta
Creamy Sweet Corn and Basil Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces campanelle pasta
- 2 ears fresh sweet corn about 2 cups cut from the cob
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- ¼ cup chiffonade basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Shuck the sweet corn and use a sharp knife to remove the kernels from the cob. Use the back of a knife to scrape along the cob to extract the milky corn juice into the bowl.
- In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil and add two teaspoons of kosher salt. Boil pasta according to package directions, cooking until one minute shy of al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, mince the garlic and shallot and chiffonade the basil leaves.
- In a large sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add minced shallots and sauté for about two minutes until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add in the sweet corn kernels and their juices and cook for another minute. Taste corn mixture and add a pinch of salt.
- Pour in about half of the pasta water, add hot cooked pasta and black pepper and toss to combine. Stir in parmesan cheese and add more pasta water until a creamy sauce forms and coats the pasta. Stir in fresh basil. Serve topped with extra parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper.
Courtney
This sounds perfect! A perfect side dish or main dish!
Deborah
This Corn and Basil Pasta looks amazing. I’ve never combined corn and pasta but I am eager to try this recipe!
Britney
I love how quick this meal comes together and it’s so flavorful! I make this at least once a week and my family loves it!
Camille
Made this for the family for meatless Monday and everyone loved it. I used bowtie pasta – didn’t have the campanelle variety on hand. Thanks for sharing with us. xx
Jazz
I served this for a patio lunch with my girlfriends and everybody asked for the recipe! I was happy to share how easy it is and directed everybody to your site. Thank you!
Taneisha
I am obsessed with corn, not to mention I live next to many farms that grow corn. When I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it and I’m so happy I did – 10/10 recipe! Thanks so much!
Robin
I had been looking for something new to prepare when I came across this recipe. It was so refreshingly light and flavorful I’ll continue to make it until corn is no longer in season.
Marta
I have an obscene amount of basil in the garden and was looking for ways to use it up. This sweet corn and basil pasta was perfect. It tastes like summer in a bowl!
Jacqueline
Make. This. Now. I had no idea corn with butter could be better, but paired with creamy parmigiano and fresh basil on top of pasta? It’s what summer dreams are made of. I ate the leftovers for breakfast.
Krysten @ Cooks with Soul
There’s something about basil and corn that just works so well together! This pasta is so satisfying without leaving you feeling heavy. My kids also love it! Perfect recipe for weeknight dinners because it doesn’t take a long time to throw together and you can go back for seconds or have leftovers.
Kim Krieger
This was so easy and delicious. What a great way to use seasonal fresh corn. My husband and grandson loved it. Always have fresh basal growing in the yard so this was easy. Substited butterfly pasta because this is what I had. This will be a late summer go to for me.
Jessica
Thank you so much, Kim! Happy you enjoyed it.
Michelle Lee
Listen. If you aren’t making this recipe every summer for the rest of your life, you probably don’t like delicious and easy meals. Are you a robot? I digress.
If easy and delicious didn’t get you – how about this: this amazing pasta won’t leave you feeling like you just ate 6 bowls of pasta (even though you did, obviously, because it’s amazing). Fresh corn is the star here. My kids, who are notoriously awful eaters, LOVED this and asked for seconds. Will we make this every week? every day? Watch out farmer’s market. We’re coming for your corn. It’s got the juice (and now this post is forever marked with that pop culture reference).
Jessica
Best. Review. Ever. THANK YOU!
Morgan S.
So good! I made it with different pasta because it’s all I had in my pantry but it still came out amazing! Perfect summer salad for bbqs or a a quite night at home. Suggestion: however much you think you need to make, double it. You are going to want to eat this all week!
Kate
This corn pasta tasted amazing! It was so creamy and delicious, everyone cleared their plates. Definitely going to share this recipe with my friends!