Corn pudding is one of those dishes that has always belonged at the holiday table but has never quite known what it was. Too dense for a vegetable, too savory for a dessert, too eggy for a casserole. It just shows up at Thanksgiving, everyone loves it, and nobody asks too many questions.
This version asks the questions and likes the answers.
Six eggs, whole milk ricotta, and full-fat Greek yogurt do something interesting together when they bake. They set into a custardy, slightly puffed pudding with a golden crust on top and a soft, creamy interior that pulls apart with a spoon. The corn - fresh is best, frozen works, canned is honest - gives the whole thing a natural sweetness that means the allulose in the batter is there for balance, not for sweetness.
What nobody expects from a corn pudding: 27 grams of protein per serving. Every gram comes from real food already in the recipe. The eggs contribute the most. The ricotta and Greek yogurt together nearly match them. This is not a protein-added recipe - it is a traditional dish that was quietly high protein all along and just needed someone to notice.
Gluten-free. Ready in 40 minutes. The dish that holds the holiday table together while the puerco asado rests.
Protein Score
Base protein: 27g per serving | Tier: Powerhouse
Six eggs across four servings deliver approximately 9g protein per person - and eggs are a complete protein, meaning all nine essential amino acids are present. One cup of whole milk ricotta adds 7g per serving. One cup of Greek yogurt adds another 5-6g. The corn rounds out the remaining 4-5g. This is a side dish that outperforms most protein shakes without a single scoop of powder. The protein comes from whole food ingredients that have been in this recipe for generations - we are just paying attention to what was already there.
Protein Boost options
The base recipe at 27g is already strong. If you want to push it further:
- Replace ½ cup of the ricotta with ½ cup full-fat cottage cheese - the texture blends completely into the batter when whisked and adds approximately 7g protein per serving, bringing the total to 34g. The flavor is identical.
- Add 2 tablespoon unflavored collagen peptides to the dry ingredients - adds 9g protein per serving with zero impact on flavor or texture. Collagen dissolves completely into the batter.
- Serve alongside 4oz of puerco asado or pollo asado - the corn pudding plays the role of the starchy side while the protein on the plate handles the rest. Together, they make a complete Powerhouse plate without the corn pudding needing to change at all.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Six eggs and a full cup each of ricotta and Greek yogurt build 27g of whole-food protein into what looks and tastes like a comfort side dish - nobody at the table needs to know unless you want to tell them
- Greek yogurt replaces the plain yogurt in the original - same creamy tang, significantly more protein, and a texture that blends identically into the batter
- Allulose replaces granulated sugar - one tablespoon across the full batch adds the background sweetness that keeps the corn from reading as purely savory, with zero blood glucose impact
- Gluten-free baking flour is a 1-to-1 swap that holds the pudding structure without changing the texture - this dish is naturally gluten-free with one ingredient change
- The butter is reduced from the original ½ cup to ¼ cup - the eggs and ricotta already carry the richness, and 200 fewer calories of fat per serving means the protein percentage of the dish becomes the headline instead of the fat
- This is the dish that comes out of the oven looking like it took all day, and took 40 minutes, including cleanup
High-Protein Corn Pudding with Greek Yogurt and Ricotta
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grass-fed butter melted and slightly cooled
- 6 cups fresh corn kernels from approximately 6 ears - or frozen thawed, or 3 cans well-drained
- 3 tablespoon gluten-free measure-for-measure baking flour https://amzn.to/46KmM7q
- 1 tablespoon granulated allulose https://amzn.to/4rmyOey
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat and prep: preheat oven to 350F. Butter or spray a 9-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: in a small bowl whisk together gluten-free flour, allulose, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: in a large bowl whisk together eggs, Greek yogurt, ricotta, and melted butter until smooth and well combined - approximately 1 minute of whisking. The ricotta will not fully smooth out and that is correct. Small curds throughout the batter are what create the pudding texture.
- Combine: add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Add corn: fold in the corn kernels with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Bake: pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until the top is deep golden, the edges are set, and the center has only a slight jiggle when the dish is moved. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Rest: let stand 5 minutes before serving. The pudding continues to set during this rest time.
Notes
Nutrition
TEXTURE TIPS
- Room temperature eggs matter in a custardy baked dish. Cold eggs hit warm melted butter and cause the fat to seize before the batter comes together. Pull eggs and dairy from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you start.
- Do not fully smooth the ricotta into the batter. Small curds of ricotta distributed through the mixture are what create pockets of creamy texture in the finished pudding. Over-whisking the ricotta makes the texture uniform in a way that is less interesting.
- The top should be genuinely golden before you pull it from the oven - not pale gold, not light tan. Deep golden. The Maillard reaction happening on the surface of the egg-based batter is part of the flavor. If the top is not golden at 30 minutes, give it another 3-5 minutes and check again.
- The center jiggle test: hold the dish with both hands and give it a firm sideways nudge. The edges should be completely still. The center can have a slight, unified jiggle - like set gelatin moving as one piece. If it ripples in waves, it needs more time.
- Let it rest the full 5 minutes. The internal temperature continues rising after the dish comes out of the oven and the center finishes setting during the rest. Cut into it immediately and the center will look underdone even if it was perfectly baked.
MEAL PREP HOW-TO
- This pudding is an ideal make-ahead Thanksgiving dish. Assemble the full batter the night before, cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Pull from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off, then bake as directed. The cold batter may need an additional 5 minutes in the oven.
- Baked pudding holds well. Make it the morning of Thanksgiving and reheat at 300F covered with foil for 15-20 minutes before serving. It reheats without losing its texture.
- For weekly meal prep outside the holiday season: portion the baked pudding into 4 containers and refrigerate. Reheat individual portions in the microwave at 60% power for 90 seconds. Serve alongside a lean protein for a complete high-protein meal.
- Bariatric portioning: ⅓ cup is a manageable starting portion at approximately 9g protein, soft throughout with no tough textures, easy to eat slowly. The eggy custard base digests gently. The corn provides fiber that helps with satiety at a small volume. This is one of the more bariatric-friendly holiday sides in the collection.
STORAGE TIPS
- Refrigerator: airtight container or covered baking dish up to 4 days. The pudding holds its texture and flavor well through the week. Reheat: oven at 300F covered with foil for 15-20 minutes for a full dish. Individual portions in the microwave at 60% power 90 seconds.
- Freezer: wrap individual portions in plastic wrap and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven. The texture softens slightly after freezing but remains good. Do not refrigerate unbaked batter more than overnight - the baking powder begins to lose its lift after 12 hours.
TRY THESE NEXT
- Moro de Guandules con Coco - for the Noche Buena table. The Dominican Christmas rice that starts the celebration, built the traditional way with coconut milk and bone broth.
- Sugar-Free Jamon Glaseado with Pineapple and Mustard - when the table calls for a centerpiece and the puerco asado is already spoken for. 35g protein, the sugar-free glaze that caramelizes properly.
- High-Protein Turkey and Pork Meatball Tomato Soup - the bowl for the day after the holiday table when you want something warm and light. 32-35g protein, 30 minutes.
Pull the eggs and dairy early. Whisk until just combined. Let the ricotta stay a little lumpy. Watch for the deep golden top. Rest it five minutes before you cut.
That is the whole method. The protein was always there. We just stopped ignoring it.
Tag @strengthandsazon and use #StrengthAndSazon - I want to see your holiday tables.
A buen tiempo.
Con Fuerza y Sazón,
Gaila
AFPA Certified Nutritionist, Dominican Cook, Bariatric Patient
Did you make this recipe? I want to see your plate! Tag @strengthandsazon and use #StrengthAndSazon so I can share your creation with our whole community 🇩🇴
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