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Cajun Corn Maque Choux Recipe

Name: Maque Choux Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 ears corn ((about 3 cups corn)); 4 slices bacon (chopped); 1 medium yellow onion (chopped (about 1 cup)); 1 red bell pepper (chopped (medium sized, about 1 cup)); 1 jalapeno pepper (chopped); 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings; Salt and pepper to taste; 1/4 cup chicken stock; ½ cup heavy cream (or use chicken stock for a more traditional version); Hot Sauce (for serving)

by Mike Hultquist · Jan 13, 2023 · 131 Comments

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Maque Choux is a classic Cajun recipe of corn and peppers sautéed in bacon grease until softened and spiced with a blend of Cajun seasonings. It’s an outstanding Southern side dish.

Cajun Stewed Corn (Maque Choux)

If you're looking for a fantastic corn side dish recipe that will knock everyone's socks clean off, look no further than Maque Choux. This. Stuff. ROCKS.

It's a classic Cajun side dish that is jam packed with flavor and will easily compliment whatever you're grilling or cooking up. At it's core, it is a corn dish made fabulous with Cajun seasonings, bacon, onion, peppers and that last final touch - a bit of heavy cream.

Just be careful. If you serve this, it just might outshine whatever you're serving it with.

OH BABY!

Let's talk about how to make maque choux, shall we?

Maque Choux Ingredients

Get your ingredients together, including 4 slices bacon, 3 cups corn (about 4 ears worth + milk from the corn cobs), 1 medium yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 jalapeno pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings + salt and pepper, 1/4 cup chicken stock, and ½ cup of heavy cream (or use extra chicken stock for a more traditional version).

How to Make Maque Choux - The Recipe Method

First, cook up your bacon in a hot pan about 8 minutes, until the fats render and the bacon is mostly cooked through and starts to crisp up.

Cooking bacon in a pan to make Corn Maque Choux

Next, stir in 3 cups of corn + corn milk, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped bell pepper, and 1 chopped jalapeno pepper along with the Cajun seasonings. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

A simmering pan of Cajun Stewed Corn, aka Maque Choux

Cook them up, stirring a bit, until the vegetables cook through and start to caramelize, about 10 minutes or so.

Stir in the chicken stock and simmer 10-15 minutes. It will thicken up nicely with the corn milk and vegetables.

Finally, stir in a half cup of heavy cream and simmer the whole dish for 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat and serve it up.

Cajun Corn Maque Choux in a pan, ready to serve

About the Peppers

Traditional Maque Choux is made with bell peppers only, but I've included a jalapeno pepper in the mix to add a bit of a heat element. Cajun food is definitely "spicy", but it isn't typically "hot". You can easily incorporate other chili peppers to up the heat factor.

See our list of chili pepper types for some choices.

This is definitely a dish that will satisfy your inner chilihead.

Do I Need to Use Cream?

The heavy cream is delicious, but if you're looking for a lighter version, you can use crema instead, or a mixture of the two.

Also, you can use chicken stock for a much lighter version. It will still taste great.

Changing Up the Recipe

You can include other peppers as mentioned, as well as swapping out the cream for stock or other lighter creams, and you can easily include others of your favorite vegetables, like garlic, tomato and celery.

Add chopped chicken to turn this into an easy one-pan dinner. Diced ham would be a nice addition as well.

I would totally eat this for dinner. Just don't forget the hot sauce! Go with a good Louisiana style hot sauce.

Enjoy!

A serving bowl filled with Cajun Corn Maque Choux

Check Out Some of Our Other Popular Cajun Dishes

Try Some of Our Other Popular Corn Side Dishes

Elotes (Mexican Street Corn)
Mexican Corn Dip
Grilled Corn and Sweet Pepper Salad
Charred Corn Salad with Hatch Green Chiles
Jerk Rubbed Grilled Corn on the Cob
Calabacitas

Mike taking a scoop of Cajun Corn Maque Choux from the pan

If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.

Maque Choux Recipe

Maque Choux is a classic Cajun recipe of corn and peppers sautéed in bacon grease until softened and spiced with a blend of Cajun seasonings. It’s an outstanding Southern side dish.

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cajun, corn, side dish

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings:

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4.99 from 50 votes

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Ingredients

4 ears corn (about 3 cups corn)
4 slices bacon chopped
1 medium yellow onion chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red bell pepper chopped (medium sized, about 1 cup)
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream or use chicken stock for a more traditional version
Hot Sauce for serving

Instructions

Slice the corn kernels from the corn cobs and set them aside into the bowl. Use the dull edge of a knife to scrape the edges of the corn cobs to release their "milk" into the bowl. Set aside.
Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it becomes nice and crispy, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the corn onion, peppers and Cajun seasonings + salt and pepper to taste. Cook until they soften up and start to caramelize, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes. The mixture will thicken nicely with the stock and corn milk.
Add the heavy cream (or extra chicken stock). Let it warm for about 2 minutes, stirring a bit, then remove from heat.
Serve!

Video

Notes

Serves 6

Heat Factor: Mild-Medium. This dish is traditionally made with bell peppers. I've added a jalapeno to give it a bit of heat, but the cream really offsets it. If you're looking for a hotter version, go heavy on the Cajun seasonings and introduce a hotter pepper or spicy chili flakes to finish the dish.

The corn milk from the cobs is an important factor in the creamy quality of this dish, but you can use frozen corn instead, and add heavy cream.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 150kcal Carbohydrates: 5g Protein: 3g Fat: 13g Saturated Fat: 7g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0.02g Cholesterol: 32mg Sodium: 119mg Potassium: 163mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 3g Vitamin A: 1517IU Vitamin C: 30mg Calcium: 23mg Iron: 0.5mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 1/13/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 6/18/18.