When planning your freezer meals for the month, you probably put a lot of focus on your main dishes. But adding a few freezer side dishes to your menu is a great way to include a flavourful addition to your meal. This cheesy jalapeño corn casserole can be reheated in the slow cooker, making it a great choice for your next make ahead meal.
Crock Pot Jalapeño Corn Casserole Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 28 oz. frozen corn
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 jalapeño, finely diced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- salt, pepper
Freezing instructions:
- Add the frozen corn, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeño, butter, and heavy cream in a large freezer bag.
- Remove excess air from the bag. Seal and freeze.
Serving instructions:
- On day of cooking, dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for three to four hours, stirring partway through to combine all the ingredients.
- Serve.
How Do You Melt Cream Cheese in the Crock Pot?
You might be wondering how this freezer side dish will come together if all the ingredients are simply dumped into the crock pot to reheat. Since the slow cooker will melt the cream cheese as it warms, there’s no need to pre-mix your ingredients before adding them to your crock pot.
To be sure your corn casserole is thoroughly mixed before you serve it, you can remove the lid from the slow cooker to stir the ingredients together halfway through the cook time. Otherwise, just allow the casserole to cook for the time specified in the recipe, then stir the ingredients together until they’re smooth before you’re ready to serve your side.
How Do You Cut a Jalapeño?
Dicing a spicy pepper can be tricky! And since this recipe uses a finely diced jalapeño, it’s probably a good idea to learn the best way to cut your pepper. Follow these simple tips to learn the right way to dice a jalapeño:
- Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin. Plastic gloves are the best way to keep the pepper’s juice from getting on your skin, which could cause a reaction if your skin is sensitive to the pepper’s capsaicin.
- Cut off the stem to remove the seeds. The seeds of the jalapeño are what give it it’s spice. So, if you want your jalapeño corn to be spicy, you can leave some seeds intact. Otherwise, start by cutting off the stem of the pepper, then slice the pepper in half lengthwise. Use your finger or a small spoon to scrape the seeds off each side and discard.
- Slice, then dice the pepper. Once the seeds are removed, slice the pepper into thin strips. Line up all the strips together into a bunch and dice them into small cubes to add to your casserole.
Check out some of our other make ahead side dishes:
- 28 oz. frozen corn
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 jalapeño finely diced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
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Add the frozen corn, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeño, butter, and heavy cream to a large freezer bag.
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Remove excess air from the bag. Seal and freeze.
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On day of cooking, dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for three to four hours, stirring partway through.
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Serve.
Now you are of course welcome to just open up a can of cranberry sauce, but this is one side dish where you can taste the difference between store-bought and homemade. And it’s so worth the extra effort to make homemade cranberry sauce. 
This freezes well for up to 3-6 months. Imagine making this one afternoon in late summer and knowing that you have one of your holiday side dishes already made and ready to go!
Serving instructions:
Reheating Instructions:
These baked beans are a great dish to take to a summer potluck or BBQ. This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish, so is also great for camping.
