Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

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When it comes to life’s simple pleasures, enjoying oven-roasted corn on the cob with your closest friends and family on a lazy Sunday is right up there with the best of them.

It doesn’t get any simpler than just throwing a few ears of corn on the grill and waiting for it to get crispy and delicious. If you add some parmesan cheese, smoked paprika, and garlic powder to the mix, then you have a great meal on your hands!

There are a surprisingly large number of ways to enjoy fresh roasted corn on the cob. Each recipe brings something fresh and exciting to the mix.

I love playing around with the different options because, at my house, it’s not a proper barbecue unless there is some corn on the cob grilling right next to the burgers and steaks!

This particular oven-roasted corn-on-the-cob recipe is one of my favorites! It’s the simplicity and great tasting results that decided it for me. I’m sure once you have tasted it for yourself, you will have to agree with me on this one.

Why Cook Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob?

With so many different ways you could be enjoying corn on the cob, why chose this cooking method in particular? After all, grilled corn on the cob is the preferred method for most people.

However, sometimes the weather is not ideal for lighting up the grill and you are forced to remain indoors. When that happens, instead of waiting for the weather to clear, which may take ages, simply turn on the oven and throw some ears of corn in there!

The following are some of the reasons why you need to consider oven-roasted corn on the cob:

• It’s very easy to just set up the process and forget about it until it’s done
• You really get that crispy texture when you roast corn on the cob in the oven
• The moisture is retained while the outside of the roasting corn is beautifully caramelized
• If you are roasting corn for a large number of people, this is the perfect choice
• There is no great risk of charring the roasted corn when using an oven

How To Remove Corn Husks

If you do not regularly roast corn on the cob for your guests, then the old-fashioned yank-and-toss method will work just fine.

However, if you are a big fan of oven-roasted corn on the cob (as I’m sure you will be after trying out this recipe), you need a more efficient and less messy way of removing corn husks.

You will need to invest in a simple and affordable tool called a gripper pad. You would normally expect to use it to open stubborn jars of jam but it also works surprisingly well when shearing ears of corn!

Try Other Seasoning Ideas for Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

Fresh corn on the cob is so versatile when it comes to seasoning options that there is no wrong way to do it! Whichever way you prefer your roasted corn to taste is the one you can use.

Smoked paprika is one of the fan favorites at my house because of the color and extra kick it gives the corn.

If you do not have a lot of fresh herbs to try out, there are always a number of great spices that will go well with this corn-on-the-cob recipe.

Best Corn for Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

There are many varieties of corn on the cob out there and each of them has its own particular taste or kennel size. While this may affect other recipes, with this one, it does not matter.

You can choose whichever fresh corn variety you like and it will come out great in the end. Cooking corn on the cob is not an overly complicated process so feel free to try any types of corn cob varieties you come across.

The Right Way To Buy Corn on the Cob

One area you need to pay a lot of attention to is how you buy the corn on the cob. This recipe requires the use of fresh corn cobs if you want the taste to be right.

However, the problem is that many people do not know how to buy corn cobs so they end up buying cobs that have spent too many days in the produce aisle.

The question is how does one know whether a corn cob is fresh or not? It is very simple if you know how to read the silks on your cob.

As soon as the cob starts to wither and become stale, those hanging silks at the end of the cob will be the first to go.

Look carefully at the silks and make sure that they are firm and fresh, rather than dry and wilted.

Some grocery stores will allow you to shuck the corn cobs right there in the shop, which is the best way to be completely sure that the corn on the cob is fresh. However, even if that is not allowed, I always try to take a pick at the ends of the cobs before buying.

Garlic Butter and Other Corn on the Cob Toppings

I mention garlic butter topping in this case because it happens to be my favorite but there are so many other options that you can try out.

Making the garlic butter mixture is very easy because all you will need is:

• Unsalted butter (so that you can add the salt and pepper later on according to taste)
• Fresh parsley that has been finely chopped
• A little bit of salt and pepper
• Fresh garlic, although garlic powder will work too
• Grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the still-hot oven-roasted corn

If garlic butter is not your preferred choice, try any of these other options:

• Cajun seasoning
• Fresh Pico de Gallo
• Chimichurri
• Cinnamon sugar with unsalted butter
• Maple or Honey with fresh thyme
• Buffalo corn (chili powder and butter)
• Herby cheese and yogurt
• Pesto
• Honey Cayenne
• Sweet chili
• Harissa Cheese
• Mexican corn
• Zesty lime
• Paprika butter

Set up an Impressive Corn on the Cob Bar!

Roast corn can be used to create an awesome corn-on-the-cob bar with just a little bit of creativity.

The three main components of an oven-roasted corn cob bar are already in your possession, namely:

• Aluminum foil
• Toppings
• Roast corn

Start by preparing the corn cobs by shucking and rinsing them before adding them to your oven and roasting them.

Place the aluminum foil and the toppings next to the cooked corn. Your guests can simply place a corn cob in their aluminum foil wrap and then choose whichever toppings they want.

Corn on the Cob Recipe Tips and Tricks

There are so many versatile ingredients that you can choose to include or remove from this oven-roasted corn cob recipe to make it a lot more unique and particular to your taste, such as not adding garlic powder but including smoked paprika.

Besides that, here are some other tips and tricks that will help you get the best out of this corn cob recipe, such as:

Play Around With the Toppings

The toppings are the one area where you get a lot of freedom to express your individual tastes and switch things up if you feel like the recipe is getting a bit boring.

Garlic butter seems to be one of the most popular options when having oven-roasted corn but you could also go for fresh herbs or sour cream.

Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper

If you want a great way to counter the taste of sweet corn, there is no better option than adding a bit of chili powder or cayenne pepper to the mix!

You can simply stir them both into softened butter to make an explosive mix that your guests can choose to smear on their oven-roasted corn kernels. This way they can control how much chili or Cayenne pepper they add.

Unsalted Butter

Always make sure that you are using unsalted butter for all your topping or when you are smearing the inside of the baking sheet.

This is because if you use salted butter then there is always a risk that your oven-roasted corn kernels will become too salty after the toppings have been added.

It is better to have too little salt, which your dinner guests can add on their own, rather than having too much.

Butter Substitute

It’s good to always have a butter substitute for your toppings in case any of the diners feel like butter may have too many calories for their liking.

When coating the baking sheet, you can use olive oil as a good substitute to prevent the oven-roasted corn kernels from drying out.

No Need To Boil Corn Before Roasting!

You do not need to boil the corn cobs before roasting them because 30 minutes at 400°F is more than enough to ensure that the corn cobs are properly cooked through and through.

Boiling the cobs first will also increase the overall cooking time and affect the final taste of the roast corn.

You Can Cook Frozen Corn on the Cob in the Oven

As long as your oven is sufficiently hot, you can cook corn in the oven directly from the freezer without any problems.

This is quite handy if you happen to run out of cobs halfway through the barbecue while your guests still want some more. You can simply grab whatever you have in the freezer and pop it straight in the oven.

How To Store Baked Corn on the Cob

What if the dinner is over and you have a few oven-roasted corn cobs left? Luckily storing your cobs is very easy.

You simply wrap the corn in the aluminum foil you roasted them in and place them in the refrigerator. They will be fine for about three more days when kept this way.

When you are ready to finish them off, pop them back in the oven or in the microwave (after removing the aluminum foil, of course!) and warm the cobs up.

Time To Grab an Ear of Corn and Get To Work!

As you can see, there is no better way to enjoy a fresh juicy corn cob than roasting corn in the oven.

You can add just about anything to your corn cobs, such as creole seasoning, cotija cheese, or even a bit of lime juice and your cobs will still taste amazing.

Try this recipe out for yourself and let me know which types of seasoning or toppings are your favorite!

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