The holiday season might be behind us for another 11 months but with football games and awards shows cluttering weekend social calendars, appetizer and snack recipes, like these sweet corn balls, are in higher demand than ever.
Recently, I was inspired by Healthy Happy Life’s “” recipe but since I’m not a big fan of fried foods, I decided to try the recipe with my own little twist.
These are a great guilt-free snack to serve at any party, or just to enjoy by yourself at home.
I served these a bit warm on a plate with a side of the Perfect Guacamole. If your guests don’t devour these by the end of party, toss them in a Ziploc bag and store them in the refrigerator… I promise you, they’re good even two days later.
The original recipe made about 10 balls, but for the crowd we had over for Christmas I decided to double it and ended up with nearly 30 balls. As you can see, though, I did create two different sized balls and actually, I preferred the smaller ones – better for dipping!
To customize the recipe to your own tastes/the ingredients in your pantry, mix it up a bit and use black beans instead of white beans. You can also add your favorite spices, such as chipotle powder for heat.
Nutritional Benefits:
Corn: Yellow corn is especially high in the antioxidant carotenoid, lutein. The lutein in yellow corn and yellow corn products can protect against heart disease and macular degeneration, a condition of the eye that typically occurs in old age. Corn is also a good source of vitamin C as well as the bone-supporting mineral manganese.
Cannellini Beans: These beans are low-fat, high in fiber and provide a high quality of magnesium, fiber, iron and folate. Interestingly, cannellini beans have twice as much iron as beef! These white beans are also loaded with thiamine which is essential for high mental performance. Thiamine is required for a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which improves reaction time.
Nutritional Yeast Flakes: a great ingredient for vegetarians and vegans to keep on hand as it is plant-based protein that is naturally low in fat and contains no sodium. In fact, one ounce of nutritional yeast contains 14 grams of protein and 79 calories. Nutritional yeast is also a good source of fiber, with more than seven grams per ounce. Diets high in fiber can assist in lowering cholesterol, reduce the risk of colon disease and protect against high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
- 2 15 ounce cans of organic cannellini beans; rinse with water and let drain
- 20 ounce. frozen organic sweet corn kernels
- 5 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 3 teaspoon maple
- 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 large plain rice cakes, finely crushed
- Steam corn on the stove for about 10 minutes, drain and cool while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees (or set your broiler). Add all of the ingredients except for the crushed rice cakes into a large bowl.
- Mash the corn and bean mixture with a fork or pestle and mortar until the mixture becomes pasty. Place both rice cakes in a large plastic bag and crush them into breadcrumb-like pieces. I’d recommend using a meat mallet or a similar kitchen tool to crush the cakes. Fold the crushed rice cakes into the mixture so that the mixture becomes more moldable.
- Use an ice cream scooper to create balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the sweet corn balls in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat on the other side.
22 Comments
Marissa
July 21, 2017 at 9:54 pmJust made them for a party tomorrow and sampled one! Yummy! What would be a good dipping sauce?
Maris Callahan
July 25, 2017 at 10:56 amI’m sorry I missed this earlier — what did you wind up using as a dipping sauce? I would have done a spicy aioli!
Chaya
January 31, 2012 at 12:02 pmIf you are going to put corn in the title of a recipe, know, I am on my way. I love corn and these corn balls intrigue me. Would you do me a favor, if possible and link this to My Meatless Mondays, on my blog? This is the perfect recipe to sub in, on a meatless day or meatless lifestyle.
http://sweetsav.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-meatless-mondays-blueberry-crumbless.html
Shannon
January 30, 2012 at 3:45 pmooh, corn isn’t something i would’ve paired with cannelinni beans, but these look great 🙂
Jessica B.
January 29, 2012 at 9:47 amGood morning! I was thinking about making these tomorrow, but I have a question about one of the ingredients. It calls for 3 tsp. maple. My assumption is that it’s maple syrup, but a bad assumption can be disastrous in the kitchen! Can you please advise? Thank you!
Laura
January 29, 2012 at 10:43 amHi Jessica, Yes, you’re right – it’s maple syrup! Sorry about that missing word! Good luck making the recipe, let us know how it turns out for you! 🙂
Jessica B.
January 29, 2012 at 1:35 pmGreat, thank you! I will keep you posted on the results.
Maureen
January 25, 2012 at 6:53 amThese would be great finger food for our upcoming drinks party. Yum!
Nami | Just One Cookbook
January 24, 2012 at 8:25 pmThis is something that my kids would LOVE to eat! It will work for snack or appetizer. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Joanne
January 24, 2012 at 6:55 amI feel like throwing fritters/balls of any kind to the appetizer mix just amps it up. I love all things corn and can’t wait to try these!
Lorraine Not Quite Nigella
January 23, 2012 at 11:25 pmMaris, I’m corn mad and I love that these are lower in fat than regular corn cakes!
Angela
January 23, 2012 at 8:30 pmYum! I never would have thought of a cumin/maple flavor combo, but it is total genius.
Rachel @ Bakerita
January 23, 2012 at 6:43 pmThese look so yummy. Can’t wait to try them! Love that they’re customizable.
Priscilla - She's Cookin'
January 23, 2012 at 5:40 pmI do several meatless dishes each week and had nothing planned for dinner tonight, so baked corn and bean fritters sound perfect – warming coriander and cumin sound great on this rainy day, too!
Lisa
January 23, 2012 at 3:58 pmI love these – they remind me of the corn fritters I make on occasion, except I deep-fry them. Obviously yours are healthier, especially with the nutritional yeast – they look awesome!
Carolyn
January 23, 2012 at 3:33 pmThese look great. Love the cumin in them, it’s one of my favourite spices.
Lora @cakeduchess
January 23, 2012 at 12:49 pmI love finding new vegetarian recipes and these sweet corn balls look fantastic:)I can’t wait to make them soon. Hope you are having a great start to your week:)
Jamie
January 23, 2012 at 12:24 pmThese look so good and the list of ingredients has me craving them now! Fabulous treat! Healthy, original and oooh such a great way to enjoy corn and beans! Great recipe, Maris!
Kristen
January 23, 2012 at 11:50 amAmazing! I love recipes like this, that will totally appeal to my meat-loving friends as much as it appeals to me. Can’t wait to try it out!
Amanda
January 23, 2012 at 10:14 amThese look amazing! Perfect for any get together!
T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types
January 23, 2012 at 9:13 amWhat a great idea – the combination of ingredients and flavors are perfect for a healthy (and just slightly indulgent) snack!
Alexis @ There She Goesa
January 23, 2012 at 8:34 amyumm! these would be a perfect superbowl bite!