Cheese Corn Balls
The best cheese and corn balls are crispy on the outside, tender and cheesy on the inside. They are a delicious snack that can be baked or fried, and are perfect to serve with zesty sauces and sides. Here you’ll find my easy (no-fail!) Cheese Corn Balls recipe with step-by-step photos.
About Cheese Corn Balls
Cheese Corn Balls are a classic snack that we enjoy often in India. Here we prepare them similar to the European/French style of fried cheese and corn balls or puffs, known as gougeres. They are crunchy and crispy with a sweet and cheesy inside, and pair great with bright and tangy condiments.
We usually eat cheese and corn balls at restaurants, and thought it was time I developed an easy recipe to make at home.
I tried a variety of cheese, corn, and flour proportions, subbed ingredients and tested all kinds of frying methods. And after many trials I finally perfected this foolproof cheese corn balls recipe!
The secret for making the best cheese and corn balls is – not surprising – to use the right cheese and corn.
In India we have Amul, which is a processed cheese that is quite different in taste and texture than American processed cheese. Typically I buy Amul as a large, semi-hard block and grate it by hand for the best taste.
You can use shredded American-style cheese if Amul is not available. However, it won’t have same lovely rich and complex flavor that you get with Amul.
I use fresh corn kernels that are steamed and left whole. You can also use canned corn or frozen corn that’s thawed. Also, I prefer sweet corn for this recipe. But feel free to use unsweet corn for a more savory snack.
For more corn recipes, check out – 21 Sweet Corn Recipes.
The corn cheese balls can be fried on the stovetop, or easily baked in the oven for a slightly healthier version.
The oven baked ones won’t be crispy like the fried cheese and corn balls. Instead they have a nice soft texture that is just as delicious. Either method you try is sure to make a tasty dish you’ll love!
How to make Cheese Corn Balls
Cook Corn and Potatoes
1. First steam (or boil) 1 medium to large corn cob and 1 large or 2 medium-sized potatoes (150 grams). You can steam them in a pressure cooker, electric rice cooker, or a steamer.
In a stovetop pressure cooker, cook them for 3 to 4 whistles with 1.5 cups water. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker. Then only open the lid.
In an instant pot, steam on high pressure for 15 to 20 whistles with 2 cups water, placing them on a trivet directly or in a steamer basket placed on a trivet. Give a quick pressure release after 5 minutes and open the lid.
2. Once tender remove them carefully with tongs in a strainer. Drain all the water. Let the corn cob and the potatoes cool completely at room temperature.
There should be no water or moisture when you start mixing the corn and the potatoes. Carefully remove the corn kernels from the cooked cob with a sharp knife.
Make Corn Cheese Mixture
3. In a pan or bowl, mash the potatoes very well. There should be no lumps. You can choose to first grate and then mash the boiled potatoes.
4. Add the scraped corn kernels.
5. Grate 50 grams, roughly ½ cup, of processed cheese. Set aside.
6. Now add the seasonings – ½ teaspoon of garlic paste or minced garlic, ½ teaspoon of crushed black pepper (or pepper powder) and salt to taste.
7. Add the grated cheese to the corn and mashed potatoes mixture.
8. Then add ½ teaspoon of dried basil, ½ teaspoon of dried oregano and 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Feel free to use fresh herbs if you have them.
9. Mix very well. Check the taste and add some more pepper or salt if required.
10. Use your hands to form the mixture into small to medium sized balls. They should be roughly the size of a large golf ball or slightly smaller.
Fry Cheese Corn Balls
11. Heat oil on medium heat in a deep pan or wok (kadai). Check the temperature of the oil by adding a tiny ball made from the mixture.
12. The ball should rise to the surface steadily and gradually. If the ball comes up slowly, then the oil is not hot enough. If it comes up too quickly, the oil is very hot, so reduce the heat.
Also check to see if the corn cheese ball breaks apart in the hot oil. If it does, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons more of the all-purpose flour or as needed to the corn-cheese mixture and mix again.
13. When the temperature is right, carefully slide a few of the cheese corn balls gently into the hot oil.
14. Fry for a few minutes.
15. When one side turns golden, use a slotted spoon to turn them over. But don’t rush them!
If you poke them too much before they are ready the cheese balls are likely to break in the oil.
16. Turn again a couple of times to get an even golden color, and to ensure that they have cooked completely.
17. Transfer them with the slotted spoon to paper towels. This will help to absorb any excess oil and make them nice and crispy. Fry the remaining cheese and corn balls using the same steps.
18. Serve cheese corn balls hot or warm with your preferred dipping sauce.
FAQs
How do I make baked cheese corn balls?
Prepare and shape the cheese balls per the recipe. Place them on a greased baking tray. Then bake in a 200 degrees celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden on top.
Can I make this recipe with pureed or canned creamed corn?
I use whole kernel corn for this recipe, and do not recommend that you puree them. I did try preparing corn cheese balls with pureed and creamed corn and the results were not good.
If using canned corn, make sure to use cooked corn and not raw corn. Do not use either frozen or fresh raw corn kernels as these will explode or burst in the oil. Always make sure to cook the corn kernels thoroughly by steaming or boiling before using in the recipe.
What should I serve with cheese corn balls?
Serve them with Tomato Ketchup, Mint Chutney or Coriander Chutney. These bright and acidic condiments go really well with the fried cheesy goodness of the corn balls.
How long do homemade corn balls keep well?
These snacks really are best when enjoyed warm from the oven or fryer. However, leftovers can be kept for up to 1 day but they will loose their crispy texture.
Once they cool completely, transfer the cheese corn balls to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
- 150 grams potato or 1 large potato
- 1 medium to large corn cob or ¾ to 1 cup corn kernels
- 50 grams processed cheese or ½ cup grated cheese
- ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper or black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil – can also use ½ tablespoon of fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste or 2 to 3 small to medium garlic crushed in a mortar-pestle
- 4 tablespoon all-purpose flour (maida)
- salt as required
- oil as required, for deep frying
Instructions
Boiling corn and potatoes
- First steam or boil 1 medium to large corn cob and 1 large potato.
- You can steam in a pressure cooker or electric rice cooker or the Instant Pot or a steamer.
- In a stovetop pressure cooker, cook both the corn cob and potato for 3 to 4 whistles on medium heat with 1.5 cups water. Let the pressure fall naturally in the cooker. Then only open the lid.In an instant pot, steam on high pressure for 15 to 20 whistles with 2 cups water. First add 2 cups water in the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Place a trivet on it. Keep the potato and the corn cob in a steamer basket or pan placed on the trivet . Give a quick pressure release after 5 minutes and open the lid.
- Remove the cooked corn cob and potato with the help of tongs. Let the corn cob and the potatoes cool down completely. Do drain them very well after they are cooked. There should be no water or moisture when you start mixing both the corn and the potatoes.
- Once cooled, carefully with a knife remove the corn kernels.
Preparing cheese corn mixture
- In a pan or bowl, mash the potatoes with a fork. You can choose to grate the potatoes first and later mash them.
- Add the scraped corn kernels, grated processed cheese, garlic paste, crushed black pepper or pepper powder and salt as per taste. Remember to add less salt as cheese also has salt.
- Then add dried basil, dried oregano and all-purpose flour.
- Mix very well. Check the taste and add some more pepper or salt if required.
- Make small to medium-sized balls. You can even flatten them a bit if you prefer.
Frying cheese corn balls
- Heat oil and check the temperature of the oil by adding a tiny ball made from the corn-cheese mixture. The ball should rise on the surface steadily and gradually.
- If the ball comes up slowly, then the oil is not hot enough. If it comes too quickly, the oil is very hot, so reduce the flame.
- Slid the corn cheese balls gently into the hot oil. Fry on a medium heat.
- When one side turns golden, then turn over with a slotted spoon.
- Turn again and a couple of times more to get an even golden color and to ensure that they have fried well.
- Remove them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Fry the remaining cheese balls in the same way.
- If baking, then bake at 200 degrees C/392 degrees F in a pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes till golden on top. Bake in a greased tray.
- Serve Cheese Corn balls with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney or any chutney or dip of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
This Cheese Corn Balls recipe post from blog archives first published on November 2016 has been republished and updated on 24 June 2022.
Perfect recipe
Can I air fry this?
Yes you can try.
Hi
I have tried these many times,in the airfryer.
I have the Philips one,180 C for 15 mins,flipped once midway,works very well.
Thanks Dassana for the recipe,they are my go to snack recipe,if we have boiled potatoes in hand,barely takes 30 mins to come together.
Thanks a lot Neha, for sharing the air-fryer method. Most welcome and glad that to know that. Yes pre-boiled potatoes are really handy when making this snack.
Hi dear
Can I prepare this in appam pan will it turn out good kindly advice
Hi Komal, yes, you can. It will be good.
Followed the recipe, results were wonderful. My family loved and relished corn cheese balls. My daughter kept asking for more.
nice to know anjali. thanks for sharing this review and for the rating too. happy cooking.
Does frozen american corn also need to be pressure cooked the same way as cob corn
you may not need to pressure cook frozen corn, but you can cook them directly in a pan with water for some minutes till tender. hope this helps.
One of my most favourite and go-to blog for all indian recipes. I have tried so many of your recipes and so far have never been disappointed. Thank you for your detailed description and efforts.
Going to try this recipe today!
thanks you very much preeti. i hope the corn cheese balls recipe go well for you. happy cooking.
Thanks for this nice recipe. My kids live it and always ask me to make it.
welcome and glad to know sonia. thanks for sharing this feedback and the rating as well. happy cooking.
Hii
Can I use paneer instead of cheese
yes you can use paneer.
Which cheese you have used.?
brinda, i have used amul processed cheese.
Ok thanks alot for the reply but is there any alternative cheese.? I live in melbourne..here processed chesse is only available in the form of cheese slices not block..nd it doesnt mash very well..if u can suggest any alternative that would be great..thanks 🙂
you can use cheddar cheese or a mix of both cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese. i also do not use cheese slices. here in india we get processed cheese in blocks or cubes and they grate easily.
Yes…i really miss amul cheese..i wish i could get it here.. ☹
Anyway i ll give it a go very soon n let u know how it goes..thanks..nice to talk to u..tc .☺
you can see if you can buy from amazon.com. sure do let me know. thanks.
can we use american corn in this recipe, the packed frozen variety we get?
Neera, yes you can use.
Can I use bread crumbs instead of maida (all purpose flour)?
yes of course, you can use bread crumbs.
hii, i tried yesterday this recipe and it is very delicious i liked it very much….thank u…
welcome anjali. glad to know that you liked the recipe.
the batter is very sticky….what do I need to do ??
just add some more flour or bread crumbs.
Dassana, tried this today. First batch disintegrated in the oil (quite messy). Added more maida.. came out perfectly round and nice. Love it!
If we keep the mix in the fridge for frying later, will we need to add more maida before frying?
thanks priya. if the mixture is not binded well then it can disintegrate. what you did was perfectly right. if you keep the batter in fridge, then no need to add maida. only while frying, it they break in oil, then add a few teaspoons. usually the breaking in oil does not happen.
Will the cheese balls stay nice even after cooling down ..Will they become soggy…Want to try for a party..So can i prepare them before hand?
Kishori, they don’t become soggy. but some crispiness will be lost.
Tried your recipe today.. loved it.
But instead of deep fry or baking (dont have oven at home) did shallow fry.
Turned out to be good 🙂
thats great.thanks for sharing the feedback as well as the variation of shallow frying corn cheese balls.
Will these taste good if i bake them ?
preethi, the fried ones taste better. but the baked ones also taste good. so you can bake them.
Looks tempting. …
can I use mozzarella cheese??
i do not know how mozzarella cheese would turn out in this recipe, while frying the cheese balls. they can burst too.
Just loved dis snack !!
Hi i made dese corn cheese balls today n dey turned out really impressive.. thankz a lot fr dis wndrful n easy snack !!
thats nice to know nitika. thanks for this feedback.
Hi your recipes rock… Keep up the good work…
thanks a lot.
Hi. can i make balls ahead of time and bake or fry them later after few hours?
yes you can do that.
Hi. can i prepare balls ahead of time and fry or bake them later after few hours??
sapna, yes you can.
Hi,
Can i bake these cheese balls instead of frying in oil? And if yes at what temperature and how long should i bake.
of course you can bake them. i have mentioned the baking details in the recipe card as well as the step by step pics part. bake at 200 degrees celsius of using an OTG. preheat the oven for 15 minutes. then bake for 15 to 20 minutes till the cheese balls become golden. if using a convection oven than use 180 degrees celsius as the baking temperature. do keep a check on time for convection ovens as the baking is quick.
Hiiii mam, do cheese burst from these corn cheese balls.. I haven’t tried it yet but want to do so..
while frying cheese corn balls the oil has to be medium hot to hot. if the oil is not enough, then the cheese may melt. but this recipe is a tried and tested one. so the chances of cheese getting burst while frying is less.