Kimchi Cornbread Casserole Was Our Test Kitchen’s Sleeper Hit of the Year

This cheesy, corn-studded cornbread casserole is similar to a puffy spoon bread amped up with an acidic bite from sautéed kimchi. The recipe, from 2018 F&W Best New Chef Katianna Hong and chef John Hong of Yangban in Los Angeles, makes clever use of store-bought corn muffin mix, which ensures it’s as easy as can be.

Straight out of the oven, you get an impressive cheese pull moment and the corn pudding is ultra soft and creamy. As it cools, the corn pudding sets up and firms up a bit for a cleaner scoop-out. 

Frequently asked questions

Is corn muffin mix the same as cornmeal?

Cornmeal refers to milled maize (dried corn) that has been coarsely ground. Corn muffin mix is a pre-made mixture of cornmeal, a leavener, salt, sugar, and other ingredients that offer a shortcut to making corn muffins or cornbread (you typically just need to add wet ingredients, like egg, and milk, to the mix). In this cornbread casserole, corn muffin mix offers a shortcut to a puffy, spoon bread-like texture in the finished dish. Any corn muffin mix will work; Katianna and our recipe testers used Jiffy corn muffin mix.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Be sure to use a deep baking dish, such as a soufflé dish. The corn mixture rises quite a bit in the oven, and you’ll need to leave room on top to add the kimchi-cheese mixture. 

Serve this casserole as a side dish for the holidays or turn it into a cozy main dish by pairing it with a fresh salad on the side.

Make ahead

We like this casserole best fresh right out of the oven, but leftovers do reheat quite well the next day.

Suggested pairing

Reach for a citrusy, unoaked Chardonnay, such as Chehalem Inox, to counter the richness of this cheesy casserole.