Vegetarian Recipes

Oven Roasted Corn with Honey Chili Butter

Oven roasting is hands down my favorite way to prepare vegetables and that includes fresh summer sweet corn. Roasting the fresh ears while still in their husks keeps them ultra sweet and juicy, plus it’s just so incredibly simple. I added some sweet and spicy honey chili butter to rub onto the roasted corn but, truth be told, when corn is prepared this way it’s so good that I’d be just as happy eating it plain!

Originally posted 5-20-2011, updated 7-27-2021.

Why Roast in the Husk?

Leaving the husk on the corn while it roasts helps hold in the corn’s natural moisture, yielding super juicy kernels that pop with sweetness when you bite into them. It’s truly amazing. Once the corn has roasted, the husks and silk peel away easily so it’s ready to eat in no time.

How to Pick Good Fresh Corn

Choosing corn that is fresh and in season is key because that’s when the corn is the sweetest and juiciest. Older corn can tend to be dry and more starchy rather than sweet. To make sure your corn is fresh, look for husks that are bright green, tight against the cob, and not dry or brown. If the silk is sticking out the top, it should look fresh, moist, and maybe a bit brown, but never black, shriveled, or dry.

What to Serve with Oven Roasted Corn

Just give me this sweet, sweet corn by itself and I’ll be happy. But alas, that’s not a very well-rounded meal, so here are some ideas of what you can serve with this amazing corn: Fish Tacos with Cumin Lime Coleslaw, BBQ Cheddar Baked Chicken, Beef Taco Skillet, Baked Beef and Black Bean Tacos, or Cilantro Lime Chicken.

About That Honey Chili Butter…

As if the juicy roasted corn wasn’t magic enough, have you tried honey chili butter yet?? It’s perfectly sweet, a little spicy, and creamy like a dream. The heat level of the honey chili butter will depend on how spicy your chili powder is. Some brands, like McCormick, are very mild, while others can carry some substantial heat. Keep your leftover honey chili butter in the fridge, where it should stay good for a few weeks.

Oven roasted corn on a tray, partially shucked, with a bowl of honey chili butter

Oven Roasted Corn with Honey Chili Butter

Super sweet and juicy oven-roasted corn slathered with sweet and spicy honey chili butter is a true summer treat.

Total Cost $1.75 recipe / $0.44 serving

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 1 ear each

Calories 194kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

4 ears fresh corn $1.20
4 Tbsp butter, room temperature $0.37
1 Tbsp honey $0.12
1/2 tsp chili powder $0.05
1/8 tsp salt $0.01

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare the ears of corn by cutting off the very tip of the ear to remove most of the silk, and removing the outer husks (the thicker bright green layers), leaving the inner layers (the thinner lighter green husks).
Transfer the prepared ears of corn to the fully preheated oven, placing them directly on the oven rack. Roast for 35 minutes.
While the corn is roasting, prepare the honey chili butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, chili powder, honey, and salt. Whip the mixture with a fork until smooth and evenly combined.
After 35 minutes the husks on the corn should be slightly browned and papery in appearance. Carefully remove the corn from the oven using oven mitts or a thick towel. Let them rest for about five minutes, then carefully pull back the husks and remove any remaining silk.
Serve hot with the bowl of honey butter for smearing over the kernels just before eating.

Nutrition

How to Make Oven Roasted Corn – Step By Step Photos

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. To prep the ears of corn, cut the very tip off to remove most of the silk, then remove the first couple of layers of husk, leaving a few layers of the thinner husks. Basically, just remove the thicker bright green husks leaving the more tender leaves still attached (prepped ears on the right, unprepped ears on the left). Place the prepped ears of corn in the fully preheated oven, directly on the oven rack. Roast for about 35 minutes.

While the corn is roasting, prepare the honey chili butter. Combine 4 Tbsp room temperature butter with 1 Tbsp honey, ½ tsp chili powder, and ⅛ tsp salt.

Use a fork to sort of whip the honey chili butter together until it is evenly mixed. Set the butter aside.

After the corn has roasted for 35 minutes, the husks should look slightly browned and more papery. Remove them from the oven (use an oven mitt or thick towel to grab them). I placed them on this tray just to transport them, but they roasted directly on the oven rack with no tray. Let them rest for a few minutes, then carefully peel back the husks. The remaining silk will pull off easily.

After removing the husks and silk, smear honey chili butter over the warm ears of corn. Serve immediately!

The post Oven Roasted Corn with Honey Chili Butter appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Don’t you just love it when a recipe is as simple as ‘mix + bake’? No pre-cooking, no unnecessary extra steps – just mix together all of the ingredients, and pop it in the oven. And that’s just the case for these vegetarian lentil meatballs (lentil balls? vegeballs? meatlessballs?). They couldn’t be easier.

Other easy ‘mix and bake’ recipes → easy nut roast; baked fajita rice; Boursin pasta.

Vegetarian Mediterranean lentil meatballs served with spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I served my lentil balls with spaghetti and tomato sauce – spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic that’s hard to improve on. If you prefer, you could equally serve these vegetarian meatballs with couscous and tzatziki, stuffed into pitta bread, or even just eaten straight from the oven (no judgment here). They’re packed with Mediterranean-inspired flavours, and they’re super versatile.

Mediterranean lentil meatballs on a baking tray.

What’s in these Lentil Meatballs?

The basic recipe for these lentil meatballs is canned lentils + flour + egg (the same base I used for my cheesy lentil burgers). Once you’ve got that far, you can jazz things up however you like. I added:

black olives
sun-dried tomatoes
parmesan-style cheese
fresh basil
garlic

If you like, you could easily switch things up to bring a different flavour profile to your meatballs – maybe you could make a Tex-Mex version, or use some Indian spices, for example.

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

Sign up to get recipes by email, and get a FREE e-cookbook!

(1-2 emails per week, no spam)

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegetarian meatballs. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

cooked lentils. I used lentils from a can, because they’re so convenient – just drain them well, and they’re ready to use. If you can’t get canned lentils, you can boil dried brown or green lentils until they’re soft, then continue with the recipe as written. I would not recommend using red lentils for this recipe, as they will not give quite the same end result.
eggs
plain flour (I used wholemeal for extra fibre)
sun-dried tomatoes
black olives
parmesan-style cheese. ‘Real’ parmesan isn’t vegetarian, but there are plenty of vegetarian alternatives, which are very similar. Often, supermarkets sell a generic ‘Italian hard cheese’, which is usually vegetarian.
fresh basil
garlic granules

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and Mediterranean lentil meatballs.

Printable Instructions

Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Easy vegetarian lentil meatballs, made extra tasty with Mediterranean-inspired ingredients. These are so simple – just mix and bake!

Course Main meal

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings meatballs

Calories 216kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 x 390g tins green lentils, thoroughly drained (470g, or ~ 2 2/3 cups, in total when drained)
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons sliced black olives, roughly chopped
5 pieces sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
50 g (~ 1/2 cup) finely grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese
1 teaspoon garlic granules
Few sprigs fresh basil, roughly chopped
85 g (~ 2/3 cup) plain flour (I used wholemeal)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Add all of the ingredients, except for the flour, to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix the ingredients thoroughly. It’s fine if the lentils get a little mashed up.
Add the flour, and mix well to combine.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. Use clean hands to form the mixture into ball shapes, and place them on the tray. The mixture will be quite sticky – they don’t have to be perfect balls. I managed to get 25 balls from the mixture.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the lentil balls are slightly crispy and just firm.
Serve with spaghetti and tomato sauce, if desired.

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these lentil balls in advance?

You could certainly mix together the ingredients in advance, and then store the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or so, until you’re ready to shape and bake the balls. The meatballs are tastiest when freshly baked, but if needed, you could even bake them in advance, and then reheat when you’re ready to eat them.

Can I freeze these lentil meatballs?

I didn’t experiment with freezing these balls, but it’s the sort of recipe I have had luck with freezing in the past, so I definitely think it’s worth a try.

How should I reheat leftover vegetarian meatballs?

The easiest way to reheat these lentil meatballs is in the microwave. They do dry out a little and lose their crispiness when reheated, but they’re still tasty. Alternatively, you could re-crisp them in the oven or air fryer.

How should I serve vegetarian lentil balls?

I served my meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, which worked beautifully. You could alternatively serve them stuffed into pitta bread with some tzatziki, or alongside some mashed potato.