The television icon's beloved family dish will have you looking for a second helping.
Mister Rogers’s Family Recipe Will Make You Want to Be His Neighbor
Published on Apr. 04, 2025
It’s difficult to think of a television star who has brought more comfort to the world than Mister Rogers.
Fred Rogers was a mainstay of television with his iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood PBS show, which ran for an astounding 31 seasons. The show’s simple and straightforward mission was to teach the nation’s children how to be kind and take care of each other, and it’s a message that has resonated with generations of kids to this day.
It’s no surprise, then, that one of the best comfort foods ever was a favorite of Mister Rogers.
What was Mister Rogers’s family recipe?
When Mister Rogers was growing up outside of Pittsburgh, one of his grandmother’s go-to recipes was a five-ingredient corn pudding. According to PBS, this family recipe was one of Mister Rogers’s favorite dishes throughout his lifetime.
Given that Mister Rogers followed a vegetarian diet, it’s no shocker that he gravitated toward such a hearty, satisfying side dish. Even across three decades of airtime, his award-winning show never featured any meat being consumed.
To prepare Mister Rogers’s favorite corn pudding, beat two eggs in a mixing bowl before adding the remaining ingredients: one 16-ounce can of cream-style corn, 2 tablespoons of flour, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix all the ingredients well, pour the mixture into a buttered casserole dish, and bake the pudding at 350°F for an hour or until the pudding is set. The result is a creamy, cozy dish that’s basically the edible version of a cozy red cardigan.
In addition to being approved by the ultimate next-door neighbor, this recipe is great because it’s easily adaptable. Use sugar to sweeten it and sour cream to moisten the crumb and add tang like this version. If preferred, you can cut the amount of butter used in the mixture by half or substitute Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs. You can also jazz up your corn pudding with other ingredients, like jalapenos, pimientos, shredded cheddar cheese or diced onions. It would pair well with some comforting meat loaf or pork chops on a dinner plate as well.
However you choose to remix this classic recipe, this corn pudding would make any day a special day. There’s simply no other dish in the whole world like it.
