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Corn dodgers are a very old Southern recipe served as an accompaniment to cooked greens. Think of them as cornmeal dumplings!
Of all the recipes that I post here on the blog, and there are about 750 now, the ones that I enjoy the most are the very old, very Southern, very traditional ones. And this one today is one of the oldest I’ve ever done. This recipe for Corn Dodgers takes me right back to my rural southern roots.
Before I started writing this post, I did some research on corn dodgers. At least I tried to. Would you believe there’s next to nothing on the internet about corn dodgers? Not this kind anyway.
If you do an internet search for corn dodgers you’ll come up with all kinds of recipes. The majority of those are fried or baked, but the corn dodgers I remember from all those years ago were boiled. Kind of like cornmeal dumplings. And they were always served with greens. If I remember correctly, Mama actually cooks hers in the pot with the greens.
🌽 What in the World is a Corn Dodger?
🥄 How to Make Corn Dodgers
❓ What is Pot Likker?
I only found two real references online for boiled corn dodgers. One was from Dictionary.com:
1. South Midland and Southern U.S. a small, usually oval cake made of corn bread and baked or fried hard in a skillet. 2. Chiefly South Atlantic States and Eastern Virginia. a boiled dumpling made of cornmeal.
And the second was from thefreedictionary.com:
a small cornmeal cake either baked or fried or boiled as a dumpling.
I did also find one other reference to boiled corn dodgers in the Amazon preview of a book titled “Appalachian Folkways.”
It appears that the boiled variety is not so common, but it’s what we always knew as corn dodgers in our household. These delicious little corn dumplings are a perfect accompaniment to a pot of greens.
My favorite is turnip greens, but they’re just as good with mustards or collards. I really hope you’ll try this recipe if for no other reason than curiosity. You just might find that you’ve discovered a new southern comfort food treasure to add to your recipe box :-)
🥄 How to Make Corn Dodgers
Start by cooking turnip greens following your usual recipe. About 45 minutes before serving, make the corn dodgers.
Mix the cornmeal, salt, pepper, and onion in a medium bowl. Add pot likker, starting with about 3/4 cup to make a stiff dough.
❓ What is Pot Likker?
Maybe I should explain what “pot likker” is? Well, it’s just the liquid that the turnip greens have been cooking in! And, trust me, it’s some delicious broth. Oh. My. Word. I could make a whole meal off a bowl of pot likker and crumbly cornbread. “Likker” is a corruption of the word liquor.
Form the Corn Dodgers
The dough should be stiff enough that it easily holds together. If you’re familiar with southern cornbreads, it’s a bit thicker than corn pone dough. I hope you can see from the photo how stiff that dough is. It’s moist throughout but not watery at all.
Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each dodger, shape the dough into rolls about twice as long as wide (see above).
From the pot of turnip greens, remove 3 cups of pot likker (okay, broth) and place it in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Drop in the dodgers and lower the heat to a simmer.
Cook slowly until the corn dodgers are done through, about 30 minutes, turning them over a few times. Serve with turnip greens and additional pot likker.
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Have you tried this recipe? I’d really appreciate you giving it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card or in the comments section.
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Corn dodgers are a very old Southern recipe served as an accompaniment to cooked greens. Think of them as cornmeal dumplings!
5 from 9 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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1 cup finely ground white cornmeal
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
4 cups broth from turnip greens (may use more broth)
Cook turnip greens following your usual recipe or use mine (linked here). About 45 minutes before serving, make the corn dodgers.
Mix the cornmeal, salt, pepper, and onion in a medium bowl. Add “pot likker*”, starting with about 3/4 cup to make a stiff dough.
Shape the dough into rolls about twice as long as wide.
From the turnips, remove 3 cups of “pot likker*” and place in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Drop in the dodgers and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook slowly until done through, about 30 minutes, turning the dodgers over a few times.
Serve with turnip greens and additional “pot likker.”
* “Pot likker” is the liquid, or broth, that the turnip greens were cooked in.
Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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Lana Stuart is the cook, writer, and founder of Lana’s Cooking. Lana has been cooking since she was tall enough to reach the stove and started this blog in 2009 to share her delicious home cooking recipes. You'll find about 700 recipes here so there's sure to be something your family will like!
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September 20, 2022 at 7:46 pm
This is almost identical to the way my beloved Aunt Gracie thought me almost 50 years ago! The only difference is we added about a 1/2 tsp. Baking powder per cup of cornmeal. This really brought back many memories for me! However in our family we called them “pot dodgers” 😄It was always my favorite things about turnip greens (and bacon or ham hocks).
September 20, 2022 at 9:37 pm
Aw, I’m really glad I could help you recall a good memory. I hope you’ll make some “pot dodgers” for yourself soon.
August 19, 2022 at 1:37 pm
Thank you for sharing this. I grew up in the rural Deep South, and turnip greens with corn dodgers were one of my favorites. Years later, I have not encountered another person who knows what this is – even though I still live in the south. I’ve never been successful in making this myself but I’m going to try again.
August 19, 2022 at 4:21 pm
You’re welcome, Anne. I’ve only met a few people who’ve ever had corn dodgers like this. Most people think corn dodgers are little rounds of fried cornbread but that’s not the way I know them. Hope you make some soon and enjoy them!
April 8, 2022 at 9:51 pm
I am eager to try this recipe. Actually, I was looking for a recipe for the corn dodgers my dad made in Texas when I was a child in the 50s. It was more like a cornmeal pancake cooked in a skillet. I knew that they were eaten by cowboys on the range in Texas, and were even mentioned in a cowboy song called “Diamond Joe.” “His bread it was corn dodgers, his meat I couldn’t chaw,” etc. Anyway, I was told they were called corn dodgers because cowboys chunked them at each other. Don’t know about that. But I am guessing they traveled from Southern culture to the chuck wagon on the range, and maybe without the turnip greens juice — but that sounds good and I will try it!!
April 9, 2022 at 1:32 pm
I really hope you enjoy the recipe!
February 9, 2022 at 7:33 pm
I can’t thank you enough for having this recipe. As a child in rural S.C. I would come home from school and smell the turnip greens cooking I knew that we would have corn dodgers for dinner. That smell has haunted me for a long time and I just wasn’t able to find a recipe for them. I want my children to learn to make them as well.
February 10, 2022 at 10:26 am
You’re welcome, Alice. When I was writing this recipe, I couldn’t find anything at all about corn dodgers on the internet. And the things I found were for fried cornbread rather than the corn dodgers I remember my mother making. I love this recipe, too, and I hope others carry it forward to be enjoyed by new generations.
Denise from South Georgia says:
October 25, 2021 at 3:09 pm
Great and easy recipe. Just like my mother in law used to make years ago. I cooked mine in with the turnip greens. May want to cut back on salt in them if you are salt conscious.
Thanks for being here!
I'm Lana Stuart, the cook, writer, and founder of Lana's Cooking. I'm a classic southern cook who's been in the kitchen since I was tall enough to reach the stove. I started this blog in 2009 so I could share my experience gained over the past 50 years of cooking southern recipes (and more!) with all of you. You'll find more than 700 recipes here so there's sure to be something your family will like!
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