Corn Salad

This simple and tasty Corn Salad is loaded with veggies, herbs, and feta cheese and then tossed with an easy vinaigrette. This corn salad is one of our favorite spring and summer side dishes; it pairs well with just about anything hot off the grill!

Serve Corn Salad alongside grilled chicken using our favorite grilled chicken marinade or as a side with some homemade burgers.

Corn Salad

We can’t seem to get enough of this salad! It’s so fresh and flavorful with a myriad of textures. It’s the perfect side dish to just about anything you pull of the grill and will be a hit at any potluck or summer BBQ.

We like to make this salad a meal by grilling up some chicken or steak and serving that with this salad.

How to grill corn

While you don’t have to grill the corn on the cob for this salad, it is so delicious grilled!

• To grill corn on the cob: Peel back husks and remove silk (discard both). Rub vegetable oil on all sides of the corn and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place on heated, cleaned, and greased grill (400 degrees F) and rotate every 3-4 minutes or until charred. Remove, let cool and then slice off the cob. You can also use this same method with a grill pan.
• Alternatively, you can sauté corn in a skillet. Cut kernels from the cob and add in an even layer to a hot  large cast-iron skillet. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until kernels are lightly charred. Remove and let cool completely before adding to the salad.
• Another option is to just leave the corn raw; it’s also quite tasty! Simply cut off the cob and use in this salad.

How to make Corn Salad

1. Grill the corn (more info above).
2. Prepare the dressing. Combine everything into a large mason jar and shake to combine. Store in the fridge while preparing the rest of the salad; this allows flavors to intensify and meld.
3. Combine salad ingredients. In a large bowl, add all the salad ingredients: the cooled corn cut off the cob, diced tomatoes, chopped cucumber, diced avocado, and all the herbs: green onion, basil, cilantro, and parsley. Toss with the dressing and enjoy!

Quick tips

• Use a sharp serrated knife. Ripe cherry tomatoes can be hard to cut without a good knife. Instead of losing their juices all over the cutting board, quickly sharpen the knife and then cut them.
• Use English or Persian cucumbers. Regular cucumbers are more watery, less flavorful, and don’t have the same crunch to them. While regular cucumbers will work, I highly recommend English or Persian for the best possible texture and taste in this salad.
• Add the dressing, cheese, and avocado right before serving. This salad doesn’t sit well once dressed and avocados begin to brown relatively quickly. While you can prepare components of this salad ahead of time, I don’t recommend putting them all together until right before serving.
• Get a ripe avocado. A perfectly ripe avocado gives this corn salad the perfect creaminess; here’s how to tell if an avocado is ripe!

Corn Salad variations

• Reduce or increase the heat. This corn salad calls for a diced jalapeño pepper. If you like the heat, feel free to add in more than the recipe calls for and if you’re sensitive, leave it out entirely (no other changes needed). Heat can further be increased with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
• Add bacon. Cook 4-6 pieces of bacon. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add on top with the feta cheese.
• Add red onion. If you’d like more onion in the salad, dice up a quarter of a red onion and add it in. To take away the bite of the red onion, soak it first in some cold water with a pinch of salt. Drain and add in the corn salad.
• Dairy free. Leave out the feta cheese; no other changes necessary.

More delicious sides

• Crispy Chicken Salad with honey BBQ dressing
• Baked Potato short cut to baked potatoes in half the time
• Bacon & Spinach Salad with an apple cider vinaigrette
• Roasted Broccoli reader favorite recipe!
• Creamy Corn Salad jalapeño popper inspired

5 from 1 vote

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Corn Salad

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Total Time

32 mins

 

This simple and tasty Corn Salad is loaded with veggies, herbs, feta cheese and then tossed with an easy vinaigrette. This corn salad is one of our favorite spring and summer side dishes; it pairs well with just about anything hot off the grill!

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: corn salad

Servings: 6 -8 as a side

Calories: 193 kcal

Ingredients

• 4 ears fresh corn (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 cup English cucumber, cut into half moons
• 1/4 cup diced cilantro
• 2 tablespoons diced basil
• 2 tablespoons diced flat leaf Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeno (leave out if sensitive to heat)
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1/3 cup feta cheese

Dressing

• 1 large lime (1 tablespoon juice, 1 teaspoon zest)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon EACH: EACH: chili powder, ground cumin, paprika
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH: fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

1. OPTIONAL GRILL: Preheat grill to medium heat (400 degrees F). Shuck corns and discard silks. Drizzle corn with olive oil and then lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub the oil and salt/pepper into all sides of the corn. Prepare the fully preheated grill by cleaning. Add the corn to the heated grill over direct heat. Grill corn about 10-12 minutes total, rotating every 3-4 minutes until bright yellow and lightly charred. (Alternatively, cut raw kernels of the cob and use in salad) Let grilled corn cool completely before cutting it off the cob. Cut the cooled corn off the cob and add to a large bowl.

2. DRESSING: In a mason jar, combine the 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon lime zest, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon honey, and salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon of each, but use less depending on how salted the corn is). Put lid on jar and shake vigorously to combine. Place in the fridge while preparing everything else. Shake again before dressing the salad.

3. SALAD: Add the 1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes to the bowl, the 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, the 1 cup English cucumbers (cut into half moons), 1/4 cup diced cilantro (See Note 1), 2 tablespoons diced basil, 2 tablespoons diced parsley, 1 tablespoon diced jalapeno, and the diced avocado (I like to squeeze the remaining lime juice from the dressing onto the avocado to keep it from browning too quickly). Gently toss to combine. Shake dressing again and drizzle over salad. Toss again and top with cheese. Enjoy soon after dressing. Salad doesn't store or sit well.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: When measuring herbs, pack in full herbs to the measuring cup and then finely dice; don't measure after finely dicing.