A sweet summer corn salad that can be made with fresh or frozen corn. This sweet side dish is easy to make and irresistibly delicious. Recipe includes a brief how-to video on how I make this easy summer recipe in my own kitchen.
The warmer it gets outside, the less I feel like turning on the oven, so I hope you don’t mind that I have a handful of not-so-sweet recipes planned over these hot summer days.
First up is today’s simple corn salad recipe. Made with sweet kernels of fresh corn (and tips on substituting frozen if you’re really feeling lazy… we’ve all been there!) and other garden-fresh veggies including juicy cherry tomatoes, ripe avocado, red onion, cilantro, and a hint of jalapeno for a subtle kick.
Let’s talk about the star ingredient here though, the corn:
Right now I have a feeling your local grocery store is probably well-stocked with plenty of fresh corn, and you’ll want to grab 4 healthy looking ears of sweet corn for this recipe. If you can find ambrosia corn, even better!
How Do I Cook the Corn?
Preparing fresh corn for this recipe only takes a few seconds. You’ll remove the husks from the corn and drop each cob (gently, nobody wants to be scalded with a splash of scalding water) into a pot of boiling water. Cook the corn briefly, for just 3 minutes, before removing (I use tongs) to a bowl or strainer and running cold water over the corn to stop it from cooking/over-cooking.
Then, cut the corn off the cob, cutting as close to the cob as possible (you can use the bundt-pan method that I shared when I made my corn chowder recipe to keep corn kernels from flying everywhere!).
Can I use Frozen Corn?
I like to use fresh corn to make this corn salad, but frozen would also work (just make sure you grab a sweet variety). This recipe requires 4-5 cups of frozen corn, I usually use a blend of sweet yellow corn and super sweet white corn if using frozen.
After you’ve combined your corn and the rest of your chopped veggies, the next thing you’ll need is a simple olive oil & vinegar based dressing.
I used red wine vinegar for this recipe, but if you only have white wine on hand you can substitute that instead, and while I haven’t tried this recipe with other varieties, I have a feeling most vinegars would work just as well.
Serving & Preparing in Advance
Corn salad can be served immediately after mixing all of your ingredients/dressing together, but, if you can, I recommend covering it and placing in the refrigerator for at least an hour to give the flavors the chance to really meld together.
This recipe can be made up to a day in advance of serving. I don’t like to make it much before that because if your avocado is particularly ripe it can begin to turn brown if allowed to sit for too long (though the dressing does do a good job of helping to preserve the avocado).
Always make sure to give your ingredients a good stir before serving, as the dressing has a tendency to settle to the bottom of the bowl.
If you like this summer salad recipe, you may also want to check out my other favorite summer side dishes:
- Million Dollar Deviled Eggs
- Macaroni Salad
- Texas Caviar (it’s like a corn salad with beans)
- Broccoli Salad
- Ramen Noodle Salad
Enjoy!
Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn on the cob or 4-5 cups frozen, thawed sweet corn (500g)
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion (40g)
- 1 jalapeno seeds removed, finely diced
- ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro (13g)
Dressing
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (80ml)
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- If using fresh corn, remove husks and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Carefully drop corn into the boiling water and cook for just 3 minutes. Remove from the water and immediately rinse in cold water.
- Cut the corn from the cob (cutting as close as possible to the cob) and transfer the kernels to a large bowl (if using frozen corn, place this in your bowl now).
- Add diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic.
- Pour dressing evenly over corn salad ingredients and toss well to combine.
- For best results, cover the corn salad and refrigerate for one hour before serving. Be sure to stir ingredients well again before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Virginia Cuevas
Do I cook the frozen corn before adding the other ingredients?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Virginia! You’ll just need to thaw it. Enjoy 😊
Laura Woodward
Great recipe! Thank you!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Laura! I am happy that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Dawn
Just made this and it is delicious! I did omit the avocado and used apple cider vinegar. I will be making this all summer! Thank you for the recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dawn! 🙂
Carol
On your recipes, could you include the number of servings they make and what size servings? Exp. Makes 10, 1/2 cup servings. That would be most helpful when making to take to a covered dish dinner. Thanks.
Carolyn
Best ever corn salad
Sam
Thank you so much, Carolyn! I am so glad you enjoyed the corn salad. 🙂
Michelle
Just made this salad and it tastes amazing and so simple to make! Thank you so much for sharing! This will definitely be my go to summer pot luck dish.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the salad so much, Michelle! 🙂
Susan
Yummy I’m going to try this
Sam
I hope you love it! 🙂
NOMLINDO MABANTI
Helo Sam
How about the canned corn?
Sam
Hi! It’s not my preference but yes it will work.
panda921
Is there anything I can use to replace the avacado? Or is it fine if I just skip it?
Sam
It would be fine to leave it out of the salad. 🙂
Sara
Made recipe exactly as written and it was unbelievably delicious!! Will be making a lot this summer 🙂
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the corn salad, Sara! Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
Renee Smith
This looks wonderful
Sam
Thank you so much, Renee! 🙂
Karen Lemieux
Can I make a lot and pressure can some?
Sam
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried canning this. I’m not very familiar with canning so I am not sure how it would hold up. I’m sorry, maybe someone else can chime in and help.
DrBody
I need complete nutrition data cause I calculate my daily carb intake
where can I find that?
Sam
You can enter all of the ingredients on a fitness tracker like myfitnesspal.com. I don’t have all of the information currently. Sorry
Lisa
I made this for a potluck. Everyone loved this.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it Lisa!
Michelle
This corn salad is one that was published on another site last summer with a very slight twist. The corn was grilled to get grill marks and instead of a dressing a fat free version was fresh squeezed lime juice and a sprinkle of feta cheese. I’m sure this one will taste very similar and will be just as good
Sam
That one sounds tasty, too! I’ve never tried my corn grilled but I’m honestly probably not ambitious enough to try it.
Carissa Nelson | Spoonful of Easy
Hi Sam,
I’m so with you on giving the oven a break during the summer. And I’m always looking for veggie packed sides, so this is perfect — good option on the frozen corn, but I’m all about fresh corn when I can get it! Can’t wait to try it!
Sam
I hope you love it, Carissa!
Angela Hockley
This sounds lovely. I shall make it tonight.
Sam
I hope you love it, Angela!! 🙂