Sweet juicy corn, crunchy pepper, and kicky green onion combine in a delicious corn salad you’ll want to enjoy all year long. Serve it as a side salad or as a topping for tacos or nachos.
This Corn Salad is particularly good for topping Sheetpan Nachos or adding to a Burrito Bar or Nacho Bar for a fun filling.
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Sweet corn is bright and colorful. It evokes memories of warm summer evenings and smoky backyard barbecues. It’s easy to find and easy on the pocketbook.
And corn makes for a great salad when combined with sweet bell pepper, green onion, and a tangy cilantro dressing. This Corn Salad is a perfect side along burgers, sandwiches or grilled meats, as well as a tasty topping for tacos, tostados, or nachos.
Why Make This
It’s delicious. Part salsa and part salad, this Corn Salad is a tasty addition to many a meal.
It’s cheap. At just a little over two dollars a batch, this corn salad is a great way to add color and flavor to your meals, not to mention nutrition, for a steal.
It’s easy! With just a handful of ingredients, you can whip this up in minutes and it’s good for several days in the frigde.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make Corn Salad:
corn kernels – You can use freshly cooked corn-off-the-cob, canned, or frozen corn kernels. If you have leftover corn on the cob, this is a great recipe for using it up.
red bell pepper – I like the sweetness and color that red pepper brings to the salad. You can use another color if you prefer.
green onion – Green onion adds just a little bit and fresh green color to the dish. You can use purple onion if you have that, instead.
Cilantro Lime Dressing – I like to make my own Cilantro Lime Dressing because it’s easy and cheap. You can use a favorite bottled variety if you prefer.
salt and pepper – Keeping the seasoning simple makes this a real quick dish to prep. See the variations below for ways to jazz it up.
Variations: Feel free to stir in any of the following to make this Corn Salad your own:
- “everything but the elote” seasoning
- crumbled Cotija cheese
- grated parmesan
- crushed red pepper flakes
- finely chopped jalapeño
- diced avocado
- cooked and crumbled bacon
- crumbled Fritos corn chips
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make this easy Corn Salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the corn, pepper, onions, and cilantro dressing. Toss gently.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir gently. Chill until ready to serve.
FAQs & Recipe Costs
Corn salad is typically made of corn kernels, plus chopped vegetables such as peppers, onions, or tomatoes, all tossed with a savory dressing.
Corn salad can be frozen, depending on what ingredients are included. While corn kernels tend to retain a bit of crispness upon freezing, other vegetables do not. If your corn salad contains vegetables such as peppers, onions, or tomatoes, they will become soggy upon thawing.
However, you can mix the salad without the additional veggies, that is just the corn and dressing, and add the crunchy bits later.
Corn salad is good with steak, scallops, salmon, chicken, as well as served as a topping for tacos, burrito bowls, and tostadas.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- corn kernels – $0.77
- red bell pepper – $0.84
- green onion – $0.30
- Cilantro Lime Dressing – $0.32
- salt and pepper – $0.01
While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $2.24 for a big batch of Corn Salad, about $0.28/serving.
More Great Salads
Corn Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz corn kernels if frozen, thaw in fridge
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 green onion sliced
- ¼ cup Cilantro Lime Dressing
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the corn, pepper, and onions. Toss gently.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons dressing over the vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir gently. Chill until ready to serve. Add more dressing if desired.
Notes
- “everything but the Elote” seasoning
- crumbled Cotija cheese
- grated parmesan
- crushed red pepper flakes
- finely chopped jalapeño
- diced avocado
- cooked and crumbled bacon
- crumbled Fritos corn chips
Nutrition
This post was originally published on September 17, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Kmaree
I don’t like cilantro. What would be another kind of dressing that would work well? I noticed another commenter used a ranch variation. It looks like a delicious corn salad!
Jessica Fisher
Any vinaigrette will be delicious, or you can make the cilantro dressing, but swap in fresh basil instead of cilantro.
Carla
I’ll have to remember this in the fall. Our community garden has planted a large plot of field corn–which has to be used/prepared as soon as it is ready as it gets starchy fast. This recipe might come in handy!
Molly
nom nom nom…delicious.
jackie brown
can this be raw corn or is it leftover cooked corn? i know some recipes called for frozen corn w/o cooking
Jessica
Generally, frozen corn has been blanched, so it should be fine to use.
Annette
I make a recipe similar to this, but not as healthy. I used 2 cans of corn and add a cup of shredded cheese plus chopped green pepper. Instead of the dressing you list, I use 1/2 c of ranch dressing and 1/2 c of spicy ranch dressing. It’s SO yummy by itself, as taco filling or chip dip. Mmmmm!
AllieZirkle
I’ve never seen a salad with corn as the star. sounds tasty!
Nancy
leftover corn also makes a great addition to rice and black bean salad.
Lori
I make a salad just like this. I just add a can of rinsed black beans and some minced garlic to the dressing. So Yummy! In fact we just had it last night 🙂 My friends now make it all the time too now and some serve it as a “salsa” with chips.
Karen
Yum. Add a few black beans and you have a great lunch!
Ginger @ Crock Pot Recipe Exchange
OH.. this looks great. What an excellent use of “end of harvest” veggies too. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
I love simple delicious salads like this! Thanks!