Our corn salad recipe is a refreshing way to enjoy this sweet vegetable.
In the culinary world, corn takes on many forms — from flat breads, chips and soups, to desserts like cakes, cookies, or even ice cream. Even the ingredient by itself makes a wonderful meal, needing no accompaniment.
Today, we’re sharing a simple, refreshing way to appreciate corn — starring in a salad. With complementing vegetables, fresh herbs and a pungent dressing, the salad effortlessly showcases these golden jewels.
Is Corn Healthy?
Corn is considered to be a good carb, thanks to the fair amount of fiber it contains. Meeting your daily fiber needs is known to improve the digestive system and keep your tummy full for longer.
Apart from this, there’s not much else to corn — its micronutrient profile is not really impressive. The vitamins and minerals of the dish are added to by the other vegetables, which play different roles in building a stronger body.
How Our Corn Salad Fits the Healthy Eating Guidelines
In the creation of this recipe we took time to make sure that it had the right amount of calories and nutrients for a healthy meal.
To avoid overconsumption of saturated fats and sodium, we limited the amount of cheese and salt. At the same time, our chefs paid close attention to the flavor to create a perfect balance.
You can check our guidelines to learn more about our working process.
Corn Salad Ingredients
1. Corn on the Cob, Frozen Corn, and Canned Corn
Considering the work of having to boil/bake and shuck corn cobs, we went for canned corn instead. All it needs is a good rinse (to rid the excess sodium) and it’s ready for any dish.
In case you can’t find canned corn (usually not an issue), frozen corn can also save you time. They only need to be thawed but we’d give them a quick blanch for a softer texture.
If both are unavailable, corn on the cob is your only option. We have a section to walk you through how to cook corn on the cob.
2. Vegetables, Aromatics, and Extras
The key to a great salad is good handling of these elements: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, and fresh. The sweetness of corn pairs beautifully with sour tomato, salty feta cheese, pungent radish and onions, and fresh cucumber, cilantro, and oregano.
Something that you might really enjoy, or want to skip (and that’s fine) is minced raw garlic. It might be too strong for some, but for us, its flavors are simply irresistible.
Similarly, you can increase, decrease, or skip the jalapeño slices. They add a kick to the salad and add to the presentation but if you’d rather not, the salad will still look and taste great.
3. Corn Salad Dressing
The ingredients already cover the aforementioned elements well so we went for a simple dressing to bring everything together. We whisked together lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper; a basic mustard-based dressing that works for many salads.
How to Make Corn Salad
Here are the steps:
Make the dressing
Plate the vegetables
Toss them with the dressing
Sprinkle feta and cilantro on top. Serve
Refer to our corn salad recipe card below for the list of ingredients.
How to Cook Corn on the Cob for This Salad
If other forms of corn aren’t available, or you just feel like nothing beats the taste of fresh corn, here’s how you can make it work for this salad.
High chances are you have to work with cobs that still have the husk and silk on. With or without them, bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the cobs for about 5 minutes.
Next, drain them and run them under tap water. Peel the husk, strip the silk away, and you’ll have perfectly cooked corn on the cob.
Place a bowl on top of a kitchen towel, and stand one cob inside the bowl. Slice off the kernels of one section, top to bottom, then rotate and do the same to the rest of the sections.
We once tried to do the opposite: slicing the kernels off before boiling them, and it’s not something we recommend. The kernels were difficult to scoop out of the pot and it ended up being very time-consuming.
Another easy option is to bake the corn still in the husks. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then follow the same process.
For a wider selection of salad, don’t miss out this best healthy salad recipes that we’ve carefully sorted out for you!
How Long Does Corn Salad Last?
Like most salads, this one lasts for up to 5 days in the fridge and shouldn’t be stored in the freezer. It will turn mushy after thawing, which doesn’t make for an appetizing salad.
As with other dishes, this salad should be kept in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap before storing. This reduces the chance of bacteria getting in the salad.
If you happen to have more corn than you will use, this article will help you store it for later.
Looking for another healthy salad? Try this combination of green beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas that’ll also add texture and taste to your meal.
Love This Recipe? There’s More!
These five salad recipes are some of our most delicious picks:
- Tabbouleh Recipe
- Chickpea Salad Recipe
- Pea Salad Recipe
- Loaded Potato Salad Recipe
- Cauliflower Risotto Recipe
Corn Salad
This corn salad recipe is easy, and you'll have a fresh, sweet, crunchy side to serve with any main dish you desire. We recommend a pot roast or burgers.
- prep TIME 5 mins
- total TIME 5 mins
- COURSE Side Dish
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 178 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp whole grain mustard
- 10 oz corn (canned or thawed)
- 4 oz cucumber (deseeded and diced)
- 4 oz tomato (deseeded and diced)
- 1 oz radish (diced)
- 0.5 oz onion (diced)
- 0.25 oz jalapeño (roughly chopped)
- 1 tsp garlic (minced)
- 0.5 oz feta cheese (crumbled)
- 0.5 oz cilantro (roughly chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, and 1 tsp whole grain mustard.
To a salad bowl/dish, add 10 oz corn, 4 oz cucumber, 4 oz tomato, 1 oz radish, 0.5 oz onion, 0.25 oz jalapeño, 1/2 tsp oregano and 1 tsp garlic.
Drizzle the dressing on top and toss well.
Crumble 0.5 oz feta cheese and sprinkle 0.5 oz chopped cilantro on top. Serve right away or chill at least 30 minutes before serving.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer- FarrisCorn, avocado, and tomato was light and flavorful, and the lime dressing tied everything together nicely.