This grilled corn salad is the perfect summer salad! Bright splashes of lime dance on top of the deep smoky flavors of roasted corn, peppers, and paprika!
More salads should be grilled. Although, I suspect no one wants to eat a salad consisting of limp cooked-lettuce, so maybe I am just trying to say fewer salads should feature lettuce. Admittedly, I am not a big salad eater, particularly the leafy sort, however, this grilled corn salad recipe has been a favorite of mine for almost a decade now!
Grilled Corn Salad
Grilled corn salad is one of my favorite summer recipes. I like making this recipe with my leftover grilled corn on the cob. However, if you don’t have any on hand, don’t worry. You can use frozen or canned corn (drained) as well. Just throw it in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and set it on medium-high heat. The corn will quickly develop a beautiful char.
This salad is great for a healthy lunch or a perfect pot luck dish! Actually, this recipe has been one of my go-to pot luck dishes for years!
Grilled Corn Salad Dressing
The dressing for my grilled corn salad is exceedingly simple. Extra virgin olive oil (affiliate link) and lime juice form the base of the dressing, creating a satisfyingly bright contrast to the roasted flavors. This is also counterbalanced by the smoked paprika seasoning the salad.
Can Grilled Corn Salad Be Made in Advance?
This salad tastes great when made in advance, however, the texture will suffer. For best results I recommend making this grilled corn salad an hour in advance of serving. This gives a bit of time for the flavors to meld together. When the salad is prepared the day prior the onions will soften up a lot and the salt extracts liquid out of the produce, throwing the crisp texture of the dish off.
Customize Grilled Corn Salad
This is an easy recipe to customize for your own tastes. Spice it up by using jalapeno instead of poblano peppers, or add a little creaminess with chopped avocado.
You can use red onions in this dish, but if you want to kick up the flavor some more I highly recommend checking out my quick pickled red onion recipe. It takes no time at all to assemble and its tangy flavor really jumps out of this salad. It’s a great recipe to keep in your back pocket because it compliments so many different dishes!
Corn Salad Recipes
Corn salads are one of my favorite summer treats. Spice up your summer by trying my Mexican Street Corn Salad, Black Bean and Corn Salad, or my Avocado Black Bean Salad (with corn). Each of these tastes great with fresh or grilled corn.
Grilled Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 6 ears of corn (husked)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1/4 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 poblano pepper (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup lime juice (~2 small limes)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher Salt and Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Boil corn on the cob until soft.
- Rub corn with 1 tablespoon cooking oil and then char on a grill, or skillet, until slightly charred.
- Cut kernels from cob and place in large bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and briefly saute poblano pepper over medium-high heat to char the exterior of the pepper while retaining some crispness. Lower heat and saute garlic until fragrant. (alternatively, the pepper can be grilled and garlic roasted instead)
- Rinse sliced onion in a strainer and rinse with cold water to mellow its flavor then drain well.
- Mix onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, tomato, garlic, lime juice, pepper, and paprika with the corn.
- Season generously with salt and pepper to taste
- Top with cilantro and serve.
Notes
This recipe was originally published June 8, 2015 on FoxValleyFoodie.com.
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Brian Jones says
I love the sound of this, such simple flavours… I love the idea of the pickled onions and may even be tempted to go with a couple of pickled chilies that the Hungarians do so well 🙂
Dreema says
I love fresh produce salads and meals especially in the summer. Thank you for sharing
Dreema says
Love them both.