Summer Corn Salad
This easy Summer Corn Salad combines sweet fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and fresh basil with a zesty olive oil and lime dressing. Ready in just three simple steps, it’s the perfect side dish for summer BBQs and pairs beautifully with grilled meats. Tips for prep-ahead storage and corn cooking methods included.
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This easy Summer Corn Salad is made with sweet, buttery corn, sweet tomatoes, vibrant red onions, crisp cucumbers, flavorful feta cheese, fresh basil and a tasty dressing. It’s the perfect side dish salad for a summer BBQ!
A summer corn salad combines fresh or frozen corn with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and basil, dressed in an olive oil and lime juice mixture with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. The salad requires 11 ingredients and comes together in three steps.
Fresh corn from four cooked ears is recommended, though frozen or canned corn can be substituted. The feta is added just before serving, and the dressing should be stored separately if preparing the salad ahead to prevent the tomatoes from becoming soggy.
Why I love this Corn salad
One of the highlights of summer for me is the fresh sweet corn from local roadside farm stands. Fresh corn is soooo tasty!! This summer corn salad recipe takes advantage of seasonal corn and is both full of bright flavors and is also very easy to make. With this zesty olive oil & lime dressing and yummy basil and feta cheese, you’ll be the hero of your next BBQ! It’s a perfect match to pair with summer grilling. Serve it as a side to these Grilled Chili Lime Chicken Skewers!
RELATED: Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad Recipe
What do you need to make an easy corn salad?
There are only 11 ingredients needed for this fresh summer salad! Hit up your local Farmer’s market or the produce section of your local grocery store for the salad ingredients, then make the dressing with common pantry ingredients.
To make the dressing you will need
- Olive oil
- A lime
- Hot sauce
- Salt and pepper
Summer Corn Salad Ingredients
- Corn – fresh, frozen or canned, it’s your choice!
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Red onion
- Fresh basil
- Feta cheese
How to make this easy Summer Corn Salad
This salad comes together in three easy steps!
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce until well blended.
- Combine: To the dressing, add the halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, onion, and basil. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Garnish: Just before serving, sprinkle the salad with the feta cheese (and a little bit of the basil to make it look beautiful!).
Make this Corn Salad, then check out my Summer Peach Salad with Fresh Mint Dressing, Roasted Asparagus Caesar Salad, and Classic Waldorf Salad and more of my healthy salad dressing recipes.
TIPS AND Substitution Ideas
Read on for tips and substitution ideas on how to make this recipe, and how to avoid making it a disaster.
Tips for making the best summer corn salad:
This recipe starts with the corn. If you use fresh corn you’ll need four ears of cooked corn on the cob. How you choose to cook the fresh corn is up to you. You can even cook the corn a day prior if you’d like as an easy prep ahead idea! To save time, you can always just use a few cups of thawed and drained frozen corn instead!
Using an Instant Pot to cook the corn is my preferred easy method! To do this, set your Instant Pot to 3 minutes on high or manual mode. Just make sure to pour in a cup of water along with corn. After cooking, I just let it cool and then cut the corn off the cob into the mixing bowl.
My other favorite easy way is to boil corn on the cob. Here are some best tips for boiling corn and how long to do so.
The dressing is very subtle since most of the flavor is in the veggies and basil. Taste it and if it needs some vinegar, feel free to add a little apple cider and the same with salt and pepper.
How to store Corn Salad
Leftovers of this salad are yummy the next day, but the dressing can make the tomatoes a little soggy. If prepping this salad ahead, reserve the dressing for right before you serve it! Store the prepared dressing and salad separately. Store the dressing in an air tight jar, like a mini mason jar, and the salad in an air tight container – I prefer Snapware glass food storage containers.
☀️ CELEBRATE Summer with
50+ Easy Salad Recipes for Summer
Summer is here, and do you know what that means? It’s time to enjoy the fresh Summer produce with salad ideas that your whole family will love!
Summer Corn Salad Recipe
Equipment You’ll Need
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lime (juiced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce
For the corn salad
- 1 12 ounce package frozen corn, thawed
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cucumber (diced)
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce until well blended.
- To the dressing, add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and basil. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the salad with the feta cheese.
- If you loved this salad, try my Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad recipe!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure
Recipes and photos are for your personal enjoyment only — please share the love by linking, not copying!Other summer salad recipes to try
- Summer Peach Salad with Fresh Mint Dressing – Featuring seasonal peaches, blueberries, avocado, red onions and blue cheese, this summer salad is perfect for a weeknight meal.
- Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad – This vegetarian summer salad is filled with fresh veggies, pasta, a dash of dill and a simple to make dressing to add a nice burst of flavor to everything
- Summertime Strawberry Feta and Mint Salad – A refreshing salad with a sweet honey dressing that balances savory and sweet flavors.
