With the season of backyard barbecues quickly approaching, we wanted to come up with a fun, summery side dish to serve at your gatherings. This Summer Corn Salad is an exciting addition to the usual cast of characters such as slaw and potato salad, and one that’s sure to be a hit.
In our Summer Corn Salad we used about a dozen fresh ears of corn that we pan-grilled in our kitchen, but this could easily be done on an outdoor grill. Then we added in a few more summer veggies, cucumbers and tomatoes, along with red onion and diced jalapeno pepper for a little kick. Bacon, feta cheese, and a simple creamy dressing round out the mix for a salad that is bursting with summer flavor.
Our recipe makes enough for a crowd, so feel free to scale it back if you’re just serving it for a small family dinner.
Summer Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 12 fresh corn cobs shucked
- 2 cups diced cucumber from 1 cucumber
- 2 cups diced tomato from about 4 Roma tomatoes
- ¼ cup diced jalapeno pepper from 1 jalapeno
- ½ cup diced red onion (from ½ a red onion)
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ cup sliced green onion
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Drain off all but two tablespoons of bacon grease from the skillet. Add corn cobs to the skillet and cook, over medium-high heat, for about 10 minutes, rotating every 2 minutes until all sides have been seared.
- Alternatively, you may boil the corn cobs or cook over the grill.
- Cut kernels off of the cooked corn cobs. You should have about 7-8 cups of kernels. Add to a large bowl.
- Add in diced cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeno, and red onion and toss to combine.
- In a separate small bowl mix together mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika. Add to corn mix and fold to combine well.
- Fold feta cheese into the salad.
- Dice or crumble the cooked bacon and sprinkle on top of the salad along with the sliced green onion. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
