Grilled Corn Salad
One of my favorite easy and healthy summer side dishes is grilled corn salad, loaded with veggies fresh from my garden!
Here’s my simple take on that classic recipe, but keep in mind that corn salad is super flexible, so feel free to switch out or add in veggies, or try a different dressing to make this dish your own.
How to Make the Grilled Corn Salad + Dressing:
This recipe makes two adult-sized servings of about 1 cup each. You can double or triple amounts, as needed!
Ingredients You’ll Need for the Salad
- 2 or 3 ears of fresh corn (if making with small or worm-damaged ears, you may need 3 or 4 ears instead)
- olive oil, for grilling the corn
- salt & pepper, for grilling the corn
- 1 cup chopped spinach leaves, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1/8 cup cucamelons (or 1/4 cup chopped, peeled cucumber)
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters
- optional extras: 1/8 to 1/4 cup chopped orange, yellow, green, and/or red bell peppers, cubed avocado, fresh herbs, or your favorite salad add-ins
Ingredients for the Honey Lime Dressing
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- generous dashes of salt and pepper, to taste
Grilling the Corn
Shuck the corn, wash and remove silks. (Save those silks! We have a list of corn silk uses over at our sister website, The Nerdy Farm Wife.)
Brush the corn all over with a light layer of olive oil, then lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rotate a few times to make sure all sides are covered with oil.
Grill the corn over medium to medium-low heat for about 5 to 7 minutes. I don’t like heavy bites of char in my grilled corn salads, so I only grill until the corn is light brown in places. However, we all have different tastes, so adjust to your personal preference!
After it has grilled, set the corn aside until it’s cool enough to comfortably handle.
Making the Honey Lime Dressing
While the corn is grilling, mix up the dressing. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper in a small jar (I use a half-pint mason jar), cover with a tight fitting lid, and shake, shake, shake several times, until a nice dressing is formed.
Taste test the dressing and adjust the ingredients as you see fit. If it tastes too acidic, add more honey. If it’s too sweet, add more lime juice. If it’s *almost* right, but something still seems off, try adding another sprinkle or two of salt. Keep tweaking and mixing until the dressing suits your preferred flavor profile.
Remember that the dressing will mellow out and be complemented by the salad ingredients, so one tip is to dip a cooling corn kernel into a tiny spoonful of it and taste test it that way, before adjusting too much.
Cutting the Corn
Once the corn is cool enough to handle, use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob. You should get around 1 cup of kernels, but it’s okay if you’re under or over that amount. Making salad with corn does not require precision! (In fact, I never EXACTLY make the same recipe twice!)
Assembling Everything to Create a Summer Corn Salad!
Combine the cooled corn, chopped spinach, chopped cucumbers (or cucamelons), and minced onion in a small mixing bowl. If you’re adding bell peppers or anything else to the salad, add it here. (But wait to add the tomatoes last, so their seeds won’t squish out everywhere.)
Pour one tablespoons of the dressing into the mixing bowl and toss everything together until it’s well coated in the dressing.
Taste test. If you’d like more dressing, try adding 1/2 to 1 more tablespoon of dressing and stir well. Taste test again.
Now, you can add in the tomatoes and gently mix them in.
And your grilled corn salad is ready to serve! It’s a perfect side dish for grilled chicken or fish, especially when it’s too hot to heat up your oven.
You should have a couple extra tablespoons of dressing leftover that you can put in a small bowl to serve on the side. I like just the small amount in the salad, but my hubby likes adding the extra dressing to his.
He also likes dipping grilled chicken in the dressing, so if you like the taste of it, you may want to double the recipe so you have plenty to enjoy!
Video: Grilled Corn Salad Slideshow
Here’s a slideshow summarizing this article. (Sometimes an ad plays first, but the video will start right after! The video player won’t show up if you have an adblocker.)
Substitution Ideas
- Instead of lime juice, try a similar acidic ingredient such as lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- Instead of honey, you can use sugar, or maple syrup, to taste.
- Instead of Dijon mustard, you can use any deli style mustard, or you can leave it out entirely, and adjust the other ingredients to a flavor you like.
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftovers, they can be stored in your fridge for 1 additional day. The homemade dressing should be refrigerated as well. I try to use the dressing up within two or three days, at the most.
This might sound kind of weird, but I like eating the cold corn salad right out the fridge with tortilla chips for scooping, for a quick grab-and-go lunch the next day! But most people like to let it rest at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes before eating.
Sadly, grilled corn salad doesn’t freeze well – you just have to enjoy it in the moment!
Printable Grilled Corn Salad Recipe Card
If you like this summer corn salad recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and/or stars! <3
Grilled Corn Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Grilled Corn
- 3 ears of fresh corn
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
For the Salad
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped red onion
- 1/8 cup chopped cucumbers or cucamelons
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/8 cup optional chopped peppers, avocado, and/or fresh herbs
For the Honey Lime Dressing
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
To Grill the Corn
- Shuck the corn, remove the silks. Brush the ears with olive oil, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- Grill for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the level of char that you prefer.
- Set corn aside to cool; once cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off of the cob.
To Make the Dressing
- Combine the lime juice, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper in a small glass jar. Cap and shake thoroughly about 20 to 30 seconds, or until a dressing is formed.
- Taste test the dressing and adjust to suit your personal taste. If you want it sweeter, add more honey. If you want it tangier, add more lime juice, etc.
To Make the Salad
- Combine the cut corn, spinach, onion, cucumbers/cucamelons, and other vegetables you're adding in a mixing bowl. Save the tomatoes though & don't add them in quite yet.
- Stir 1 tablespoon of dressing into the combined vegetables and then taste test. If desired, add another 1/2 to 1 additional tablespoon of dressing, to taste.
- Finally, gently stir in the tomatoes and your salad is ready to serve!
- This salad is best served fresh, the same day, but leftovers can be refrigerated and eaten the next day.
