This Fresh Corn Salad is an easy salad with fresh corn, red onion, a simple dressing, then topped with fresh basil for the perfect end of summer side dish.
Love a good summer meal? Grilling for dinner? Make a few delicious summer sides to go with your meal, like this corn salad, sauteed green beans with cherry tomatoes, and an herbed tomato salad.
Growing up, we had a lot of fresh vegetables from the garden in the summer, but with corn, it was mostly just served as corn on the cob. I never complained, because my dad grew the tastiest vegetables, and I always looked forward to dinner from the garden, and I do love corn on the cob.
But I was craving something different, so this Fresh Corn Salad made it onto our dinner table. This is summer simplicity at its finest!
Only a few ingredients, and the flavor of the corn really shines through as the star.
Ingredients
- Corn: The biggest thing with this recipe is that you need some fresh, sweet corn. The corn really is what stands out the most in this recipe, so if you have corn that doesn’t have a lot of flavor, your salad won’t have a lot of flavor.
- Red Onion: If the flavor of raw red onion is too strong for you, you can use green onions, instead.
- Vinegar: The recipe calls for cider vinegar, but feel free to change this up and use another vinegar that you love, like red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or even balsamic vinegar!
- Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt and Pepper: There are amounts included in the recipe card, but you need to taste the salad and add more, if needed. I always like to use kosher salt or sea salt in recipes like this – the flavor will be much better.
- Basil: The fresh basil really adds a lot of flavor. Try not to skip it, if possible.
Tips and Tricks
This salad can be served at room temperature or cold from the refrigerator. So this is a great make ahead salad!
You could technically use frozen corn for this recipe, but fresh corn really makes this shine. Plus, the texture of the fresh corn will be better – frozen corn tends to be less firm.
If you’ve got lots of fresh veggies, you can add them in! Try bell peppers, tomatoes, or even zucchini!
This salad is the perfect side dish for any summer meal. Try it with Grilled Chicken or Steak Kabobs.
More Fresh Corn Recipes
Grilled Corn Salad
Corn Fritters
Tilapia with Roasted Corn
Creamy Corn and Bacon
Mexican Corn Salad
Chipotle Corn Chowder
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Fresh Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ears of corn shucked
- 1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the corn and cook for about 3 minutes. Immediately place in an ice-bath to stop the cooking.5 ears of corn
- When cool, cut the kernels off of the cobs.
- In a large bowl, combine the red onion, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add in the corn and the basil. Serve at room temperature or cold.1/2 cup small-diced red onion, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons good olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
Tartelette says
I love that kind of salad. I add balck beans to mine and some chopped cilantro. This one looks delicious!
Judy says
I have made this very salad many times, and I just love it. I brought a big huge bowl of it to a family dinner one time, but amazingly, I was the only one who ate any! Different strokes, I guess.
Dolores says
I find myself addicted to this season’s fresh corn. I’ll be trying your interpretation when my CSA box arrives later this week.
Belinda says
At the very least, it was healthy, and you tried something new! Fresh corn is a favorite of mine too. And if its any consolation, your salad looks fantastic, and sounds delicious to me. You always post the most interesting and enticing recipes. 🙂
Nirmala says
Isn’t summer corn the best? Love it and love this recipe.
Cynthia says
I love the crunch one gets from fresh corn. I can just imagine how flavourful the salad was.