Fresh Corn Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese and Tomatoes - Plain Everything (2024)

This fresh corn salad is healthy and flavorful! It’s the perfect side dish for BBQs or picnics and makes a great topping for grilled fish or chicken!

Corn season is almost here, and I’ll be at the farmer’s market bright and early every weekend stocking up! There’s nothing quite like sweet, summer corn, and my fresh corn salad is my favorite way to eat it!

If you’ve never tried raw corn, trust me it’s delicious! It’s crisp, sweet, and perfect for salads, but it must be in season and as fresh as you can get it. The first time I tried it, it was at my local farmer’s market. For a few short weeks, they have super sweet corn and encourage you to sample it raw. It was a game-changer for me, and I’ve been eating it that way ever since. If you can’t get fresh corn, frozen will do. Put it in a strainer until it’s thawed, but don’t cook it.

This salad has no mayonnaise, which makes it perfect for outside get-togethers. Bring it to your next BBQ or tailgate gathering, and watch it disappear. It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

Peak corn season is July through September!

The ingredients are simple, and the dish takes about 15 minutes from start to finish! Serve it as a side dish alongside grilled meat or fish, add some protein to make it a meal, or serve it up as a dip with crunchy tortilla chips.

Tips for making the best fresh corn salad:

To make this salad even quicker,use a small chopper like this to prep your veggies. A small chopper is a kitchen necessity.

One ear of corn yields approximately 3/4 cup kernels, so you may need to adjust the recipe accordingly depending on the size of your corn.

The beauty of this salad is that it’s so versatile. Try adding avocado, jicama, different herbs, fresh spinach or kale, radish, peppers, olives, or jalapeno to change it up.

If you want to make it ahead of time, wait until just before serving to stir in the basil and tomatoes. The taste and texture of tomatoes goes downhill in the refrigerator.

If you prefer, you can blanch the corn first by trimming the kernels off the cobs, dropping them into boiling water for 90 seconds, draining, and plunging them right into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Most people blanch the whole cob, but trying to handle them hot seems silly to me. This is easier – and safer.

In a large bowl, stir together the corn kernels, tomatoes, carrots, and green onion.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the corn mixture, add the blue cheese crumbles and basil, and stir.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.If you prefer to make this in advance, hold off on adding the tomatoes and basil until just before serving. I actually prefer this salad at room temperature!

If you can get your hands on some fresh sprouts, sprinkle a few on top for an extra pop of crunch and nutrition! I tried sunflower sprouts for the first time last year, and now I’m obsessed!

Serve this with:

• Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets
• Nashville Hot Chicken Tacos
• Beef Barbacoa (like Chipotle)

Did you try this recipe?

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