Sweet Corn Salad
This Sweet Corn Salad is a summer treat, with fresh corn, sweet mangos, tomatoes, and a touch of heat, plus a light and flavorful dressing. Enjoy as a side dish to whatever’s cooking on the grill, as a chip dip, or use as a taco topping!
Fresh & Easy Summer Salad
I just canNOT get enough of the fresh summer sweet corn. And I’ll take it any way you wanna give it to me. With corn on the cob boiled and then slathered in butter, or cut from the cob and enjoyed in grilled creamed corn, a great Mexican summer salad, or this fabulous ramen salad. It’s all SO GOOD!
This fresh Sweet Corn Salad is a colorful, tasty side for grilled chicken, steak, pork, and fish. And as is, or with some tomato salsa mixed in, it makes for a great nacho chip dip. It’s also a fun taco condiment!
What You’ll Need
This corn and mango salad is made with some of summer’s freshest ingredients, plus a super simple dressing.
- Sweet corn kernels – You can pre-boil the cobs if desired, but I prefer the raw corn kernels. Use only the freshest sweet corn.
- Mango – Mango should be ripe, peeled, and diced into 1/2″ pieces.
- Tomatoes – Grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half work perfectly.
- Scallions – Dice both the white and green parts.
- Parsley – Finely diced flat leaf parsley adds flavor and color.
- Fresh red chili – Finely dice the chili to disperse a little bit of heat evenly throughout the salad.
- Olive oil – Choose a quality, mild-tasting olive oil.
- Apple cider vinegar – Adds a bit of tangy acidity to the dressing.
- Sugar – Just a little bit helps to bring out all the flavors.
- Ground cumin – Cumin is one of my favorites in the spice drawer, wonderful in this salad!
- Salt & pepper
Optional Ingredients:
- Avocado – One diced avocado is an optional add-in, along with fresh lime juice to squeeze over it. This adds a creamy quality to the salad.
- Black beans – To some protein and extra flavor, add in a can of rinsed and drained black beans.
How to Make Sweet Corn Salad
This is one of the easiest, freshest summer salads you could possibly make!
- Combine the fresh ingredients. Stir the corn, mango, tomatoes, scallions, red chili, and parsley together in a bowl.
- Add the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, sugar, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Pour over the corn mixture and fold to combine. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until serving.
Tips for Success
There are a few things to keep in mind with this corn and tomato salad.
- Use only the freshest ingredients. This recipe is the sum of its ingredients and the quality of each one matters. Be sure to choose only the freshest and perfectly ripe ingredients.
- Prepare a few hours in advance. For the most flavorful salad, prepare this a few hours in advance to let the flavors meld together.
- Add the avocado last. If adding avocado, stir lime juice gently with avocado before adding to the rest of the salad, to minimize browning. Do not prepare the avocado until you are ready to serve the salad.
- Make it spicy. Want to kick things up a notch? Include more of the red chili or add in some chopped jalapeno.
Serving Suggestions
This fresh corn salad pairs so well with anything that comes off the grill. Chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon…you name it, this corn and tomato salad makes a great side dish!
You can also use it as a salsa dip for chips, which is a great side dish at a potluck. Or spoon it over the top of your favorite tacos or quesadillas!
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover sweet corn salad can be stored in the fridge, in a covered container, for at least a couple days. Although it will not keep as well if you add avocado, as it will likely start to brown.
More Recipes with Sweet Corn:
- Jalapeno Grilled Sweet Corn Muffins
- Grilled Sweet Corn and Jalapeno Slaw
- Mexican Grilled Corn Salad
- Grilled Vegetable Salad
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Sweet Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh sweet corn kernels cut from 8 to 12 ears of corn (pre-boil the cobs if desired, but I prefer to use raw corn kernels)
- 1 large mango peeled and diced into 1/2″ pieces
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes halved
- 10 scallions white and green parts, sliced
- ¼ cup finely diced fresh red chili
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
for the dressing:
- ¼ cup mild tasting olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
optional ingredients:
- 1 large avocado medium diced + 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the corn kernels, mango, tomatoes, scallions, red chili, and parsley.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, sugar, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Drizzle over the corn mixture and stir to combine. Serve immediately or cover and chill in the refrigerator. This can be prepared several hours in advance.
If adding avocado, stir lime juice gently with avocado before adding to the rest of the salad, to minimize browning. Do not prepare the avocado until you are ready to serve the salad.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2010, and then updated in 2021.
Your dish is so colorful, it invites you to eat.
I just did a similar dish but it was hot!
thanks for the recipe
Hi Glenda – Agreed, the colorful salad is a very inviting dish. People are taken with it even before they try a bite.