Summer Corn Salad

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Let me introduce you to the perfect summer salad: my summer corn salad recipe. It’s quick and easy to make, cool and refreshing, and includes the perfect blend of fresh vegetables and zesty Italian dressing.

Serving Summer Corn Salad

Today I’m bringing you what is, in my mind, the perfect summer salad for a picnic or barbecue. It’s cool, refreshing, has a blend of great flavors that work together perfectly, and is a cinch to make. Don’t you just love recipes like that? I sure do!

My summer corn salad recipe includes lots of fresh vegetables (the more the better when summer comes around, I say). We’re talking fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, onion, and green bell pepper. These crunchy vegetables are tossed in zesty Italian dressing and then refrigerated for several hours, so they can really marinate and soak up all that delicious dressing flavor.

That’s all there is to it! A couple of steps and your summer corn salad is ready to serve to family and friends. I love that I can make it in advance because we all know summer weekends can be just a little bit busy!

At the bottom of the post, I’ve included lots of serving suggestions, but this summer salad truly pairs well with any barbecue or grilled meat. Enjoy!

Summer Corn Salad Ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

  • Italian dressing
  • Whole kernel corn
  • Onion
  • Bell pepper
  • Tomato

How to Make Summer Corn Salad

Chop up vegetables.

Chop up your fresh veggies and drain the cans of corn.

Place all vegetables in a large bowl.

Place all of the veggies in a large bowl. 

Add Italian dressing and stir well.

Add in Italian dressing and stir well. 

Refrigerate corn salad for several hours before serving.

Cover and refrigerate your summer corn salad for several hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.

Serving Summer Corn Salad

Enjoy! This can be made up to two days ahead of time to keep life simple. 

Storage

Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

  • You can use fresh corn, frozen corn, or canned corn kernels. For fresh and frozen corn, you’ll want to cook it quickly in water on the stovetop or in the microwave so it’s nice and tender before adding it to the recipe. Another option is to grill the fresh corn for a few minutes on each side before adding the grilled corn to the salad. It will add a delicious smoky flavor.
  • Use either regular or zesty Italian dressing.
  • Make this summer corn salad recipe your own with these variations:
    • Add different vegetables, like diced cucumber, red onion, chopped avocado for creaminess, or grilled zucchini to complement the grilled corn.
    • Add black beans or edamame.
    • Use chopped cherry tomato instead.
    • Substitute the green bell pepper for red bell pepper.
    • Add some fresh herbs, like chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil, dill, mint, or fresh cilantro.
    • Before serving, sprinkle it with crumbled feta cheese.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with summer corn salad?

Basically, everything goes with summer sweet corn salad. Serve it with your favorite summer main dish, like burgers, pulled pork or pulled chicken, grilled chicken tenders, crockpot beef ribs, or even Southern fried catfish.

You may also enjoy these sensational summer salads:

Recipe for Caprese Salad with Chicken and Avocado

Tomato Onion and Cucumber Salad

Cornbread Salad Recipe

Aunt Cathie’s Grape Salad

Summer Corn Salad

This summer corn salad recipe is quick and easy to make, cool and refreshing, and includes the perfect blend of fresh vegetables and zesty Italian dressing.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: corn, salad
Servings: 4
Calories: 60.6kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
  • 2 medium diced tomatoes
  • 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 diced small onion
  • 1 cup Italian dressing

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
    2 cans whole kernel corn, drained, 2 medium diced tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced, 1 diced small onion, 1 cup Italian dressing
  • Can be made up to two days ahead of time. This is delicious and the perfect side for a barbecue!

Nutrition

Calories: 60.6kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Ghandi

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147 Comments

  1. This is one of my favorite salads, but I use frozen corn. I don’t even thaw it out . By the time you’re ready to eat it, it’s still nice and cold.

    Since we had a problem with mayonaise based salads at our work picnic, I mentioned that there were lots of other salads that didn’t need mayonaise. After that I had to come up with salads for the picnics and this was one of them, but on a much larger scale, My salads were for at least 200 people.

  2. Awwww- you’re so sweet, hun!!! I been feelin’ real down for a while- but this post just made me feel so much better!!! Bless Your Heart!!! (And I mean that in the BEST sense of the phrase!!)

  3. Congratulations on the Taste of South magazine writeup. Haven’t had a chance to read it yet but I’m sure it will be great!

  4. Oh, Christy..I’ve been craving corn the last week or so…I just love it!
    This salad looks so good.
    I just love your Pyrex bowls you have. I also collect them, too. I love the green bowls we all had in the late 50’s-early 60’s. You could buy them at Perry’s (5 and Dime store then). I had a set of 3 size green bowls..wish I could find some again…guess I’ll have to check Ebay out today.

  5. Definitely going to make the corn salad tonight. Thanks for post –never heard of Martha Berry, (will look her up) but I know of the Cathy family & Chic-Filet “story/testimony” 😀 Have a blessed day, all.

  6. Food for the heart and soul…and the tummy! Thank you for sharing inspiring stories and also for sharing a little bit of yourself with us. After reading your blog for a couple weeks and truly enjoying each one, I just really wanted to say thank you. Now, I’m ready for some corn salad and some hugs!

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