This corn salad a great summer side dish to bring to a cookout. It's super easy to make and requires zero cooking, so you don't have to heat up your kitchen if it's really hot outside. This side is light, which makes it a great choice if it's really hot outside. Another lighter favorite of mine to take to a summer get-together are these Tortellini Pasta Salad Skewers. I also like to take Italian Pasta Salad, Summer Orzo Pasta Salad, or BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad, but those are a bit heavier/more substantive.
I also sometimes make this corn salad to have as a side dish with a quick weeknight dinner, like with tacos made with Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken or Buffalo Chicken Tacos.
Recipe Notes and Ingredient Substitutions
Frozen vs Fresh vs Canned Corn
I will usually try to make this with fresh corn when it's in season - a bonus of living in an area with corn fields all around is that I can always snag some from a farm stand within a couple minutes of my house. Serious Eats and The Kitchn both have some good post about how to remove corn kernels from the cob. I use a knife to remove the kernels, but there are also some handy kernel removal tools that make it easy.
Frozen corn is also a good go-to, and I've made this with frozen corn several times. Just make sure the corn is thawed, and I usually will also pat it dry with a paper towel.
I generally do not use canned corn for this, but you could in a pinch. Canned corn just doesn't have as crisp of a texture as frozen or fresh.
Cheese
This recipe calls for grated cotija cheese. You can use the rest for things like tacos or salads. If you can't find cotija or don't want to spring for it just for this recipe, you can also use grated pecorino or parmesan. Some people will also substitute it with feta, but that's generally not my favorite.
Cotija doesn't freeze very well because it will make it more crumbly, but I will sometimes freeze it if I've grated it first. If I'm using it in grated form anyway, it doesn't really matter that it's more crumbly.
Make-Ahead
Ideally the corn salad should chill an hour in the fridge before serving, but it's not the end of the world if you can't. It can also be made up to 24 hours ahead. Stir after it's been sitting in the fridge, then top with the cheese and cilantro (optional) before serving.
Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ears fresh corn or 1 bag frozen corn, thawed
- 1 red or orange bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1 tomato seeds and membrane removed, diced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1½ teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika plus a bit more for dusting
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste as needed (I use ½ teaspoon salt, but I like my food saltier than average.)
Toppings
- ¼ cup grated cotija cheese add more if desired
- fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except cheese and cilantro.
- Keep in the refrigerator before serving. Ideally this should chill for an hour, but that is not required. Can make ahead up to 24 hours.
- Sprinkle with a bit of smoked paprika and top with cheese and cilantro just before serving.
