Avocado Corn Salad

Why You’ll Love This Salad

The salad has a tasty combination of smoky and savory flavors with a hint sweetness. It also has the right mix of fresh crisp bites of grilled corn with creamy diced avocados and juicy tomatoes.

You can grill the corn and poblano pepper and make the dressing all in advance. This is very helpful for meal planning. If I already have the grill fired up for one recipe, I will go ahead and grill the ingredients for another one especially they are going to end up in a salad that’s doesn’t need to be served warm.

It’s a side dish and salad in one recipe. More than any other season, with grilled and summer ingredients you don’t need lettuce for an awesome salad. When you skip leafy greens, it blurs the difference between salad and side dish. Use that to your advantage and serve this avocado corn salad either way depending on what else you’re having with it.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Corn: When you’re selecting fresh corn, look for ears that have husks that are tightly wrapped, which keeps the moisture in and prevents the corn kernels from drying out. The silk at the end should feel damp. Whenever I grill corn I peel off the husks because I like it to make direct contact with the hot grates. 
• Poblano peppers are mild to medium when it comes to spiciness and not as hot as jalapeños. They are smoky and grilling brings that out even more.
• Avocados add their signature creaminess, which is different than the other ingredients that are crisp. Overall, they are mild in flavor, but they add richness. 
• Tomatoes: You can use either grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and just slice them in half. What I like about small tomatoes is that they don’t fall apart when you toss them in a salad.
• Red onions give the salad a nice sharpness.
• Cilantro makes sense for fresh herbs with lime juice, corn, avocados, cilantro and poblano peppers.
• Cheese: You can use either feta cheese or cotija cheese. They both have salty, milky flavor and a drier texture that makes them easy to crumble.
• Olive oil, salt and pepper: You will need these for grilling the corn and in the dressing.
• Honey lime dressing has a very subtle sweetness that gives a nice contrast to the overall smoky grilled taste. It has fresh lime juice, honey, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. You can substitute with maple syrup to make it vegan.

Optional Additions

This salad recipe is fantastic as written, but you can add:

• Bell peppers: Stir in a diced orange, yellow or red bell pepper.
• Black beans: Drain and rinse a can of black beans to make the salad more filling and add protein.
• Tortilla chips: Crumble the chips in your hands and sprinkle them on top for a crunchy finish.
• Romaine: Combine the salad with chopped romaine to transform it into a southwest salad.

How To Make This Avocado Corn Salad Recipe

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill on high heat

1. Grill the corn. First rub it with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper. Grill it until it is lightly charred all over, about 5-7 minutes. Grill the poblano pepper. You can grill it with the corn. It will take 2-3 minutes per side for it to get charred and blistered. Then put it in a bowl and cover it.

2. Slice the kernels off the ears of corn. Use a sharp knife to do this.

3. Rub the skin off the pepper, discard the stem and seeds and chop it.

4. Combine the salad ingredients in a big bowl that includes the grilled corn, poblano peppers, avocados, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and feta.

5. Make the dressing. Whisk the garlic, honey, salt, pepper, fresh lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl.

6. Drizzle the dressing into the salad, stirring it to combine everything.

Serving

If you have the grill heated for a protein such as chicken or salmon, you can serve this salad as a side dish. For a vegetarian main dish, pair it with these Barbecue Tofu Veggie Skewers.

Make-Ahead Tips, Leftovers & Storage

You can grill the corn and pepper up to 2 days in advance. After you finishing grilling them, slice the corn off the cobs and peel and chop the poblano pepper. Then you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Also, you can whisk together the dressing 2 days ahead of time and keep it in a mason jar in the fridge. Just let it sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes before pouring it into the salad.

You can store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. The avocados may brown the longer you keep them. The lime juice in the dressing will prevent some of that browning from happening. 

Recipe Tips

Use ripe tomatoes and avocados. Besides corn, these are the main ingredients, so it’s important that they are ripe, so they have the best flavor.

Get to know the hot spots on your grill. Don’t hesitate to move around the vegetables you are grilling if they start to get grill marks too quickly. My grill has an area that’s hotter than the rest of it, so I use that space when I need it and move to the the cooler spots too.

Use a sheet pan to transport the corn and pepper from your kitchen to your grill. A pan is handy for more than roasting and baking in the oven. I always use one to carry things to the grill and stay organized.

More Corn Recipes

Roasted Corn Salad
Southwest Pasta Salad
Mexican Chopped Salad
Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
Blueberry Corn Salad
Grilled Corn Couscous
Cornbread Muffins
Grilled Zucchini, Squash & Corn
Grilled Peach Corn Salad

Find more salad ideas in my seasonal salad roundup featuring leafy green salads, bean salads and pasta salads.