Zucchini Corn Salad

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Zucchini, corn and tomatoes are the ultimate summer power trio. These vegetables bring the best combination of savory, crisp and fresh. The smoky taste from the grilled corn and zucchini is great with juicy, ripe cherry tomatoes.

This is a salad and side dish in one. If you know me, you know I am a salad super fan. Part of that is embracing salads that don’t have any lettuce. With grilled vegetables, this recipe really blurs the line between salad and side.

The vinaigrette is sharp and garlicky. With two minced cloves, the dressing has the perfect amount of garlic flavor to bring together all the vegetables and ingredients in the salad.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Zucchini: Look for zucchini that is deep green in color. The skin should be smooth. Zucchini should feel firm and not have any soft spots. You can substitute with yellow squash, and the overall color of the salad will be very yellow.
• Corn: The freshest ears of corn have tightly wrapped husks that keep the moisture in. The silk at the end should be a little damp too. I like pulling off the husks and silk, so the corn makes direct contact with the hot grates of the grill.
• Tomatoes: Halved cherry tomatoes are the right size for the diced zucchini and corn kernels. You can also use grape tomatoes. What I like about small tomatoes is that they are juicy, but still stay intact when you stir them with the rest of the salad ingredients.
• Parmesan: I love the flavor that grated Parmesan cheese brings to the vegetables. You can substitute with pecorino, which is a little more pungent and salty. You can switch things up and go from grated to crumbled and use feta cheese or goat cheese. And if you want this zucchini salad to be vegan, leave out the cheese completely.
• Scallions add crisp, fresh onion flavor. If you want something stronger, then use about 1/4 cup of finely diced red onions.
• Parsley, chopped, is my choice for fresh herbs. You can also include torn fresh basil leaves.
• Olive oil, salt & pepper: Before I grill the zucchini and corn, I toss them with oil, salt and pepper.
• Garlic vinaigrette: Besides a couple minced garlic cloves, the dressing has whole grain mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

How To Make This Zucchini Salad

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill on medium high heat.

1. Drizzle the zucchini and corn with olive oil, and season it with salt and pepper. I use my hands to make sure the vegetables are well coated.

2. Grill the zucchini and corn. You want them to be lightly charred all over. The corn will take about 5-7 minutes. And the zucchini will take about 3-4 minutes per side. Give the veggies a few minutes or so to cool off, and then you can cut them.

3. Dice the grilled zucchini.

4. Slice the grilled corn off the cobs.

5. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil in a small bowl.

6. Combine the salad ingredients, pour in the dressing and stir to combine. That includes the zucchini, corn, tomatoes, scallions, parmesan and parsley.

Alternate Cooking Method: Roasting

If you don’t have a grill, you can roast the zucchini and corn in the oven. Just dice the raw zucchini and slice the kernels off the ears of corn and toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Then spread them across 2 sheet pans and roast at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. To properly roast the veggies, they should be in a single layer on the baking sheets.

When you roast the zucchini and corn, you have the option of roasting the tomatoes too. This will make their flavor more intense. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up because that will prevent them from sticking to the pan. In my Chickpea Greek Salad, I also roast the tomatoes.

Serving

If you already have the grill heated up for chicken, salmon or another protein, this is a great side dish/salad recipe. You can also serve it with these Barbecue Veggie Tofu Skewers or another grilled vegetarian main dish.

Leftovers & Storage

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days. After that, the zucchini will become very soft. When you are putting away leftovers, you can spoon the dressing and juices from the bottom of the bowl into a jar. By keeping the extra liquid in another container, this may prevent the texture of the zucchini from softening as much.

Recipe Tips

Watch out for hot spots on the grill. You know your grill better than anyone else. I am all too familiar with the hotter areas on mine. I try to use them to my advantage when I grill a lot of vegetables at once. Since this is a salad, there is no pressure to serve the veggies really hot, so you have more flexibility. Take slices of zucchini and ears of corn off the grill if they have finished cooking before others.

You can make the vinaigrette in advance. Store it in a jar in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time. 

Toss the zucchini and corn with olive oil and seasonings on a sheet pan. Even though this recipe does not involve an oven, using a baking sheet is a simple way to transport food from the kitchen inside to the grill outside.

More Zucchini Recipes

Roasted Vegetable Chickpea Pasta Salad
Parmesan Roasted Zucchini
Roasted Tomato Zucchini Orzo
Roasted Squash and Zucchini
Zucchini Squash Parmesan Orzo
Baked Zucchini Corn Fritters
Zucchini Squash Casserole

More Corn Recipes

Mushroom Corn Pasta
Grilled Corn Couscous
Fresh Corn Tomato Salad
Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
Blueberry Corn Salad
Grilled Mushroom Corn Pizza
Cornbread Muffins