This simple corn salad gets a BLT flavor upgrade with sweet cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, salty bacon, and tender basil for a summer side dish that feeds a crowd.
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“This was a perfect, sunny day salad!” -Linda, FoodieCrush reader
This Potluck Salad Feeds a Crowd and Is Ready in Under 30 Minutes
From Memorial Day’s sunny intro to summer through the final days of fall, simple potluck salads loaded with fresh ingredients are in my regular recipe rotation. Even more, when summer’s bounty of sweet corn and tomatoes come in…forget about it! Side dishes like this BLT-inspired fresh corn salad are what’s on the table.
While I am a devoted fan of my grilled corn on the cob, fresh salads like my zucchini and corn salad are favorites everyone can get behind. In this recipe, corn kernels are cut straight from the cob and added raw to the bowl for crunchy flavor bursts with cherry tomatoes, arugula, and basil. Bacon is the only cooked ingredient in this salad and can even be prepared ahead of time for an ultra quick, toss together salad that’s ready in no time.
This salad comes from Everyday Dinners: Real-Life Recipes to Set Your Family Up for a Week of Success, the third cookbook by Jessica Merchant, author of the food blog How Sweet Eats. Jess is the queen of creating unique spins on every one of her popular dinner recipes, adding jolts of flavor, color, and exclamation points that enliven every single recipe on her blog and in her cookbooks.
Enjoy!
The 5 Main Ingredients in This Recipe
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Bacon — Make slicing the bacon a little easier by freezing the bacon strips for 10 minutes before cutting into chunks.
- Sweet corn on the cob — If sweet corn’s not in season, you can sub it with frozen corn that’s been thawed and drained of excess liquid. I don’t recommend using mushy canned corn for in this vibrant summer salad.
- Arugula — Look for baby arugula leaves for this salad. As the salad sits, the arugula will wilt but still retains all its peppery flavor. If you’re an arugula hater, feel free to sub in spinach or massaged kale.
- Cherry tomatoes — Are super sweet and juicy. You can add color by combining red and orange cherry tomatoes that are cut in half or quartered.
- Basil — Gives this salad its herbed freshness. Thinly slice the larger basil leaves into ribbons and add the smaller leaves whole for a pretty presentation.
How to Make This Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad
- Cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Start the bacon in a cold pan on medium heat to keep the bacon from shrinking, and cook just to your desired taste. I prefer mine not too crispy, with just a little fat to make each bit juicy.
- Shuck the corn cobs then slice the kernels straight from the cob. There are plenty of tricks to cutting corn from the cob to keep the little kernels from ping ponging around the kitchen. I find it easiest to use a serrated knife and simply take my time. They always stay in place. Toss the cobs in the compost or discard.
- Toss and go! Toss it all together and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Optional: Dress this salad with a dose of oil and vinegar. Jessica’s original recipe stands 100% delicious as is and seasoned simply with kosher salt and freshly black pepper. I added a few glugs of oil and red wine vinegar for a dressed salad variation with just a tad bit of pucker.
Make-Ahead Tips
Jessica suggests doing most of the meal prep ahead of time — cooking the bacon, slicing the corn and the tomatoes, then refrigerating the components before assembling when ready to eat.
The bacon, corn, and tomato salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but it’s best the day it’s made since the tender arugula will begin to wilt.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
BLT Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon , chopped
- 6 ears fresh sweet corn , kernels cut from the cob
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved or quartered
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook until the bacon is crisped and the fat is rendered, turning occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss the corn kernels with the bacon, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and basil. Drizzle with the canola oil and red wine vinegar and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition
What to Serve With This Corn Salad
More Summer Salad Ideas
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Linda Betz
This was a perfect, sunny day salad! Thank you for sharing it.
So glad you enjoyed it Linda. Thx for the comment.
Karen
Did you grill the corn? or just cook?
Hi Karen, the corn is RAW! And. it’s perfect! You could cook the corn first if you like, or grill it. But if it’s sweet and fresh, raw is awesome.
bc in edmond
This looks delicious! Do you have an idea of a “green” to substitute for the arugula? We are just not big fans of bitter greens .
Hi there! Yes, you could use baby spinach or slivered kale. Or, use more basil!