This refreshing avocado corn salad features juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a hint of lime. Easy to make and perfect as a summery side dish or even a light lunch!
I'm a big fan of cool summery salads, especially at cookouts! And while I love all the usual dishes like pasta salad, potato salad and macaroni salad, sometimes I'm in the mood for something different.
This avocado and corn salad is just perfect for those occasions. It stars some of summers best produce — corn, tomatoes and cilantro! Plus avocados, which can take just about any dish up a notch!
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What You'll Need
- Corn. Use fresh summer corn on the cob if it's available, but feel free to substitute with frozen when fresh corn isn't in season.
- Lime juice. Use freshly squeezed just for the best flavor.
- Olive oil.
- Garlic.
- Ground cumin.
- Salt.
- Avocados. You'll want to use avocados that are just ripe. Too ripe and they'll turn brown quickly. Just ripe avocados are relatively firm, but with a bit of give when you press on them. You should be able to pull the stem out and see green underneath. If the stem won't come out, the avocado isn't ripe. If it's brown underneath, the avocado is overripe.
- Cherry tomatoes. Large tomatoes can be substituted if you don't have these on hand.
- Red onion. If you find raw onion to be a little intense, try soaking yours in cold water for 10 minutes after chopping. This will remove some of the bite.
- Fresh cilantro. Substitute with scallions and/or parsley if you're not a fan of cilantro.
How to Make Avocado Corn Salad
The following is a summary of how to make this dish, along with some tips. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe.
- Start by boiling your corn briefly. The goal here is to just to tenderize the corn a bit and remove the starchiness — not to fully cook it. Transfer it right from the boiling water to an ice bath to stop it from cooking when it's done.
- Cut the kernels from your corn cobs. Do this by holding a cob upright in a large bowl, the cutting downward using a large knife. Be super careful! It's easy to slip here.
- Stir your dressing ingredients together in a small container: lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, ground cumin, and salt.
- Place your cut corn into a large bowl, along with diced avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh cilantro.
- Pour in the dressing and stir everything up.
- Give your salad a taste-test and make any necessary adjustments — more lime juice, more salt, more cumin, or more garlic.
Leftovers & Storage
Avocado corn salad is best served immediately. If you do have leftovers, store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The avocado may turn brown, but it will still be safe to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
Aside from using an avocado that's just barely ripe, there's not much you can do. The lime juice in the dressing will slow down the browning process, and if you're avocados aren't too ripe they should stay green for a while.
I like this salad best as a side dish, but you could easily top it with some protein like baked tofu and make a meal of it.
More Vegan Recipes Featuring Corn
- Vegan Corn Chowder
- Vegan Corn Muffins
- Vegan Creamed Corn
- Chickpea & Corn Curry
- Mexican Grilled Corn
- Vegan Cornbread
Avocado Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 3 medium ears fresh corn, shucked
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 medium just ripe avocados, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn (still on the cobs) and boil it for 3 minutes.
- While the corn boils, fill a large bowl or pot with ice water.
- After the corn has finished boiling, remove the pot from heat, then use tongs to remove the cobs and transfer them directly to the ice water bath. Let the corn sit in the bath for a minute or two, until cool, before removing it from the ice bath.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the corn kernels from each cob.
- Make the dressing by mixing the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin and salt in a small container.
- Place the corn kernels into a large mixing bowl. Add the avocado, cherry tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
- Pour the dressing over the corn mixture and stir to distribute the ingredients.
- Taste-test the salad and season it with additional salt to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Serve.
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