Avocado Corn Salad

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!

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.