Necessity leftovers is the mother of invention. If you're a house that eats a lot of leftovers, you are not alone. We can relate over here. We can also relate to sometimes being 100% bored with leftovers. This grilled corn salad? Totally made from leftovers. Win for the tummy, win for the taste buds.
Nothing says, "hey girl, it's almost summer" better than grilled corn on the cob. Well, maybe a Ryan Gosling meme would, but stay out of this Ryan and just let corn have it's moment.
Grilled Corn Salad = bring on the summer.
Sweet juicy kernels, are even sweeter from the slight grill charring. Crisp bell peppers bring sweet vegetable goodness, mild pepper taste in every bite and just a pinch of red onion to bring southwestern flavor.
Toss all that together with this great amazing game changing creamy avocado dressing that's super healthy and just a little spicy. And speaking of leftovers, this whole bowl of tasty gets even better the next day after hanging out in it's avocado dressing overnight.
Creamy Avocado Dressing
For reals, I want to put this on everything I'm currently eating. Probably would take a bath in it if I could. Ew, no. That's too far. But trust me, it's real darn good.
A little cilantro, avocado, jalapeño and Icelandic-style yogurt hop into a food processor...sounds like a joke, right? No joke. It takes less than 5 minutes to make this dipping delicious dressing. I'm currently crushing on anything from Siggi's right now, so I used their plain fat free yogurt.
The jalapeño and green hot sauce adds just the right amount of spice. Your taste buds will notice the avocado and cilantro first, followed by the tang of the yogurt and a smidge of heat on the end of the taste. Just enough to make you go, "oh! there it is!"
Fun fact: I'm actually kind of a cilantro hater. One of those weird people. (TBH weird was probably before the cilantro thing.) It's not that I think it tastes like soap, it's just kind of the only thing I can taste when it's in something. Except this! This and salsa. So if you're cilantro obsessed, feel free to add more.
Building a bowl of perfection
The perfect salad bowl is one filled with your favorites, right? Take this creamy, crispy grilled corn salad and throw it over spring mix. Add in some tomatoes and the other half of the avocado. Or black beans. Or grilled chicken. Or crispy tofu. Or WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES.
Aw shucks Grilled Corn Salad with your Creamy Avocado Dressing, you never cease to impress me with your versatility.
Grilled Corn Salad | Creamy Avocado Dressing
Ingredients
Grilled Corn Salad
- 5 ears corn
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cup bell peppers (diced)
- ¼ cup red onion (finely diced)
- 5 ounces spring mix
Creamy Avocado Dressing
- ½ avocado
- 1 5.5-ounce container plain fat free yogurt (about ⅔ cup)
- ½ jalapeño (seeds removed)
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon green hot sauce ((Cholula, Tabasco, etc.))
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
Grilled Corn Salad
- Remove husk and corn silk from the ears of corn. Lightly brush with olive oil. Grill each side 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly charred. Let cool and cut corn off the cob.
- Diced peppers, about ¼" in size, and finely mince red onion. Add to the cooled grilled corn.
- In a food processor, combine avocado, yogurt, jalapeño, lime juice, salt, hot sauce and cilantro. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Water can be added 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thinness is achieved.
- Combine grilled corn, peppers and onions with avocado dressing. Serve over spring mix with your favorite salad additions!
Allison Sidhu | Foodal says
Yum, can't wait to try this- it's perfect for summer! I noticed that your photos include cilantro, but you left it out of the actual recipe. How much should be blended in with the dressing?
Lauren says
Thanks Allison! Full disclosure - I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, so I'm going to blame that omission on my subconscious ????. You'll want to add 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro to bring enough flavor and freshness to the avocado dressing. The recipe is updated now, thanks for catching that!
Joscelyn says
What a delicious and simple salad idea! Grilled corn is my absolute favorite snack in the summer!
Summer @ Coffee With Summer says
Avocado dressing? Yes please! Sounds so, so good!
Lauren says
So easy and so good!
Samantha says
This looks so delicious! I love a good salad especially during the summer.
Belle says
That looks amazing! Coming from a person who doesn't love salad!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Chelsie says
This is everything I want in a salad and more! I love a good avo dressing!