Name: Summer Corn Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 ears corn on the cob (or about 5 cups of corn); 4 cups cherry tomatoes; 1 small onion; 1 small cucumber; 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 3 Tablespoons olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 cup fresh basil

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Fresh summer vegetables like corn, cucumbers and tomatoes come together to make the perfect summer side dish.

Bowlful of bright corn, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with basil summer corn salad

Make fresh summer produce sing in this super simple, make ahead friendly side dish. This salad is a great way to enjoy the abundance of cucumbers, corn and tomatoes coming out of the garden right now. The fact that it is so easy to assemble just makes it even better!

I feel like usually when I say something like “this tastes like summer,” I am referring to a dessert like orange creamsicle ice cream or the no bake cheesecake that inspired it.

Despite appearances to the contrary, however, we really do eat vegetables on the regular. I suppose you know that already though, after all of my excitement over our weekly CSA boxes.

Our own garden is proving to be quite prolific as well, so we are getting creative and definitely eating our daily vegetables.

We planted a few little cucumber plants this year and I thought for sure we got them in too late and they wouldn’t do anything. Boy was I wrong! My husband gave them some metal netting to climb and they formed a solid wall of cucumber plant.

bacon wrapped pork loin served with summer corn salad

So we have been eating our weight in sour cream and dill cucumbers, gone in a second cucumbers and the like. We also have been giving them to anyone who will take some.

Luckily our CSA folks have been great and let us trade the cucumbers in the box for other items, like more sweet corn! So I thought it would be fun to make a salad with that extra corn, some of the mountain of cucumbers and a few of the also prolific (and super tall) cherry tomatoes I told you about.

You’ll have to check out the picture I shared along with the Parmesan roasted zucchini and tomato recipe.

We were all so thrilled with how it turned out. My husband was surprised how much he liked the cucumbers and corn together.

I really liked the little added freshness from the basil. The spaces between our teeth were happy that I finally removed some of the corn from the cob. 😉

close up of serving bowl with summer corn salad

We enjoyed this as a side dish a few days in a row with no complaint. I also think you could make a great lunch out of it by stirring in some chickpeas, feta or some chunks of grilled chicken. Oooh, or all three would make an amazing light summer meal!

I hope you have been enjoying all of the garden and farmer’s market inspired recipes this week. Happy harvesting!

Want to make this corn salad hearty enough to be a lunch entree? Here are some great additions:

Mozzarella pearls
Crumbles feta cheese
Chickpeas
Grilled chicken
Diced avocado

Tips and Tricks

This salad is great leftover. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days. The basil will wilt and get darker as time goes on, but it will still taste delicious.
If you don’t have fresh corn on the cob, frozen can be subbed. Just parcook it a bit and then toss it with the other ingredients.

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Yield: 12 Servings