this post contains affiliate links

This easy corn salad recipe will become a staple in your summertime home, following in Reese Witherspoon’s footsteps.

Y’all know how much I love Reese Witherspoon’s cookbook, Whiskey in a Teacup, right?! Her Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe is out of this world, and the Chili Cornbread Pie is the hearty comfort food we all know and love.

But, this corn salad recipe is summertime in a bowl. Fresh corn shucked into a bowl, with tomatoes, green onions, herbs, and a mustardy vinaigrette. This is a salad that travels to all the potlucks and keeps well overnight.

I’ve talked about my dad’s garden before, and the summers we spent picking and snapping green beans.

Well, add shucking corn to the list! Farmer Danny Boy grows LOTS of corn. Like a couple of thousand ears one time… My mom loves it! Loves fresh corn on the cob, but loves it, even more, when she pulls a bag from the freezer in February and gets a taste of that summertime sweetness.

We (and by we, I mean my family plus extended family!) would spend hours shucking the corn, boiling it, scraping it off the cob, scooping into bags, and freezing.

I love a simple salad that uses fresh, seasonal ingredients that travels well. This salad you can make the night before and take with you to a picnic lunch or to the neighborhood BBQ potluck. The longer it sits the more the flavors develop. Tangy mustard and vinegar are mixed with sugar for an added sweetness, salt, pepper, and oil. SUPER simple!!

And, I’m just saying, this vinaigrette is great on any salad.

There is no need to cook the corn in the salad — you’ll shuck your corn, and run your knife down each side to get the kernels off. I’ve seen all kinds of “tricks” for this process, and by far the best one is just cutting the kernels off into a large bowl. I used the bowl I was making the salad in. Stand your cob up in the center of the bowl, and gently run a sharp knife all around to get the kernels off.

The tomatoes used in the photos are the “Heavenly Villagio Marzano Tomatoes” from Trader Joe’s. They look like long droplets, and are just absolutely delicious!! I cut them in half lengthwise, and then crosswise, so you end up with four pieces per little tomato.

This corn salad is the perfect side dish to any of these recipes:

For variations on this try some of these tips:

Grill the corn before taking off the cobb
Add in crumbled feta or goat cheese
Add sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh

Need a few more Summertime Salad ideas?

Talk about a picnic-worthy side dish idea! Package individual servings in small mason jars, paired with some “pick up” fried chicken and sweet tea, and a gathering is made!