Cajun Corn Salad
After spending countless summers grilling everything I possibly put on the grill, I’m convinced that fresh-off-the-grill veggies (and meats) will always beat any other cooking method. Mostly because of the intoxicating smoky flavor infused into anything that touches a charcoal grill.
That’s exactly why I usually opt for a grilled corn in my corn salads and salsas, and especially in this Cajun corn salad. The bold house Cajun mix of cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and oregano feels goes amazingly well with smoke from the grill.
It’s a very easy corn salad, where you can also easily use up leftover grilled corn, with the flavor of sweet-and-spicy crunch that tastes like Louisiana sunshine in a spoonful. It’s still recognizably a “corn salad,” but the smoky char and gentle heat push it into a unique BBQ side dish that pairs perfectly with whatever meats you’re serving off the grill.
Make Ahead Suggestions
This is a great make-ahead dish where you can take a couple of different approaches:
Grill the corn ahead of time: you can follow the grilling instructions to make the corn and then cool it to room temperature. Store in an air-tight food storage container and refrigerate for a day or two before using in a salad.
Make the whole dish ahead: You can prep the whole corn salad ahead of time, mix it, and transfer into an air-tight food storage container. Keep it in the refrigerator for about 1 day before serving. I don’t recommend making it longer than 1 day ahead because the veggies will start to wilt and get soft.
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Cajun Corn Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 ears of corn in husk
- 1/4 cup melted butter salted
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 medium orange bell pepper
- 1/3 cup minced red onion
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1 tsp coarse salt more or less to taste
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper adjust according to your heat tolerance
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp dried garlic granules or powder
- 1 tsp dried onion granules or powder
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- To Grill the Corn:
- Prepare your charcoal grill: Create two temperature zones: move the charcoals to one half of the grill so that you have a cooler grill side and a hotter grill side. Make sure to let the charcoals get "ashed" over and grill is preheated. Make sure the grill grate is clean.
- Snip the silk whiskers sticking out of the top of the corn husk but leave the rest of the corn in a husk. Lay it on the grill, with the bottom of the husk towards the cooler side of the grill. Close the grill and cook for 13-15 minutes, turning it every 3-4 minutes.
- Take corn off the grill and carefully, using tongs, take off the husk and the silk. Brush corn with melted butter and place back on the grill. Close the grill and cook, turning it every 2-4 minutes, until lightly charred on all sides.
- To cut the corn kernels: make sure the corn is cooled. Stand it in a large mixing bowl or a rimmed baking dish and cut the kernels off the cob following the natural curve of the corn cob.
Prepare Corn Salad:
- Dice bell peppers, making sure to discard the seeds and white membrane. Mince red onion and parsley and add it to the bowl with corn.
- Add in the avocado oil, lemon juice, and spices. Mix everything well.
- You can serve it right away to refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Some More Summer BBQ Sides To Try
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I just made this salad and it is so good!
If I’m making this for a potluck, could I prepare the night before, then add to crockpot to warm up? Any variations you would make?
This salad tastes great when made the day before so that will be fine but it is served cold I haven’t ever heated it up so I am not sure how that would taste.
Can this Cajun grilled salad be prepared in advance and eaten cold
Hi, Patricia! I would use olive oil instead of butter if you going to make it cold so the butter doesn’t harden on you and I can’t say for sure but I do think it would still taste good. Let me know how it goes if you try it! 🙂
this a great looking summer salad, I printed the recipes going to try it for the fourth of July BBQ I am sure it will go well looks so fresh and cool, I am also going to promo it on my blog to link back to you so readers can get the recipe, your a great cook “Chef’ I enjoy your recipes.
Chef Ernie
Thank you! I hope you like the salad and have a great holiday 🙂
I believe the Cajuns call this Maque Choux
I believe the Cajuns call this Maque Shoux
I believe so, Brislenn
Grilling season is the BEST season! And this is the PERFECT grilling’ side dish. Love those cajun spices to give it a little extra oomph!
I agree! Thank you, Karly 🙂
What a perfect summer salad! Here’s hoping you win the argument for getting the grill more often!
Hahaha, thank you so much, friend!