Tomato Basil Corn Salad
Tomato Basil Corn Salad is summer simplicity at its absolute finest. Sweet fresh corn has never been so enticing! It’s tossed together with juicy cherry tomatoes, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and plenty of delicious basil. There are also a few other ingredients in the mix that help those stars of the show lend even more flavor into each and every bite.
This simple Tomato Basil Corn Salad is one of my favorite end of summer recipes. It invokes feelings of picnics, garden strolls, and all of those bright feeling you can only get with ingredients like basil, corn, and tomatoes.
One of the best parts about making this salad is just how easy it is to whip up. Simply cook your corn, cut it off of the cob, and toss it together with the other ingredients. Voila! You now have a salad that will have everyone at the potluck coming back for a second bite.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Corn – For the best results, use fresh corn on the cob.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes also work just fine in this easy recipe.
- Shallot – Shallots have a delicate, slightly sweet flavor, which makes them a perfect addition to this salad.
- Basil – Use fresh basil! Fresh basil won’t just yield the best flavor for this summery salad, it also gives the dish a wonderful aromatic element.
- Olive Oil – you can use avocado oil instead, if preferred.
- Lemon Juice – it’s best to use fresh squeezed lemon juice. If you want more lemon flavor, you can even add a little lemon zest.
How to Make Tomato Basil Corn Salad: Steps and Tips
- Cook the corn (boiling method) – Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Husk the corn and remove all the silk threads first. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the corn, cover the pot, and cook for about 10 minutes, until tender. Remove and let it cool.
- Or cook the corn (grilling method) – Trim the silk from the top of the husk, but leave the corn in the husk. Grill for 13-15 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes. Remove the husk, brush the corn with oil, and grill a few more minutes, turning a quarter turn every couple minutes, for a lightly charred finish. Grilled corn on the cob adds a nice smoky flavor to this salad.
- Cut the kernels off the cob – Once the corn is cool enough to handle, stand it upright, cut side down, in a large bowl. Slice the kernels off from top to bottom with a sharp knife, close to the cob, turning as you go. If the cob feels wobbly, cut it in half first and stand each half on its cut end. It’s much more stable that way and easier to slice evenly.
- Prep the rest of the salad – While the corn cools, halve or quarter the tomatoes, thinly slice the shallot, mince the basil, and squeeze the lemon juice.
- Mix and serve – Once the corn has cooled to room temperature, combine everything in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and serve.
Storing Leftover Tomato Corn Salad
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The tomatoes will keep releasing juice the longer it sits, so the salad gets a little softer and more watery over time.
This salad is not a good candidate for freezing, since fresh tomatoes and basil both break down and turn mushy once thawed.
Tomato Corn Salad Recipe FAQs
Yes, but not too far ahead of time. You can make it a couple hours before you plan on serving it, but not much more or the vegetables will start to get soggy.
If you need to, cook the corn the day before and store it in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. It will take about 10 minutes to prepare the salad with cooked corn.
This is a simple, straight forward salad meant to feature tomatoes and basil. If you wish, you can add bell peppers or even grilled vegetables like zucchini and summer squash. If you do add some more vegetables, you will need to increase the amounts of basil, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
More Recipes to Try
- Heirloom tomato salad
- Cajun corn salad
- Black bean and corn salad
- Mexican street corn salad
- Creamy corn salad
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Tomato Basil Corn Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 corn on the cob
- 10-12 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 shallot
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- coarse salt
- black pepper
Instructions
To Cook Corn:
- Heat up a large pot of water over medium-high heat and season it generously with salt. Make sure to take off the husk and all the silk threads from the ears of corn before cooking.
- Once water starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-low and add corn. Cover the pot and let corn cook for about 10 minutes, until tender.
- Take all the corn out onto a cutting board and let it cool enough to be handled.
Cut Corn Off the Cob:
- To cut corn kernels off the cob, stand corn up in a large mixing bowl cut side down. Slice the kernels off with a sharp knife from top to bottom, close to the part where kernels attach to the cob. Turn the ear of corn and repeat slicing the kernels off all the way around.
Make Corn Salad:
- While corn is cooling off, chop tomatoes in half or in fours and slice the shallot thinly. Mince basil and squeeze out fresh lemon juice.
- Once corn kernels are ready, mix everything together in a mixing bowl and serve!
Nutrition
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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 made this for a bbq and it was a hit!