Grilled Corn Salad
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This grilled corn salad is a perfect side dish or appetizer on your next camping trip! It packs a ton of flavor and only takes a few minutes to pull together. I love to serve this with grilled chicken thighs for a complete camping meal that’s all cooked over the fire. Let’s get started!
How to Grill Corn Over the Campfire
If you’ve never had grilled corn, you’re missing out! Grilling corn is my favorite way to prepare it. There are a couple of ways you can do it, husk on or husk off, but for this recipe, you want to cook the corn over the grill with the husk off.
This will give the corn a slight char which adds some good flavor to the overall grilled corn salad. With this grilling method, you don’t need to do any advanced preparation for the corn.
The key is to start by cooking the corn low and slow. You don’t want to torch it completely! Start with a small fire and rotate the corn frequently so the kernels can cook.
After the corn starts to turn a deeper yellow color, about 8-10 minutes, then you can build the fire up a bit and get a little char on the corn.
Once the corn has developed some color, remove it from the fire, and let it cool for a few minutes before you cut the kernels off.
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How to Make Grilled Corn Salad
After you’ve grilled the corn, set it aside to cool. In the meantime, prepare the other ingredients.
Dice the bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno (if using) and add them to a bowl. Add the spices, juice of 1 lime, olive oil, and salt.
Carefully cut the corn off the cob and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix everything together. Taste test and add more oil or salt if needed.
Grilled Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 4 corn on the cob
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, deseeded and finely diced (optional)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Husk the corn and put it on the grill over the fire. The key is to start by cooking the corn low and slow. You don’t want to torch it completely! Start with a small fire and rotate the corn frequently so the kernels can cook.
- After the corn starts to turn a deeper yellow color, about 8-10 minutes, then you can build the fire up a bit and get a little char on the corn. Once the corn has developed some color, remove it from the fire, and set it aside to cool while you prep the other ingredients.
- Dice the bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno (if using) and add them to a bowl. Add the spices, juice of 1 lime, olive oil, and salt.
- Carefully cut the corn off the cob and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients.
- Mix everything together. Taste test and add more oil or salt if needed. Enjoy with grilled chicken, burgers, or chips!
What to Serve with Grilled Corn Salad
This grilled corn salad makes a great side dish to almost any grilled protein. If you’re already grilling the corn, you might as well grill a protein too for an easy dinner!
I love to serve this grilled corn salad with grilled marinated chicken thighs. See the recipe below for a great chicken marinade that goes well with the grilled corn.
You also can serve this grilled corn salad with some chips as a nice appetizer!
Easy Chicken Marinade
This is one of my favorite easy chicken marinades that goes great with this grilled corn salad!
- 1-1.5 pounds of chicken thighs
- juice of 1 large lime*
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Mix the marinade and pour it over the chicken. Make sure all the chicken gets coated in the marinade. I mix and store the chicken in a freezer bag. Store in the fridge or cooler and marinate for at least 2 hours, but no more than 24 hours. At camp, all you need to do is place the chicken on the grill and cook!
*If your lime is small or not that juicy, use two.
More Easy Camping Dinners to Try
My blog is loaded with easy camping meals for you to try!
Want more camping dinner ideas? Try some of these popular recipes:
- Citrus Herb Beef Kabobs
- One-Pot Creamy Sausage and Spinach Penne *reader favorite*
- BBQ Blue Cheese Burgers
- Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
If you try this recipe, make sure to come back and leave a review!
Love this one!