Corn salad is a staple side to many favorite main meals across the United States. Whether it’s at a grill-out, or as a healthy side for a quiet meal for one, you can’t go wrong with this colorful and vibrant salad dish.
It’s also quite a simple recipe, so you wouldn’t exactly expect many different versions of this dish to be found out there.
And yet, after Ina Garten created her spin on this tasty little dish, a whole range of different corn salad ideas have sprung forth.
Some have been inspired by Garten’s recipe, copying it ingredient-for-ingredient and step-for-step, while others have tried to put their distinct spin on this dish.
In this list, we’re going to show you some of the best corn salad meals out there that draw on Ina Garten’s original dish for inspiration.
From copycat dishes to complete change-ups, there’s plenty to cover, so let’s get started!
Well, if we’re discussing corn salad recipes inspired by Ina Garten, we may as well start with the corn salad recipe that spawned a thousand imitators!
Ina Garten’s corn salad set the standard back when it dropped a few years ago, and it’s not hard to see why (Also check out Best Paula Deen Corn Salad Recipes).
The corn has been perfectly cooked through here and lightly salted, giving it a soft bite to it, though not without a pleasant amount of toughness to its chew.
It’s a good chew that allows the food to sit in your mouth, and absorb all the flavors that you can.
And that’s not just for the corn, either. You can also appreciate the other vibrant vegetables that you have added to this mix!
From the basil to the red onions, everything here has just the right combination of heat and sweetness to it for a salad that stands out from boring old cucumber and lettuce!
Throw in a little garnishing of apple cider vinegar for just a little extra bite and sweetness, and you have the perfect salad for just about any situation!
Now, moving on from Ina Garten’s recipe, let’s see how the next corn salad recipe compares.
Well, in a way, that’s a pretty tough thing to do for this next recipe. Because while it does work from a pretty similar base, it’s quite a lot different in many other ways!
As you’ll no doubt have noticed if you’ve clicked through to the original recipe for this entry, you’ll know that this is a much creamier salad than the ones that we have covered so far.
Thanks to a combination of mayonnaise and sour cream (or yogurt, if you’re going for a healthy and veggie-friendly version), this is a recipe that has a much smoother texture than the one from Garten herself.
Plus, there are plenty of extra ingredients added to this dish. From the tomatoes to the jalapeños, and even the cilantro, there are so many more flavors here (Also check out Best Ina Garten Tomato Soup Recipes).
However, it does still use a lot of the ingredients that the original used, such as red onions.
This isn’t so much the same salad recipe but more, but it’s definitely for a different kind of flavor palette. Arguably the perfect cool, yet somehow spicy, salad that you would want to have handy at a grill out!
Another recipe, this time from the folks over at Barefoot Contessa, the cooking show that Garten is the host for, we have this refreshing corn salad dish for you to try.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Garten herself had a hand in coming up with this recipe!
It certainly has a lot of the same base ingredients, such as serving this corn dish alongside red onions and basil. There’s even that same shot of salt, pepper, and apple cider vinegar, for good measure!
However, the inclusion of olive oil here makes this a recipe that has a somewhat more mellow flavor to it. It’s certainly different from the original one that Garten put out there years ago, that’s for sure!
If you’re looking to build on the solid foundation that the original recipe that we covered provides, this is a great option. Just a single extra ingredient, and still a very simple dish to make!
With all this talk of serving these salads at grill outs, it feels like these are the perfect dishes to serve in the summer time.
So, if you’re looking to get ready for the sunniest season of the year, then you’ll want to check out this recipe!
This one borrows that elegant simplicity that we see in Garten’s original recipe, opting to use just a few extra ingredients in the dish.
You have the sweet red onion and the herbal basil, but there’s also the inclusion of some delicious bright bell peppers too, for that extra veggie-flavored sweetness added to the mix.
You can use whatever color you want/ But if you want your salad to pop with colors, we would recommend sticking with red, orange, or green peppers, rather than yellow ones that might blend into the sweetcorn.
Simple, easy to make in just a few minutes, and, most importantly, it tastes great. What more could we ask for?
If you’re looking for a corn salad that leans a little more on the sweeter side of this savory spectrum, then you’ll want to check out this tomato-infused recipe for yourself.
Once again, this corn salad recipe is incredibly simple, with just 4 main ingredients and a little vinaigrette. And you know how much we love a good simple salad recipe!
Plus, it’s an incredibly simple recipe, too. All you have to do is chop up your ingredients, mix them up by hand or with a spoon, and that’s it!
It took us just 10 minutes to make this whole salad for 4 to 6 people. It would be very difficult for this salad to take more than 15 minutes to make, even with a slow hand!
All in all, this is a simple recipe that anyone can try for themselves, with great-tasting results every time!
If you’ve got a Mexican or Tex-Mex meal planned in the next few days, and you’re trying to come up with a good salad for your table, this is a great option for you.
After all, who doesn’t love a little guacamole?
Originally inspired by another version of Garten’s original corn salad that the author saw her make, this is a salad that includes a ton of Mexican-inspired flavor and ingredients, from the jalapeños peppers to the black beans and avocado.
It’s practically bursting with flavor and makes for the perfect side dish to have handy, or even dollop in a fajita or burrito. It is still technically guacamole, after all!
And do you want to know the best thing about this salad recipe? It’s still an incredibly quick and easy dish to make.
It’s still doing the same thing that you were doing before, only you’re chopping up and adding a few extra ingredients. This salad won’t take you more than 15 minutes to make, it’s that quick!
Sticking with the Mexican-inspired flavors for a little while longer, we have another great corn salad recipe to have handy for those items that you need a little something extra alongside your favorite Mexican dish.
The one is bursting with bright flavors, from the lime zest that the salad folds into itself, to the cilantro that is finely chopped up and added to the mix.
There’s even a little chili powder thrown into the mix, for that extra spicy flavor.
Plus, there’s also a great smooth texture to this salad, thanks to the sour cream and mayonnaise that you’ll be adding to the mix.
And, of course, we can’t forget about the corn in the corn salad, can we? Boiled and salted to perfection, it’s the perfect way to bulk out this salad!
This corn salad recipe has a little more in common with Greek salads than Mexican. But that’s why we love this next dish so much!
The basil is back for this next salad dish.
But when you combine that with some beautifully crumbly feta for good measure, you have a dish that has a ton of extra texture and ingredients that the others that we covered simply don’t.
There’s a reason that feta cheese is one of the most popular in Greece, after all!
Finally, we have a return to a nice simple corn salad dish here, with a few extras for good measure.
With the avocado nice and ripe, you’ll have a corn salad that is both creamy and smooth, while staying incredibly healthy too!
Final Notes
So, as you can see, we’re pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to corn salad recipes to choose from.
Whether you’re choosing to go simple and easy with the original Ina Garten dish that we covered, or trying something a little more extravagant, we hope that this list has given you plenty of inspiration for your next salad plan!
I'm Barbara Hunt, the founder of WomenChefs.org. Being a mom of two, I understand the challenges of meal planning and the monotony it can bring.
That's why I created WomenChefs.org, a platform dedicated to showcasing the skills and delicious dishes crafted by amazing women. My goal is to provide a space where women can find delectable recipes that tantalize their taste buds and ignite their senses.
I hope you'll join me in exploring WomenChefs.org and discovering your next favorite recipe. Let's embrace culinary diversity and try something new together!
