Colorful Corn & Avocado Salad
July 10, 2023
Make the most of your leftover corn cobs with this delightful Corn & Avocado Salad. Red quinoa, feta cheese, fresh cilantro, and red pepper perfectly complement the corn, while a hint of chipotle powder and lime adds an authentic Mexican flair.
Are you looking for the ultimate side dish for BBQ season? Or you’ve got leftovers of corn on the cob?? Try this fantastic Corn & Avocado Salad with feta, cilantro, red quinoa and lime with a touch of habanero heat. It’s a dreamy, refreshing salad, plus looks fantastic and perfectly balanced! Now, an excellent reason to buy those corn on the cob big bags in special!
Corn Season
Corn season is big where I’m from; Canada! It’s got such wide varieties, and usually, you buy an enormous amount and eat it pretty much every night for two or three weeks in a row at the end of the summer… but sometimes you want to make a change because corn on the BBQ gets boring after the fifth time. Finding lovely recipes with fresh corn isn’t easy, but now this will accompany BBQ meat or seafood! It’s the perfect side dish for your summer gatherings, plus easy to make ahead or bring for a picnic.
Trend
There aren’t many recipes online with fresh corn, although it’s a fantastic and naturally sweet ingredient that the kids love! So this year, let’s innovate and go further with our fresh corn! Make soups, salads or even could stuff potatoes and make croquetas with them, etc. A fun new way to cook your corn is in its leaves on the BBQ, you have to soak the cob with the leaves for an hour and then cook it for 15 minutes on the BBQ at high heat, and you’ll get great corn!
Fun Facts About Corn
You would think corn is a vegetable but corn is actually both a grain and a fruit. It comes in many colours, from white to purple, and it was first cultivated 10,000 years ago in Mexico.
Kid-Friendly Version
If you intend to make this for young kids, you better do a version without the cilantro and habanero powder. Although the heat isn’t much, for an immature palate, it might be overwhelming. I suggest using a bit of sweet paprika and leaving a lovely lime wedge for the kids to squeeze; they love this part!
Storage
To ensure the freshness of this salad, it’s recommended to refrigerate it for a maximum of one day due to the inclusion of avocado, which oxidizes. To extend its storage time, you have a couple of options. One is to prepare the salad ahead of time using all the ingredients except for the avocado. Add the avocado just before serving to prevent it from oxidizing. Alternatively, you can omit the avocado if you wish to store the salad longer.
FAQ
Can I use canned corn instead?
Yes, I made a mix of both for this particular salad.
Can I replace the cilantro?
Yes, I know many people dislike cilantro, so for this salad, mint or fresh basil would be great too!
Could I replace the habanero powder with fresh hot chilli?
Yes, even better, but don’t go too strong; it’s got way more heat fresh.
Any other spice I could use instead of habanero powder?
Yes, you can use a bit of cayenne, Kashmiri chilli powder or spicy paprika.
Other Summer Salads
Ingredients
- 1 avocado diced
- 450 g corn about 3 cobs
- 150 g feta cheese
- 100 g quinoa
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 2 limes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- ⅓ tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Start by cooking the quinoa, rinse and barely cover with water in a small pot. Let it cook 10 minutes covered, take off the fire.
- Cut the corn from the cob or use the corn cans and add to a big bowl.
- Top with the avocado, pepper, cilantro, quinoa and crumbled feta.
- Add the powdered chipotle and garlic and squeeze a lime or two on top.
- Finish it up with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Video
Nutrition
36 Comments
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Marie BretonStay tuned, I’m planning another corn salad version soon! You’ll have plenty more to try!
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Catherine Kay
This looks not only good, but beautiful! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for the recipe.
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Angie
This looks so, SO good! I have all the ingredients for this recipe and am totally going to try this tonight. Fingers crossed my kids eat it (although who am I kidding…it’s plain pasta again for them tonight!)
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Marie Breton
Hahah! I know those kids are difficult! I always have a plan B with them but always try to make them eat at least one bite of the plan A first! They say after 5 times they get used to it… Keep on the good work mama!
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Lily
Absolutely love this salad! The sweet corn with the creamy avocado and salty fete are so good together. Can’t wait to make is again with local Ontario corn! -
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Bernice
Such a great idea! I often have a few leftover cobs of corn and these are the flavours to pair them with. Quinoa is so easy to make ahead of time too. PLUS this is one of those salads that tastes even better after a day or two.-
Marie Breton
Exact, quinoa is easy breezy to make ahead of time and this salad is great a day or two after if you don’t add the avocado.
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Andréa Janssen
This salad looks beautiful, full of colors and is really summery. I love the combination of corn and avocado. -
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Nicole
Combination of corn and avocado in the salad was just heavenly. I will definitely be making it again. -
Mary
Do people actually have leftover corn on the cob? Not in my house. A friend is looking me up with farm fresh local corn and I am making this salad. I am so bored with the usual BBQ sides!-
Marie Breton
We buy those packs of 50 at the farm and yes, sometimes we do too much or get saturated with it. But good to make a change, and also doable with canned corn outside of season!
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Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
Absolutely beautiful salad! Bursting with flavor that just shouts summer!! -
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Vanessa
Yum! What an incredible summer salad. Thanks for the recipe! -
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andrea
this salad turned out amazing! love all of the colors and the flavors melded so perfectly together! so good! -
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nancy
this corn salad is so lovely! It’s the perfect summer light meals I’ve been longing for! Great flavours! -
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Asha
Great idea for using up extra corn. I think this would go really well with bbq ribs this summer. -
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KEVIN FOODIE
Very interesting salad. Like the uniqueness. Definitely a healthy salad. Thanks for sharing your recipe. -
This is so healthy and creative. Now I know how to make an interesting side dish the next time I really want to cook a big meal. Thanks for also provide info about storage and answering key questions. Great recipe.