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This cool and creamy Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad is a great addition to any cookout or potluck menu!
I’m so excited to share this Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad with all of you today. We made this delicious salad for our neighbor’s July 4th cookout – and I’m already looking for another excuse to make this creamy, smoky salad.
This flavorful salad combines fresh corn, jalapeño peppers, and chopped red onion with crispy cooked bacon, two kinds of shredded cheese (cheddar and pepper jack) with a cool and creamy dressing with a Southwestern flavor profile. It’s so good – you’ll be craving it all summer long!
How do you make Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad?
You’ll start by firing up the grill. Then, shuck about eight ears of fresh, sweet corn. Coat the ears of corn with oil and place them on the grill. At the same time, you’ll grill some whole, large jalapeño peppers and thick slices of peeled, red onion. (This grilling step is really important because it gives this salad a wonderful smoky flavor.)
While your vegetables are grilling, cook up some bacon until crisp. Drain any excess fat, then chop the bacon into bite sized pieces.
Remove the vegetables from the grill. When cool enough to handle, cut the charred kernels off the cob, stem, seed and chop the charred jalapeños, and dice the onion into bite sized pieces.
Add the chopped vegetables to a mixing bowl along with half the cooked bacon, then add the shredded cheeses. Stir to combine, then pour the dressing on top.
The dressing for this Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad is a creamy mixture of softened cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise that has been seasoned with ground cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Combining the grilled vegetables, smoky-salty bacon, and the shredded cheese is a really fantastic flavor combination! Chill until ready to serve, then sprinkle the rest of the bacon on top.
As I mentioned earlier, we made this Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad for a summer cookout, but I think it would be great addition for a game day party too – so you can enjoy this all year round.
Today’s recipe is gently adapted from this recipe found on Taste of Home.
You may enjoy these other corn recipes:
- Mexican Tomato and Corn Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Bacon Pizza
- Zucchini Corn Bread with Bacon
- Southwestern Cheesy Corn Dip
- Cornbread Fries with Honey-Sage Dipping Sauce
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Grilled Corn and Jalapeño Salad
Ingredients
8 ears of corn, husked*
4 large jalapeño peppers left whole
1 large red onion peeled and cut into four thick slices
Canola oil to brush on the vegetables before grilling
1 pound bacon
4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (large holes of box grater)
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (large holes of box grater)
2 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
Heat the grill to high.
Coat the corn, onions and whole jalapeños in canola oil and place on the preheated grill to char. Turn each vegetable to char both sides and remove once each has charred sufficiently. Ours took about 30 minutes total.
While the vegetables are grilling, cook the bacon to crisp and drain on paper towels then dice into small pieces and set aside.
Remove the corn from the cobs with a sharp knife and add to a large bowl.
Dice the onions into bite sized pieces and add to the large bowl.
Stem and seed the peppers, dice and add to the large bowl.
Add half of the bacon to the large bowl along with the cheddar and jack cheese. Gently toss the ingredients.
In a small separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese with the sour cream, mayonnaise, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir.
Pour into a serving bowl and serve by tossing the remaining bacon over the top.
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Notes
*Note: Grilling the corn is optional but highly recommended. If you decide against grilling the corn, cut the kernels from the cob and sauté for a few minutes in a large skillet.
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