One of my absolute favorite things about summer is fresh corn and making this Corn Salad Recipe. It really brings me serious joy. It’s such a simple dish, but has so many delicious things in it like salty seared halloumi, nutty browned butter, herbaceous brightness from cilantro and chives, and of course lots of sweet corn!
I seriously make this salad all summer long. It’s delicious on its own, as a side dish and with some protein thrown on top. It’s probably one of the recipes I make most during the summer. I especially love making it to bring to a picnic or bbq!
How to Make Our Corn Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Process
- Sear halloumi on each side, in a hot skillet, until browned. The searing produces a really nice texture to this grill-able cheese.
- Transfer halloumi to a cutting board and chop into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- Melt butter in skillet and brown. Browning the butter adds a really nice nutty flavor and aroma to the butter and in turn the overall dish.
- Add corn to browned butter and sauté for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper, but watch how much salt you add because halloumi is quite salty.
- Remove corn mixture from heat and stir in fresh herbs.
- Fold in halloumi and lime zest. The lime zest is optional, but adds a nice pop of freshness to the salad.
- Serve the corn salad warm or cold!
Tools You Will Need
What is Halloumi?
Halloumi is a salty sheep or goat milk cheese (sometimes made up of a blend of both) from Cypress with a high melting point.
Its high melting point and ability to hold its shape makes it a great cheese to sear or grill. It can be found in the cheese section of most grocery stores.
Make Ahead Instructions
This dish can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. When ready to serve, you can either serve it straight from the refrigerator or slightly warm it up in a skillet, over, medium heat, for 3 to 4 minutes.
If making this dish ahead of time, we recommend adding the herbs and lime zest to the dish the day you serve it for maximum freshness.
Variations
- We use fresh corn in our recipe, but you can definitely use canned corn that has been rinsed and drained, or you can use frozen corn that has been thawed. Both alternatives will give you delicious results!
- If you can’t find halloumi, you can use another salty, dry cheese like cotija or ricotta salata. Instead of pan searing and chopping either alternatives, just crumble and fold either cheese into the corn mixture.
- Sliced green onions can be used instead of chives.
What to Serve with Corn Salad
Our corn salad goes incredibly well with SO many dishes, but some of our favorites are:
- Baby Back Ribs with Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce
- Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
- Sticky Honey Garlic and Chile Chicken Drumettes
- Korean Beef Bulgogi
- Grilled Tri Tip Sandwiches
- Buffalo Cauliflower
More Delicious Corn Recipes You Will Love
The BEST Corn Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 4 ounces halloumi
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 heaping cups sweet corn 3 to 4 cobs of corn
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
- zest of 1 lime optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once skillet is hot, add halloumi and sear on each side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Remove from heat and cube into bite sized pieces.
- Lower heat to medium heat and add butter. Allow butter to melt and toast until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add corn and toss together. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir in chives and cilantro.
- Fold in cubed halloumi. Finish with fresh lime zest, if using. Serve warm or room temperature.
NOTES
- We use fresh corn in our recipe, but you can definitely use canned corn that has been rinsed and drained, or you can use frozen corn that has been thawed. Both alternatives will give you delicious results!
- If you can’t find halloumi, you can use another salty, dry cheese like cotija or ricotta salata. Instead of pan searing and chopping either alternatives, just crumble and fold either cheese into the corn mixture.
- Sliced green onions can be used instead of chives.
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The best salad i ever had in my life time . Best and quick reciepe as i am not so good in cooking. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
I’m obsessed with halloumi so when I saw this recipe I knew I was going to love it! 5 freakin’ stars!
We made this tonight for dinner with fresh summer corn. What can we say? Life will never be the same.
Very good. Keep up the corn recipes. Corn is my favorite “vegetable”
Halloumi cheese is new to me. I love trying new things so I got right on this one. What a perfect summer salad. Thanks for this great recipe. I will be making this one a lot.
Easy to make and so delicious.
Not to be too corny but I’m lovin this corn salad! Wonderful recipe, thanks!
This is so good. Ive made this a couple of times and its always a hit
What a phenomenal recipe! I’m trying to figure out what vegetable I could sub for when corn is out of season??
What meat? Fish? would you serve it with?
Hi Cici! This recipe goes really well with a variety of protein dishes! You could serve it with marinated flank steak, grilled salmon, or even a simple grilled or roasted chicken. :)
Is the corn cooked at all or just raw off the cob before you saute in the butter?
It’s raw :)
Do you need to add oil or anything to the skillet before putting in the halloumi? Looks great!
nope! as long as you give the cheese a few minutes to fry, it should sear up nicely without sticking when you flip it!