Grilled Corn Salad with Blueberries

When it’s hot outside and fresh blueberries and corn are plentiful, you’ll love this Grilled Corn Salad with Blueberries. A little cumin, onions and cilantro give this a savory twist, a perfect summer salad for your next cook out.

Most of the time when you think of blueberry salads, you think of something sweet, like a blueberry salad with kiwi, or my go-to fruit salad with a honey lime dressing. If you’re looking for something a little more savory, then you’ll love a grilled corn salad with blueberries. Both sweet and savory.

This is great to serve at a bbq, cook out or picnic because there’s no mayonnaise, so you don’t have to worry about keeping it cool, it tastes great at room temperature. A little cucumber adds a different texture to the corn and blueberries.

It’s a little surprising, but blueberries grow in parts of the Carolinas and I’m lucky enough to have an orchard not too far away. This means that I have loads of blueberries in the summer, and while they’re great by the handfuls I love to incorporate them into my recipes.

These little berries are full of vitamins and antioxidants, but mostly I just love the way they taste. Whether made into blueberry biscuits, cobblers, crisps, cakes or muffins you just can’t go wrong with these treasures.

While blueberries are scrumptious, this is really a fresh corn salad. The slightly cooked corn combined with the sweet blueberries is a fantastic combination. But don’t stop there, bump up the flavor with jalapeno and cumin and then sweeten it up with a honey lime dressing.

Why you’ll love it

• A great side for cook outs with no mayonnaise
• It uses fresh fruit and vegetables
• It’s great with burgers and ribs
• It’s both sweet and savory

What you’ll need

• Corn – grill your corn on the cob or you can microwave it.
• Fresh blueberries – the fresher the better.
• Cucumber – an english cucumber has less seeds and will not be as juicy as a regular cucumber which will keep the salad from getting soggy. If using a regular cucumber, then slice it and place in a colander. Sprinkle salt over it and let it sit until some of the water drains out.
• Red onion – you can substitute a Vidalia onion or shallots.
• Cilantro – this adds a fresh flavor but it can be left out.
• Jalapeno – be sure to remove the seeds so that it’s not too spicy, but the kick along with the sweet berries is delicious

Dressing

• Lime juice – use fresh limes for the best flavor
• Honey – a little goes a long way
• Cumin – can you ever have too much cumin?
• Garlic salt
• Olive oil

To make sure you have the freshest blueberries, learn this trick for how to keep them fresh longer.

How to make grilled corn salad with blueberries

Step 1:

Remove the husks from the corn and brush with a a little butter and salt and pepper and wrap in foil.

Step 2:

Place on medium-hot grill for 5-10 minutes, until just barely cooked. Do not cook too much. Remove the foil and let it cool.

Step 3:

Once cool, remove corn from the ear and place it in a large bowl. Add blueberries, cucumber, onion, cilantro and pepper and combine.

To make the dressing:

In a container with a lid, combine all of the dressing ingredients and shake. Pour over the corn mixture and refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours

Pro tip: When cooking the corn, you want it to be a little crisp, so as soon as it’s slightly cooked, remove it from the grill and take it out of the foil so that it doesn’t cook too much. It’s better if it has a little crunch to it and isn’t soggy.

If you don’t want to break out the grill or don’t have one, you can saute it on the stove like I do in my charred corn recipe, an easy side dish or microwave it.

Now you’re ready for your first summer picnic or potluck. This is great side for a Memorial Day cook-out or 4th of July bbq.

FAQs and tips

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