Recipe Review

Try This Spicy, Creamy Grilled Corn Salad ASAP

updated Aug 26, 2019
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This cheese-filled, chile-laden grilled corn salad might be the ultimate side dish. It doesn’t even seem fair to call it a side, because if you serve this on the side, no one will be able to pay any attention to the main dish. I don’t know whether it would be more indulgent to eat this salad with a spoon, or scoop it up with a cracker like dip. I’m very tempted to put it on a hot dog bun and eat it like a lobster roll. 

Before making the salad, set a block of cream cheese out to soften at room temperature. Grill about eight ears of fresh corn, then slice the kernels off the cob. You should wind up with about four cups of corn kernels. Grill some jalapeño peppers and green onions while you’re doing the corn and chop them into small pieces afterwards. 

While the vegetables cook, prepare the dressing. Whisk together sour cream and mayonnaise. Microwave the cream cheese for about 30 seconds to make it easier to mix, and add that to the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Next, add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Taste it to adjust the spice level. You can always add more chili powder if you want it very spicy. 

Stir in freshly grated cheddar and pepper Jack cheese. Don’t use pre-grated cheese, because the author says it won’t mix into the dressing very well. Add all the grilled vegetables to the salad and give it another taste to see if you need to add anything. Sprinkle a bit of crumbled bacon over the top, and you’ll have a side dish that could outshine the entrée any day. 

Get the recipe: Creamy Corn Salad from Chelsea’s Messy Apron

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

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