This easy Corn, Tomato, and Spinach Salad is a perfect summer side dish for grilled meats or a burger night! The salad features juicy cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, creamy feta cheese, red onion, and a homemade creamy Basil Pesto Dressing. It’s a super flexible recipe that can be made with lots of variations and substitutions. Share it with your family at summer cookouts, picnics, potlucks, BBQs, or parties.
Summer salad with fresh corn!
Even though it’s mid-September, as long as I can find fresh corn and peaches in the store, it still feels like summer to me! I’ll keep using these fresh ingredients until they’re no longer in season. The star of the show of today’s salad is sweet yellow corn (I grilled mine, but feel free to just boil it—it’s all good!). Toss in some cherry tomatoes, red onion, creamy feta, and fresh baby spinach, and you’ve got an easy winner. But what really takes this salad to the next level is the dressing. It’s a homemade basil pesto dressing made with either store-bought or homemade pesto, Greek yogurt, mayo, and a few other tasty ingredients. This recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian, and packed with fiber! You’re going to love it! And, you can make it year-round using frozen or canned corn as well (I certainly plan to!). Here are some more reader-favorite corn recipes that you might like to check out: a crowd-pleasing Avocado Corn Tomato Salad with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing and a party favorite Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad.
Variations
- Use your favorite greens, such as spinach, arugula, or butter lettuce.
- Tomatoes. Use grape or cherry tomatoes or regular chopped tomatoes.
- Cheese. You can use either crumbled Feta cheese or Cotija. Both taste delicious!
- Add Bacon, crispy prosciutto, or pancetta.
- Fresh corn is the best option, of course. Boil corn ears in a pot of water for 5 minutes, cool them off, then slice kernels off the cob with a knife.
- Frozen corn is a solution for when fresh corn is out of season or when you can’t find fresh corn.
- Canned corn is also an option, however, the freshly cooked corn tastes the best!
- Garnish. Use fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, or chives as garnish.
- Add pasta. I recommend short-cut pasta, such as orzo, orecchiette, fusilli (spiral pasta), bow-tie pasta (farfalle), penne, rigatoni, or rotini.
Add a boost of protein
Take this corn, tomato, and spinach salad to the next level by adding your favorite protein—it’s an easy way to turn it into a full meal! For meats, you can’t go wrong with seared chicken, juicy rotisserie chicken, grilled steak, or tender pan-seared steak strips (such as flank steak!). If seafood is more your style, try adding shrimp, scallops, lobster, or even salmon. Below are some of my go-to options to make from scratch and to add to any salad. I’d also love to hear your favorites in the comments.
- Cajun Chicken with Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce
- Shrimp Scampi
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Garlic Butter Steak with Roasted Veggies
- Garlic Parmesan Crusted Baked Salmon and Asparagus
- Pan-Seared Trout (or Salmon) with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce
- Seared Scallops with Creamy Lemon-Caper Sauce
- Simple-cooked Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs
Recipe Tips
- Make it a meal. Even though I prefer to eat this salad as is, you can add some protein to make it a complete meal. Rotisserie or grilled chicken comes to mind, as grilled or pan-seared steak, salmon, or shrimp!
- Substitution for homemade salad dressing. I love the creamy, tangy, and fresh homemade salad dressing! However, if you’re short on time, you can take a shortcut and skip making your basil pesto. Use the store-bought pesto and mix it up with Greek yogurt + mayo to turn it into a creamy dressing.
What about leftovers?
- Store the salad and dressing separately. This will give you the best results for future servings and it will keep the spinach from wilting and becoming soggy. So, that’s the most important tip! If it’s already mixed, no worries—just follow the next steps.
- Use an Airtight Container. Place the salad in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing other fridge odors and to maintain freshness.
- Eat Soon. Since fresh spinach wilts quickly, aim to eat the leftovers within 1-2 days. The creamy pesto dressing may soften the spinach and tomatoes over time.
- Revive the Salad. If the salad becomes soggy, try refreshing it by adding a handful of fresh spinach or other crunchy veggies (such as tomatoes and fresh corn!) when serving it again.
Other corn recipes you’ll love
- Mexican Street Corn Dip
- Corn Pasta Salad with Bacon and Creamy Pesto Dressing
- Creamy Chicken and Corn Pasta with Bacon
- One-Pan Garlic Butter Chicken with Zucchini and Corn
- Shrimp and Creamed Corn Dinner (30 Minutes, One-Pan)
Corn, Tomato, and Spinach Salad with Creamy Pesto Dressing
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Ingredients
Salad dressing
- ⅓ cup basil pesto (store-bought or homemade)
- 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Salad Ingredients
- 1.5 cups corn kernels (3 ears of grilled or cooked corn)
- 5 oz cherry tomatoes (yellow and red, halved)
- 5 oz baby spinach
- ⅓ cup red onion sliced
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
Make salad dressing
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In a mason jar, whisk together basil pesto with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and freshly squeezed lime juice. You can quickly make basil pesto from scratch using my recipe or your favorite recipe or use your favorite store-bought version.
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If your dressing is too thick, add more Greek yogurt, extra lime juice (or lemon juice), or small amounts of water.
Assembly
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In a large bowl, combine baby spinach, corn kernels (sliced off the cob), halved cherry tomatoes, and sliced red onion.
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Distribute the salad into individual bowls. Top with crumbled feta cheese and drizzle with creamy pesto salad dressing.
Notes
- Corn. I used 1.5 cups of grilled/cooked corn kernels. That equals to 3 ears of corn (corn on the cob).
- Basil pesto. Use store-bought or homemade basil pesto.