Grilled Corn & California Avocado Salad

Made with grilled corn, ripe California Avocados and sweet-tart cherry tomatoes – This vibrant avocado corn salad is summer made edible.

Perfect for entertaining, start by throwing a couple of ears of corn on a hot grill. I prefer to use charcoal to infuse more smoke flavor, but a gas grill will still develop some nice char on the corn. Next, cut the corn off the cob (I’ve got a special tip on how to do this below), and toss with cubed avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, green onion and a punchy lime vinaigrette. Finish the salad with chopped cilantro and final seasoning of salt and pepper. This corn avocado salad would pair beautifully with grilled meats and fish. It serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as a main salad, and you can easily scale it up to serve at an end-of-summer bash!

When purchasing California Avocados for the salad, be sure to pick out ones that are firm-ripe. They should be dark in color and slightly soft to the touch. We want the cubed avocado to maintain its shape in the end, not turn to mush while tossing everything up!

Here’s a quick tip to make the task of taking corn off the cob super easy: Use a bundt pan! Stand the corn up in the middle of the pan, inserting them stem into the middle hole. This will keep the corn stable as you cut. Then, using a sharp knife, cut downwards to release the kernels from the cob. The pan below will catch the corn as you cut, so you won’t be chasing kernels all over your kitchen. It’s that easy!

The dressing for the salad is a mix of lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. At first, it may seem like there’s way too much lime juice compared to olive oil, but the salad can really take it. The corn is sweet and the avocados are rich and creamy, so the lime-forward dressing really balances everything out. It will also keep the avocados from turning brown, so the salad can sit for a bit and maintain its gorgeous colors.

Grilled Corn & California Avocado Salad Recipe

Ingredients
2 ears of corn, husk and silk removed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 firm-ripe California Avocados, peel and pit removed, cubed
2 scallions, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup lime juice
Zest of ½ lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, grated or minced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill to high heat.
2. Grill corn until charred all over (about 10 minutes).
3. Once cool enough to handle, cut the corn off the cob and transfer to a large bowl along with the avocado, tomatoes and scallions.
4. Whisk together lime juice, zest, olive oil and garlic in a small measuring cup.
5. Season with a couple pinches of salt and several turns of black pepper.
6. Pour dressing evenly over the salad, tossing to combine.
7. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
8. Finish with cilantro, and gently toss to combine.