Southwestern Corn Salad

This southwestern corn salad is the perfect side dish. It’s fresh, rich, spicy, and acidic, plus it only takes 20 minutes to make! 

A good side salad can be the difference between an average meal and a great one. And take it from me: this southwestern corn salad is good. The salad itself is both rich and fresh, with just 4 ingredients: corn, tomatoes, avocado, and bacon. We’re off to a good start! But the star of the dish is the salad dressing, which is tangy, acidic, salty, and spicy. All the flavors will pop in your mouth. 

Even though this corn salad is super flavorful, it’s really easy to make. It doesn’t require much time or effort, so it’s a great weeknight dish. The freshness and the bright flavors are bound to take your meal to the next level. 

Why You’ll Love This Spicy Bacon and Corn Salad

Here are a few reasons why I know you’ll love this fresh corn salad.

• Make it ahead of time. This is one of those recipes that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. The longer the corn salad chills, the more the flavors will meld together. That makes it a great meal prep food because you can make it the day before you plan on eating it, instead of at the last minute.
• Easy. I’m a big fan of 20-minute recipes, and that’s exactly what this is. It’s not difficult to make, and it barely takes any time at all. You can throw it together whenever you have a few spare minutes. 
• Great for parties. You can very easily scale up this recipe. If you want to double or triple the batch of corn salad, you can do it without having to do any extra work. It’s a great recipe for parties or barbecues because you can make a huge batch, leave it in the fridge, and serve it whenever you need it. 

Ingredients Needed

Here are all the ingredients that you need to make this fresh and tangy salad. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the exact quantities of each ingredient.

For the Salad:

• Corn – You can use canned, frozen or fresh corn. 
• Bacon
• Avocado
• Grape tomatoes

For the Dressing:

• Greek yogurt – Make sure to use unflavored yogurt.
• Mayo
• Lime
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Salt
• Black pepper – Always use freshly-ground pepper. 

How to Make Southwestern Corn Salad

Here’s how to make this super easy side salad. 

• Cook the bacon. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy, then remove it from the pan and crumble the bacon into pieces. Drain the fat from the pan.
• Add the corn. Put the corn in the skillet and cook until lightly charred.
• Make the dressing. Add all of the salad dressing ingredients together and mix until combined. 

• Assemble the salad. Add the corn, tomatoes, avocado, and bacon to the salad dressing.

• Dress. Toss the salad to combine.

• Chill. Cover the salad and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. 

Tricks and Tips 

Here are a few tricks to use when making this recipe. 

• Use ripe avocados. It’s important to use avocados that are super ripe for this recipe. The textures in this salad are really important, so you don’t want the avocado to be too hard or stringy. 
• Crisp the bacon. Make sure to really crisp up your bacon when you cook it. You want the bacon to have a good crunch in the salad, even after you’ve added the dressing. The crispier the bacon, the better the salad. 
• Mix carefully. Be really careful when you toss this salad. You want to toss it thoroughly so that all the ingredients get coated with the spicy dressing. But you don’t want to smush the avocados or the tomatoes. 

What to Serve it With

I like to serve this corn and avocado salad anytime I have a barbecue, or as a side dish for other southwestern recipes. Here are some of my favorite meals to eat with corn salad.

• Crunchy Southwestern Chicken Wrap
• Grilled Pork Chops
• Pan Seared Salmon
• BBQ Chicken Wrap
• Poor Man’s Burnt Ends
• Air Fryer Steak Bites

How to Store Leftovers

This fresh corn salad will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just make sure that you store it in an airtight container. 

Can This Recipe Be Frozen? 

I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The dressing might become separated when you thaw the salad, and ingredients like avocados and tomatoes don’t freeze very well. 

More Easy Salad Recipes

If you liked this recipe then you’ve got to try some of my other favorite easy salads.

• Lemon-Herb Potato Salad
• Big Mac Salad
• Tomato Mozzarella Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Chicken Caesar Salad
• BLT Salad

Continue to Content

Yield: 6

Southwestern Corn Salad

Print

This southwestern corn salad is packed with bacon, avocado, and tomato. It's coated with a tangy and spicy dressing, and only takes 20 minutes to make.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 3 cups corn kernels
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut into quarters

For the Dressing:

• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Drain, and crumble into pieces.
2. Drain the grease from the skillet, then add corn and cook until slightly charred.
3. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the salad dressing. Mix until well combined.
4. Add the corn, bacon, tomatoes, and avocado to the dressing, and stir to coat.
5. Cover, and let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 261Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 13mgSodium 616mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 5gSugar 5gProtein 8g

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.

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Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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