With sweet grilled corn and tender-crisp zucchini tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette, this Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad celebrates the bounty of fresh summer produce. Served room temperature or cold, this salad is the perfect side dish for any BBQ.
One of my favorite parts of summer is all of the great local and fresh produce that is available. I know that you can usually find most things all year round in the market, but there is just something about great summer produce that is picked at the peak of freshness that can’t be beat. And I especially love produce that is locally grown and picked fresh for the most flavor and freshness.
So when we recently took a quick trip up to Clarksville, MO to visit a friend that just happens to own a local Missouri vegetable farm, I was super excited when he sent us home with a huge box full of farm fresh produce he had just picked. I don’t think we had made it more than a couple of miles down 79 before I started dreaming up all of the recipes I was going to create with our bountiful haul. And one of those things was this Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad.
By the way, if you ever happen to find yourself out in Clarksville during the summer months, be sure to stop by Bankhead’s Vegetables to load up on fresh veggies straight from the farm. As a family owned and operated farm, they grow over 100 acres of handpicked vegetables. They also have a stand in Bowling Green, MO as well. Check out some pictures of all their awesome veggies!
How Do You Make Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad?
But, back to the salad, this Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad just screams summer to me. With grilled fresh summer vegetables, ripe cherry tomatoes, salty feta cheese, and peppery arugula, this salad offers a variety of textures and flavors. Finished with a super simple and quick lemon vinaigrette, the dressing adds a bright, tangy punch that ties everything together and enhances the fresh, sweet corn and zucchini.
This salad takes a little longer to make than some, since you have to first grill up the veggies, but trust me it is totally worth it. To make this summer salad, there are just a couple of steps:
- Grill the Corn & Zucchini: Grilling fresh corn and zucchini brings out the natural sweetness and enhances the overall flavors of the veggies. I have been eating grilled zucchini from my dad’s garden since I can remember, and to me there is no better way to eat summer zucchini. To grill the veggies, slice the zucchini into thick slices and shuck the corn. Coat the veggies in oil, salt, and pepper, then grill them a couple of minutes per side until the zucchini is just tender, but not mushy. The corn should have grill marks and be just starting to soften. If you want you can do this step a day in advance, then refrigerate the veggies until ready to eat.
- Cut the Veggies: Next, you prep all of the veggies by slicing the tomatoes in half, thinly slicing the onion, cutting the corn off the cob, and chopping the zucchini into bite sized pieces. A tip for cutting the corn off the cob without it ending up all over your kitchen, is to stand the ear of corn up in a shallow bowl or dish, then slice down the cob, continuing around the ear. As you slice, the kernels should stay within your bowl or dish.
- Make the Dressing: This dressing is a super simple vinaigrette, but it is just enough to bring out the flavors of the fresh veggies, brighten everything up, and tie the Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad together. Just whisk all of the ingredients in a small bowl or shake them in a glass jar.
- Toss It All Together: When you are ready to eat, add the grilled veggies, red onion, tomatoes, arugula and spinach, feta, and dressing all to a large bowl and toss to coat.
Should This Salad with Grilled Corn & Zucchini be Served Chilled or Warm?
This salad is excellent room temp or chilled. I like the zucchini best at room temperature, so I prefer to serve it that way rather than right from the fridge. If you grill the veggies in advance, you can let them sit out at room temp for about 20 – 30 minutes before assembling the salad. This should take some of the chill off.
Can I Make this Summer Corn & Zucchini Salad in Advance?
Absolutely, this salad can be made ahead, but there are a couple of things I would keep in mind to ensure the best presentation.
- Grill the veggies ahead: Just grilling the zucchini and corn a day ahead and refrigerating until you are ready to use will help cut down prep time of this salad a lot.
- Keep your greens fresh: If you are making the entire salad in advance, don’t add the arugula and spinach until you are ready to eat, as they can wilt. I would also wait to add the feta and dressing until just before serving as well.
Looking for More Fresh Summer Salads?
Here are some of my favorites:
- Watermelon, Feta, & Arugula Salad with Mint White Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Peach, Feta, & Arugula Salad with Fresh Basil Vinaigrette
- Greek Salad with Kale and Quinoa
- Walnut and Roasted Broccoli Salad
What’s your favorite summer vegetable? Let me know in the comments below!
Grilled Corn & Zucchini Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini (or 2 small)
- 1 ear corn
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ red onion
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 oz baby spinach and arugula mix (substitute all baby arugula, if desired)
- 2 oz feta cheese (crumbled)
Tangy Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1 small clove garlic – use just ½ if it is large (grated)
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ large lemon (juiced)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat indoor grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat.
- Slice zucchini in thick rounds and place in large bowl, drizzle most of 1 tbsp oil (reserving a bit for the corn), sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. If using outdoor grill, you may want to slice the zucchini lengthwise into about ½ inch thick planks, as they will be easier to grill. Brush corn with remaining oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill corn and zucchini about 3 minutes per side until the zucchini has developed grill marks and is just tender, but not mushy. The corn should have grill marks and be just starting to soften.
- Remove corn and zucchini from grill and set aside to cool.
- Thinly slice red onion, and chop cherry tomatoes in half.
- Add all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk or combine in a glass jar and shake.
- When grilled veggies have cooled to the touch, chop zucchini into bite sized pieces (I like to cut the rounds in half or fourths). Remove corn from the cob.
- Add onion, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, feta, arugula and spinach, and dressing to the same large bowl used for the zucchini and toss to combine.