Creamy Corn Salad — This EASY corn salad with crispy bacon, jalapeño peppers, green onions, and plenty of shredded cheese will be a few FAVORITE side dish! Perfect for your next picnic, potluck, barbecue, or summer holiday like the 4th of July or Labor Day and it’s ready in 15 minutes!
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Sweet Corn Salad with Bacon
Who doesn’t love summer sweet corn! It’s a favorite in our house for sure.
And when corn is mixed into a creamy salad complete with Ranch dressing and crispy bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and jalapeno, it’s even better.
One of my favorite parts about this creamy corn and bacon salad, apart from just how creamy it is and how scrumptiously the bacon flavors the whole thing, is that this is such a fast and easy side salad. You’ll have it ready in 15 minutes!
I’ve got a ton of corn recipes and corn salad recipes on my site (and make sure you check below the recipe card for more corn salad inspiration) but none is quite like this new family favorite recipe!
It reminds me of creamed corn, but jazzed up and served either chilled or at room temp.
Whether you want to serve this as a side dish for a weeknight family dinner, or bring it to a picnic or potluck, or make it for 4th of July or summer backyard barbecues, everyone will want seconds of this easy corn salad recipe.
Ingredients in Creamy Corn Salad
To make this easy creamy corn and bacon salad recipe, you’ll need the following easy to find and very common fridge and pantry ingredients including the following:
- Bacon
- Corn
- Jalapeño
- Green onions or chives
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Ranch dressing
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Lime juice
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh parsley, for garnishing
Note: All ingredients amounts are listed in the recipe card section when you keep scrolling down.
How to Make Corn Salad
It truly does not get any easier than this cold corn salad recipe!
You’re going to be a fan of how simplistic this easy side dish recipe is with very minimal prep time and total time.
Step 1: Cook the bacon, drain, and place on a paper towel-lined plate to blot the grease.
Step 2: While the bacon is cooking, add all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.
Step 3: Add the bacon and stir. Reserve a few bits for garnishing.
Step 4: Cover and chill for about 1 hour in the fridge.
Step 5: Garnish with parsley, the reserved bacon, and serve!
Make-Ahead Instructions
I recommend prepping this easy corn salad recipe at least 1 to 2 hours in advance and chilling it well in the fridge before you serve it.
You can make it ahead of time, up to about 24 hours in advance, and leave it to chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it. Although it’s so fast to make, I’m not sure this is really necessary!
What’s the Best Corn to Use for Corn Salad?
For this easy bacon corn salad with jalapeno, you’ve got 5 options the way I see it.
The options are listed in order of what I prefer to do or use with grilled fresh sweet corn as my top choice, and canned corn being my least favorite option.
Although, even if you do use canned corn, it’s mixed into the lovely creamy sauce which helps “doctor it up”.
- Grill fresh corn on the cob, slice it from the ear, and use it. Lightly charred corn is my weakness and this is my favorite way to make this salad. Follow how I suggest grilling corn in my Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote) recipe if you are unsure.
- Boil fresh sweet corn, slice the corn kernels, and use it.
- Use fresh sweet corn without grilling or boiling it, slice it from the ear, and use it. This only works if corn is super fresh and super in-season, i.e. July or August in most parts of the US.
- Use frozen corn. Allow it to thaw, drain it, then use it. You can use “char-grilled corn” or whatever flavor variation of frozen corn that you like.
- Use canned corn. Rinse and drain it, then use it.
What to Serve with Creamy Corn Salad
This is just the best creamy corn and bacon salad recipe and is a perfect side dish for casual summer gatherings like a backyard bbq, picnics, and potlucks.
Here’s looking at you Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, tailgating parties, and more.
If you’re serving the corn salad as a side dish for family dinner or at a get-together or event, here are some of my other favorite sides that will pair well with this corn salad recipe:
- BLT Pasta Salad – EASY, ready in 15 minutes, feeds a crowd, and PERFECT for potlucks and parties!! Creamy ranch dressing perfectly coats the pasta and BACON! Guaranteed family FAVORITE!!
- Classic Macaroni Salad – This fast and easy pasta salad recipe with tender elbow macaroni, bell peppers, carrots, celery, ham, and a super creamy dressing is a family FAVORITE!
- Amish Pasta Salad — A family-favorite classic pasta salad recipe with al dente pasta, bell peppers, celery, red onions, and hard-boiled eggs tossed in a creamy tangy-sweet dressing! Perfect for picnics, potlucks, backyard parties, and events! Everyone will go back for a second helping of this comforting side salad!
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad — Calling all pickle fans, you’re going to love this creamy pasta salad with crunchy dill pickles in every bite! Along with cubes of cheese and crumbled bacon, this pasta salad will be the star of your next picnic, potluck, barbecue, or summer holiday! FAST, EASY, and IRRESISTIBLE!
- Bacon Potato Salad – This no mayo Potato Salad with Bacon is ready in just 30 minutes! It’s a vinegar potato salad the whole family will love!
- German Potato Salad – A classic potato salad made with tender red potatoes, bacon, onions, and a tangy vinegar dressing! This no-mayo potato salad is a family favorite side dish that’s perfect for parties, picnics, and potlucks!
- Borracho “Drunken” Baked Beans – These “drunken beans” are simmered with a can of BEER and can be made in your SLOW COOKER OR INSTANT POT! The bacon, sausage or chorizo, jalapenos, tomato, onion, garlic, herbs, and beer make these the BEST beans ever!
- Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans — The BEST baked beans ever! The flavors of bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, and BBQ sauce intensify and concentrate over time, and the resulting beans have incredible depth of flavor. Sweet with a bit of heat, robust yet smooth, and extremely satisfying!
Storing Leftover Creamy Corn Salad with Bacon
Extra bacon corn jalapeño salad will keep airtight in the fridge for about 4 days. Note that it will get a bit soupier as time passes. That’s just the nature of the creamy sauce.
Unfortunately, this is not a recipe that I recommend freezing.
Recipe FAQs
You can use any type of bacon you like from hickory smoked to applewood. I use regular rather than thick-cut, but it’s up to you.
I like to dice my bacon first, then fry it because it’s a bit quicker. However you can fry it in strips, then dice it, if you prefer.
To keep the dish vegetarian, I suppose you could use a plant-based bacon product, although I have not tried.
If you simply do not like the taste of bacon (either real or plant-based), you can simply omit the bacon and you’ll have a creamy corn salad recipe at that point.
Not really. I find this recipe works best with both mayo and sour cream.
Additionally, I recommend using real mayonnaise like Hellman’s Mayonnaise or Duke’s Real Mayonnaise, and not something like Miracle Whip or another type of “mayo”.
I also recommend using full fat mayonnaise and not a lite product. This is what gives this creamy corn and bacon salad a true creaminess that you can’t get otherwise.
If you are really trying to reduce fat/calories, it’s possible that you could use a high quality plain Greek yogurt (not regular) in place of the sour cream.
I use shredded cheddar cheese however you could use a shredded cheddar blend, a shredded Mexican cheese blend, Pepper Jack, Monterrey Jack, or whatever type of shredded cheese you have on hand and sounds good.
In my opinion, no it is not. Jalapenos are not actually spicy chile peppers. They add flavor more than they add heat.But if you are concerned, you can either omit it entirely or halve the quantity.
Make sure to remove the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno whether you’re using all of it, or half of it.
Additionally, do NOT confuse a serrano chile pepper with a jalapeno pepper. Serranos are much hotter (about 10x) and are longer and thinner whereas jalapenos are shorter and more “chubby” or stocky in appearance. Sometimes they can get mislabeled in the grocery store so if you see a longer and more slender green pepper and are unsure, that is a likely a serrano not a jalapeno.
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Creamy Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw bacon, about 12 strips, diced into bacon bits
- 3 cups corn*
- 1 jalapeño, seeded; diced very finely**
- ¼ cup green onions or chives, diced into thin rounds
- ¼ cup real, full-fat mayonnaise
- ¼ cup real, full-fat sour cream (full-fat Greek yogurt may be substituted)
- ¼ cup ranch dressing
- 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar cheese blend
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- Juice from 1 large lime
- Fresh parsley, for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the bacon, and cook over medium to medium-high heat to render out the bacon fat.
- While the bacon is cooking, to a large bowl, add all the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and stir to combine.
- After the bacon has cooked and is as crispy as desired (about 10 minutes), remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon, and place them on a paper towel-lined plate momentarily to blot the grease. Discard the bacon grease or save for another use.
- Add almost all of the bacon o the bowl with all the other ingredients and stir to combine. Tip – Reserve a few bacon bits for garnishing.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Tip – You can make this recipe ahead of time, up to about 12 to 24 hours before you plan to serve it. Any longer isn't a good idea because the creamy sauce will thin out too much as it sits.
- Garnish as desired with the reserved bacon bits, fresh parsley, and serve.
- Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for about 4 to 5 days, noting that as it sits, the dressing will get more soupy and thin out, which is unavoidable. I don't recommend freezing this salad.
Notes
- Grill fresh corn on the cob, slice it from the ear, and use it. Lightly charred corn is my weakness and this is my favorite way to make this salad. Follow how I suggest to grill corn in my Grilled Mexican Corn (Elote) recipe if you are unsure.
- Boil fresh sweet corn, slice the corn kernels, and use it.
- Use fresh sweet corn without grilling or boiling it, slice it from the ear, and use it. This only works if corn is super fresh and super in-season, i.e. July or August in most parts of the US.
- Use frozen corn. Allow it to thaw, drain it, then use it. You can use “char-grilled corn” or whatever flavor variation of frozen corn that you like.
- Use canned corn. Rinse and drain it, then use it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Corn Salad Recipes:
Creamy Corn and Zucchini Salad — A healthy EASY salad that’s ready in 15 minutes and so flavorful!! Corn, zucchini, cilantro, queso fresco and more are tossed in a DELISH creamy lime sauce!
Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad – An EASY and HEALTHY salad that’s ready in 10 minutes and you won’t be able to stop eating it! Juicy corn, creamy avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice is a FIESTA in your mouth!
Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad – An EASY Mexican-inspired corn salad with black beans, zucchini, red onions, cilantro, lime juice, and more!
Mango Chickpea Corn Salad — An EASY salad that’s ready in 5 minutes, HEALTHY, and full of Mexican-inspired flavors!! Great as a meatless lunch, dinner side dish, or for picnics and potlucks.
Mexican Bean Salad — Such a fast and easy recipe to make! Plus, it’s loaded with flavor and textures galore. Two kinds of beans, juicy corn and tomatoes, crisp peppers, and green onions are tossed in a lime-chili-cumin vinaigrette that’s perfectly light!
Black Bean Corn Avocado Salad – Tossed with a tangy cumin lime vinaigrette. It’s incredibly filling thanks to the beans and avocado, and can easily be packed for lunch.
Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad – An EASY salad that’s ready in 15 minutes and you won’t be able to stop eating it!! Tender chicken, juicy corn, crisp bell peppers and tomatoes, creamy avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice for the WIN!!
