Charred Corn Cabbage Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

By Maria Lichty

Published on July 01, 2024

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Are you ready for the BEST salad recipe? I make a lot of salads and this Charred Corn Cabbage Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing is definitely a favorite. The flavors and textures are OUTSTANDING!

Remember that viral Green Goddess salad? This salad is similar, but it has a Mexican spin! The base of the salad is shredded cabbage. Don’t be afraid of cabbage, it is SO good in salads. It is fresh, crunchy, and holds up nicely.

To the cabbage, I add charred sweet corn, jicama, green onion, cilantro, pepitas, and salty cotija cheese. The salad is tossed in a creamy avocado dressing that takes the salad to a whole new level!

I highly recommend serving the salad with tortilla chips. Take a chip and start dipping. I guarantee you will LOVE this salad. It is good year round, but I especially love making it durning the summer months when sweet corn is in season.

This salad is perfect for BBQ’s, picnics, pool parties, or any celebration. Your friends and family will love it! I also love making it for easy lunches, dinners, or a healthy snack. The salad will keep in the fridge for a couple of days!

Bonus, even my kids love this salad because they can eat it with tortilla chips! Love dipping anything and everything. Trust me, this salad is a WINNER!

Salad Ingredients

• Sweet corn– I love making this salad during the summertime when sweet corn is in season. If you can’t find good sweet corn, you can use frozen corn. I like Trader Joe’s roasted corn. But fresh is BEST!
• Avocado oil– for brushing over the corn cobs before grilling.
• Cabbage– use green cabbage and finely chop it with a sharp knife. You can also use a food processor to chop it up.
• Jicama– jicama adds a nice crunch to the salad! Peel before chopping. For a shortcut, most grocery stores sell already peeled jicama in sticks or cubes, just chop it up a little smaller.
• Green onions– sliced!
• Cilantro– chopped!
• Pepitas– pepitas are pumpkin seeds and they add a nice salty crunch.
• Cotija cheese– Cotija cheese is salty and so good when crumbled into this salad. If you need the salad to be vegan or dairy-free you can leave it out. Queso fresco will also work.
• Lime– Use a citrus squeezer to get all of the juice.

Creamy Avocado Dressing Ingredients

• Avocado– use a large avocado that is ripe and ready!
• Plain Greek yogurt– you can also use sour cream.
• Avocado oil– olive oil will also work.
• Jalapeño– stem and seeds removed.
• Lime juice– always use fresh lime juice.
• Cilantro– use the leaves, not the stems!
• Garlic– 2 small cloves of garlic will do the trick.
• Water– a little water to thin out the dressing.
• Honey– to balance out the tartness from the yogurt and lime juice.

How to Make Charred Corn Cabbage Salad

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
• Brush the corn with oil and grill for 2 minutes per side, or until char marks form. Remove from grill and set aside to cool to room temperature.

• Use a sharp knife to carefully slice down each side of the corn cobs to remove the kernels.

• In a large bowl, combine the charred corn kernels, cabbage, jicama, green onions, cilantro, pepitas, cotija cheese, and lime juice.

• To make the dressing, in a blender or food processor, add the avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado oil, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, water, honey, salt, and pepper.

• Blend until smooth. The dressing should be nice and creamy. If it is a little too thick, you can add 1 more tablespoon of water and blend again, but you don’t want it too thin.

• Pour the creamy avocado dressing over the salad and toss well with tongs until the salad is well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Garnish with extra cotija cheese and cilantro, if desired.
• Serve plain or with tortilla chips.

Serving Suggestions

This salad goes great with just about any meal, but here are a few favorites!

• Steak Kabobs
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Crispy Chicken Tacos
• Grilled Steak Tacos
• Best Grilled Chicken Sandwich
• Chicken Taquitos
• Black Bean Quinoa Enchilada Bake

How to Store

I love this salad because it holds up nicely because the base is hearty cabbage.

• After the salad is tossed in the dressing, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Salad Recipes

• Simple Kale Salad
• Grilled Corn Salad
• Black Bean Salad
• Charred Corn & Avocado Quinoa Salad
• Easy Quinoa Salad
• Broccoli Salad

Find MORE SALAD RECIPES HERE!

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Salads

Charred Corn Cabbage Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

This Charred Corn Cabbage Salad is made with crunchy cabbage, charred corn, jicama, cilantro, green onion, pepitas, and salty cotija cheese. The salad is tossed in a creamy avocado dressing that only takes a few minutes to make. The flavors and textures are incredible and I highly recommend serving the salad with tortilla chips!

5 from 2 votes

PrintSave RecipeReview

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

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For the salad:

• 4 ears sweet corn, husks and silks removed, cut off the stem
• Avocado oil, for brushing the corn
• 5 cups finely chopped cabbage
• 2 cups diced jicama
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/2 cup cotija cheese
• Juice of 1 lime
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• Garnish: extra cotija cheese and cilantro
• Tortilla chips, for serving, optional

For the dressing:

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1 small jalapeño, stem and seeds removed
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 small cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Brush the corn with oil and grill for 2 minutes per side, or until char marks form. Remove from grill and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Use a sharp knife to carefully slice down each side of the corn cobs to remove the kernels.
• In a large bowl, combine the charred corn kernels, cabbage, jicama, green onions, cilantro, pepitas, cotija cheese, and lime juice.
• To make the dressing, in a blender or food processor, add the avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado oil, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, water, honey, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. The dressing should be nice and creamy. If it is a little too thick, you can add 1 more tablespoon of water and blend again, but you don’t want it too thin.
• Pour the creamy avocado dressing over the salad and toss well with tongs until the salad is well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with extra cotija cheese and cilantro, if desired. Serve plain or with tortilla chips.

Notes

You can also char the corn over a gas flame.

Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 9mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 464mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 395IU, Vitamin C: 34mg, Calcium: 95mg, Iron: 1mg

Keywords avocado, cabbage, corn

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