Bacon Corn Salad recipe has an addictive reputation for a reason: take one bite of this meaty, cheesy, creamy, crunchy combination of corn, bacon, cheddar, and ranch seasoning and you won’t be able to stop! It’s a delicious summer side dish to bring to barbecues, potlucks, and tailgates.
Easy Bacon Corn Salad
Our simple Bacon Corn Salad takes the Tex-Mex flavor out of my Mexican Street Corn Salad, prepares it with a similar ranch sauce that coats my Ranch Potatoes, and serves it as a savory, sweet, tangy, slightly spicy cold side. When a dish is this delicious and full of addictive flavor, you’ll definitely want to skip dinner and make this the main meal!
Bacon Corn Salad Ingredients
- Bacon: Adding bacon to sweet corn salad introduces a savory, smoky flavor that pairs wonderfully with the corn’s sweetness and the dressing’s tanginess. I use thick-cut bacon for this recipe because I like the bigger chunks.
- Yellow corn: I used canned corn for this recipe. If you prefer to use yellow frozen corn, make sure to thaw completely and drain before using in the recipe. You will need 3 (10 ounce) bags of frozen corn. You can also use fresh corn on the cob removed from the husk.
- Green onions: Green onion adds a fresh flavor to this salad but you can use red onion or chives if you prefer.
- Jalapeno pepper: If you do not want the added spice from the jalapeno pepper, you can substitute a milder poblano or green bell pepper in place of the jalapeno.
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese: The shredded sharp cheddar cheese adds great flavor to this salad. However, you can certainly substitute medium shredded cheddar cheese, mild cheddar cheese, or even Colby Jack cheese in this recipe.
- Mayonnaise: While I recommend using mayonnaise, you can make your crack corn salad with Greek yogurt instead.
- Sour cream: Mixes with the mayo to make the creamy corn salad dressing.
- Fresh lime juice: Adds a bit of tang and brightness to the dressing. I always prefer fresh lime juice, but you can use bottled if necessary.
- Ranch seasoning mix: The dry ranch dressing is the key to creating the most flavorful sauce that coats this corn side dish.
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Bacon Corn Salad
- Cook The Bacon: Cook the bacon for 12-16 minutes or until crispy. Stir often to avoid burning. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Set aside.
- Make The Corn Mixture: Combine the corn, onions, jalapeno pepper, and cheese. Set aside.
- Make The Dressing: Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, ranch seasoning mix, salt and black pepper until thick and smooth.
- Combine, Cover, and Chill: Add the ranch dressing to the corn mixture and stir to fully coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours.
- Serve: Garnish with sliced green onions and serve. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
This bacon corn salad is best served chilled. Just like my Fritos Corn Salad, it makes a delicious side dish, dip, or topping for many main meals (although I love to eat it straight from the spoon)!
Serve With Scoopables: Fritos Scoops, Tostitos Scoops, or your favorite tortilla chips are great for scooping and dipping. You can also serve your bacon and corn salad with some celery sticks, carrots, or bell pepper slices.
Make It Into A Meal: Add your corn bacon salad to a Burrito Bowl, Queso Chicken Tacos, Mini Enchilada Cups, Taco Bell Frito Burrito, or a Mexican Casserole. It also makes a tasty topping for Grilled Chicken Breast and Grilled Salmon.
Tips & Variations
- Make sure to drain the corn well so you don’t end up with a soggy salad!
- You can use center cut bacon in place of the thick cut bacon if that is what is available to you. Keep in mind that the cooked, and crisped, bacon bits will not be as thick and they may crumble when mixed into the salad.
- This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a large crowd for a picnic, potluck or BBQ.
- I generally prefer to shred my own blocks of sharp cheddar cheese for recipes. However, I find that the pre-shredded “finely shredded” bags of cheese are really convenient to use since you only need such a small amount for this recipe.
- Make sure to refrigerate the salad for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to blend and the salad to chill completely before serving. You may want to give it a stir after refrigeration to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.
Proper Storage
- To Store: This corn salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in a covered container. You will want to be mindful that the longer this sits, or is refrigerated, the softer the bacon pieces will become from the moisture of the ranch dressing.
- To Freeze: This is not a salad that I recommend freezing as the ingredients will lose their fresh texture and the salad will become quite soft once thawed.
Other Easy Side Dishes
Bacon Corn Salad
Serves — 4
Bacon Corn Salad is addictively delicious! Corn, bacon, onion, and cheese coated in a creamy Ranch dressing.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ pound (approximately 6 slices) thick cut bacon diced into ½ inch pieces
- 30.5 ounces (2 15.25-ounce) cans yellow corn drained well
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sliced green onions divided (¼ cup to mix into the corn and 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno pepper seeds & veins removed before dicing
- ½ cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons ranch seasoning mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- To a medium skillet oven medium heat, add the diced thick cut bacon and cook for 12-16 minutes or until crispy. Be sure to stir often to ensure that the bacon is cooking evenly and not burning.½ pound (approximately 6 slices) thick cut bacon
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon pieces and place them onto a paper towel lined plate to allow all the excess fat to drain from the bacon. Set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl add the yellow corn, ¼ sliced green onions, finely diced jalapeno pepper and finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Set aside.30.5 ounces (2 15.25-ounce) cans yellow corn, ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon sliced green onions, 2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno pepper, ½ cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- To a small mixing bowl stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh lime juice, ranch seasoning mix, salt and black pepper until thick and smooth.¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons ranch seasoning mix, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Add the ranch dressing to the bowl of corn and stir to fully combine all the ingredients and coat them evenly in the ranch dressing mix.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to blend and the salad to chill completely before serving. You may want to give it a stir after refrigeration to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.
- Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon sliced green onions and serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: This crack corn salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in a covered container. You will want to be mindful that the longer this sits, or is refrigerated, the softer the bacon pieces will become from the moisture of the ranch dressing.
- To Freeze: This is not a salad that I recommend freezing as the ingredients will lose their fresh texture and the salad will become quite soft once thawed.
- Make sure to drain the corn well so you don’t end up with a soggy salad!
- You can use center cut bacon in place of the thick cut bacon if that is what is available to you. Keep in mind that the cooked, and crisped, bacon bits will not be as thick and they may crumble when mixed into the salad.
- This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a large crowd for a picnic, potluck or BBQ.
- I generally prefer to shred my own blocks of sharp cheddar cheese for recipes. However, I find that the pre-shredded “finely shredded” bags of cheese are really convenient to use since you only need such a small amount for this recipe.
- Make sure to refrigerate the salad for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to blend and the salad to chill completely before serving. You may want to give it a stir after refrigeration to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 622kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 1078mg | Potassium: 645mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 923IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 1mg
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