Summers best produce comes together in this simple and flavorful salad. Enjoy this tasty dish as is or topped with grilled shrimp or chicken for the perfect meal!
I’ve professed my love for tomatoes at least 100 times on this blog. Fresh picked summer tomatoes are the best and since they are only available for a short time, I feel as though I need to eat as many as I can. The same goes for fresh sweet corn.
I have eaten at least one ear of fresh sweet corn (almost) every day since the 4th of July. I never get sick of it. Ever. We have been receiving fresh corn every week in our CSA, and each time I’m on the edge of my seat to see if we get it again. I’m going to be so disappointed when it stops!
You would think I’d be cranking out hundreds of tomato and corn recipes, right? Wrong. My lunch most days consists of an ear of corn and a bunch of tomatoes cut up. Simplicity at its best. Those are my favorite meals!
I figured it was time I do something delicious with the bounty of corn and tomatoes that I have been hoarding. I kept things as fresh as possible and decided on a summer quinoa salad. Fresh corn, tomatoes, and kale are tossed with quinoa and drizzled with my fresh basil dressing. The reason this salad tastes so good is because of how fresh everything is – so make sure you get your hands on the best ingredients you can find!
This recipe makes a very large salad, so it’s perfect to keep in the fridge for quick lunches on the go or a light and healthy dinner. Heck, I even ate this for breakfast one day. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m not a slave to traditional breakfast foods – I will eat anything at anytime of the day and be completely happy.
I decided to keep this vegetarian and if you omit the cheese in the dressing and swap out the honey for a different sweetener, this would be a great vegan option as well. It’s so satisfying and just gets better and better the longer it sits in the fridge!
I’ve said before Kyle can’t eat a salad that doesn’t include meat or cheese, so I added chicken and feta on top of his and he loved it. Grilled shrimp would be amazing on top of this salad as well!
If you haven’t tried my fresh basil dressing yet, please do. It lives in my fridge all summer long! Whenever I get fresh basil I almost always make a batch of basil dressing. I put it on anything everything – not only is it the perfect salad dressing, but it’s amazing over grilled chicken or shrimp, grilled veggies, as a dip, and it makes a wonderful dressing for pasta salad. It’s the best salad dressing. EVER.
I’m not just being dramatic here, it really is the best!
- 1 Cup Quinoa
- 1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil
- 1 ¼ Cups Water
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Ears Fresh Sweet Corn
- 1 Small Bunch Kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, halved
- 1 Recipe Fresh Basil Dressing
- Place the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it under cold water. Heat a medium pot over high heat and add the coconut oil. Add in the quinoa and allow it to “toast” until all of the excess water evaporates. Pour in the water and bring it to a boil. Season the quinoa with salt and pepper, cover and turn the heat to low. Cook the quinoa for 12-15 minutes or until the majority of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, pour it into a large bowl and set it aside to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, cook the sweet corn using your preferred method. I like blanching it in boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. However, you can cook it however you like. Let it cool completely and then remove the corn from the cob and it to the bowl with the quinoa.
- Before adding the kale into the salad, give it a massage first. To do this, just take small handfuls and squeeze them a few times. The kale will reduce slightly in size and start to take on a cooked appearance. This makes it much easier to eat in the salad!
- Toss the grape tomatoes in with the salad and then drizzle the whole thing with the basil dressing. Toss well and serve.
- I like the salad best at room temperature, but it will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week in an airtight container.
- Make this salad vegan by omitting the cheese from the basil dressing and using your favorite sweetener in place of the honey.
Kale and quinoa salads are so good! I’m loving the fresh summer corn and tomatoes in here. And that basil dressing looks like a good place for me to use some of surplus of basil growing in my garden!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks recently posted…Patio Passion Martini Knockoff
Oh yes it’s perfect for using up fresh basil straight from the garden! Thanks Rachelle!
This is such a gorgeous summer dish! I could totally eat fresh corn every day too!
Ashley | The Recipe Rebel recently posted…Easy No Churn Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream
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You got to fill up on all that fresh corn and tomatoes while you can girl! I’m doing the same! And I’m totally using some to make this quinoa!
Shelby @ Go Eat and Repeat recently posted…Homemade Cosmic Brownies
Exactly Shelby! Thanks!
I love quinoa salad. And this one with tomatoes, corn, kale sounds so refreshing and full of awesome flavors. Super YUM! Wonderful share, Keri!
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen recently posted…Achaari Aloo Gobi
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Summer corn and tomatoes are simply the best! I love your suggestion of topping this with grilled shrimp! Looks so fresh 🙂 And you know how much I love your basil dressing so this is right up my alley.
Ali recently posted…When life hands you lemons…
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I just can’t get enough of fresh tomatoes in the summer, and quinoa all year long! This looks like the perfect salad, Keri! I love finding new ways to use quinoa, especially when corn and tomatoes are involved. Sounds like the perfect dish to keep that summer feeling alive!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Zesty Guacamole
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This salad looks delicious! All my favorite flavors of summer. And it’s perfect timing, because I just bought the most embarrassingly large bag of quinoa from Costco. I can’t go thru it fast enough, ha! And that dressing? Yum!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely recently posted…Creamy Mustard Chicken
Thanks Natalie! I have that embarrassingly large bag of quinoa on my Costco list 😉
I can never have enough quinoa! This salad looks like ‘summer in a bowl’, Keri! Perfect name!
Savita @ ChefDeHome recently posted…By ChefDeHome- Bombay Veggie Bowl – Roasted Vegetables with Coconut Curry Dressing
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I LOOOOVE fresh corn!! I agree, simple meals like that are the best. So satisfying and fresh!! This looks so yummy, Keri :).
Annie @ The Garlic Diaries recently posted…Baked Greek Yogurt Chicken Flautas
Thanks Annie!