Fresh Corn Blueberry Spinach Salad

Perfect for summer get togethers, this Blueberry Spinach Salad with tender corn, pickled red onions and sweet/spicy almonds is fresh, delicious and goes so well with grilled entrees!

This is one of those salads that will disappear right before your eyes at picnics, potlucks, parties and family get-togethers. It's loaded with fresh, summery ingredients and is topped with a fabulous poppy seed dressing that everyone seems to love! And the crunchy, salty, sweet and spicy roasted almonds are the crowning glory!

A perfect summer salad

To me, it's so nice to go to a summer get-together and find a big, beautiful salad that's loaded with fresh, vibrant ingredients. In fact, you might not want to invite me to your party or picnic if you prepare something like this Blueberry Spinach Salad. I'll be sure to load my plate up with your beautiful creation and then go back for seconds.

The parade of produce begins!

The delicious summer season "parade of produce" is just beginning which is super exciting to me. I've been picking up plump, super sweet blueberries for the past few weeks as well as beautiful fresh corn. Although neither of these ingredients are ready locally, the farmers in the states below us have made them abundant and cheap at our local groceries.

All this makes it the perfect time to make and serve this delicious Fresh Corn and Blueberry Spinach Salad!

This delicious Fresh Corn Blueberry Spinach Salad incorporates three of our favorite Café (previously published) recipes. The wonderful thing is that they can all be made in advance so it's super easy to throw this salad together at the last minute! These are the components:

The Honey Cider Poppy Seed Dressing.

The Sweet and Spicy Roasted Almonds.

And the (show-stopping) Pickled Red Onions.

You may have already tried one or two of these recipes but just wait till you put them all together with crisp baby spinach, tender sweet corn and juicy plump blueberries - DELICIOSO!

The magical way with fresh corn

One last thing... if you tend to steer away from purchasing fresh corn because of the mess (silks and husks everywhere) or the complications of cooking it (in a huge pot of boiling water) or having to time it perfectly, you're in for a BIG surprise! We're sharing a magical technique for perfectly cooked corn with no fuss, no mess and NO silks!

You'll find yourself loading your cart with fresh corn every time you shop! It's a microwave technique that I discovered years ago and have been using ever since. Because we love this technique so much, my daughter-in-law, Lindsay made a video to show you exactly how it works.

She also demonstrates the easiest and least messy way to cut corn from the cob. It's truly life-changing (in a culinary sense)! Check it out:

Be sure to PIN this Blueberry Spinach Salad for potlucks, parties, and picnics coming up. It's also a fabulously healthy way to simply celebrate the season. It's one of those salads you'll find yourself making all summer long!

Café Tips for making this Fresh Corn Blueberry Spinach Salad

• As mentioned above, most of this salad can be made in advance. The dressing, almonds and pickled red onions can be made several days ahead, making it super easy to throw this salad together quickly at the last minute.
• Feel free to substitute thinly sliced red onion for the pickled red onion.
•  Because this salad is so colorful and pretty, it looks best served on a simple white platter or bowl.
• This Blueberry Spinach Salad is perfect to serve with any grilled entree. We love it with chicken, steak, pork chops, ribs...
• If you can't find pretty baby spinach, arugula, watercress, butter lettuce or spring mix would also be delicious. Look for whatever is prettiest and freshest at the market.
• You won't need to use full recipes of the pickled red onions, sweet and spicy almonds or the poppy seed dressing for this salad. However, all of them are super versatile and can be used in lots of other ways. See the individual posts for each one for ideas on how to use them.
• I love to serve this salad with something yummy from the grill and a loaf of warm, crusty Ridiculously Easy Focaccia Bread. The perfect summer meal! If you haven't tried this delicious focaccia bread, put it on your list! This is the comment I received recently about it:

"This recipe is so good and so easy! More often than not, online recipes just don't come out looking like the picture on the recipe. This one did and it was delicious. The crust was crisp and the bread was chewy. This recipe is a definite keeper."

Thought for the day:

But now, this is what the Lord says-
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
Isaiah 43:1-2

What we're listening to for inspiration:

I Will Carry You

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SUBMIT

Fresh Corn Blueberry Spinach Salad

Chris Scheuer

Quintessentially summer, this Blueberry Spinach Salad with tender corn, pickled red onions and sweet/spicy almonds is fresh, delicious and goes so well with grilled entrees!

5 from 7 votes

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

Calories 78

PRINT PIN COMMENTS

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Ingredients

  

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• 4 ears corn, with husks on
• 8 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ⅓ cup Pickled Red Onions, or thinly sliced red onion
• ⅓ cup Sweet and Spicy Roasted Almonds
• Honey-Cider Poppy Seed Dressing

Instructions

 

1. For the corn:
2. Place corn, two ears at a time, in the microwave and cook for 4-6 minutes. Every microwave is a little different so check one ear after 4 minutes. If it needs a bit more time put it back in for another minute or two. Once you know how long your microwave takes, you can use this timing every time you cook corn.
3. Remove from microwave with a hot pad and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. After cooling, cut the bottom end of corn off, about 1 ½ inches from the ​end. Pull back husk and silks from the top (almost all of the silk should easily pull away). Slice kernels from husks and set them aside to cool. (See the video above in the post to see a demonstration of this technique.)
5. For the salad:
6. Combine spinach, blueberries, corn and red onions in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Drizzle with 3-4 tablespoons of the poppy seed dressing and toss together.
8. Top salad with almonds. Serve extra dressing at the table.

Notes

See Café Tips above for more detailed instructions and tips.

Nutritional Information does not include onions, almonds and dressing. See those individual posts for that info.

Nutrition

Calories: 78kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 41mgPotassium: 417mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 3875IUVitamin C: 18.4mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1.5mg

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Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

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