Cornbread Salad

This is my take on cornbread salad. I will disclose now that I don’t like beans and so I left them out. However, I added baby romaine lettuce to make this a real salad, versus just corn bread with some veggies layered in. My version also sears the corn kernels before adding them to the salad. I also did make bacon, but served it on the side so that the corn bread salad is by default vegetarian and can feed everyone, and people can add the meat if they would like. You can add or omit ingredients according to your preference so this salad is very flexible. With the colors of the lettuce, corn, tomatoes, pepper, and cheese it also just looked so pretty!

Ingredients:

• 8-14 ounces of Corn Bread mix plus any ingredients to make it – you will need to already have prepared this and let it cool, or purchase already made cornbread. If you use the larger amount, use your judgement on whether you use all the corn bread or not in the salad depending on how much you want the ratio to corn bread and salad.
• 10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
• 15 ounces of corn kernels
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 4 small green onions
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 package of grape tomatoes (you can also use other tomatoes – you want the equivalent of two large beefsteak almost)
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 ounces of baby romaine lettuce
• 2 cups of chopped pecans (optional)
• 1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 – 1.5 cups of your favorite Ranch Dressing

Directions:

1. Prepare the cornbread per package directions or purchase already made cornbread. If you are making it, set it aside to cool.
2. If you are using the bacon, cook the bacon as you like (I like to cook it in the oven) until crispy. Let cool so you can crumble it.
3. Heat a pan on high with 1 tablespoon of butter. Once it is melted, add the 15 ounces of corn kernels and spread so it is a single layer and all coated with butter. Do not mix again until one side of the corn kernels is slightly browned – stir so the browning is even and then set aside to cool.
4. Chop the 8 small green onions, the 1 orange bell pepper, and if using grape tomatoes cut in half the grape tomatoes otherwise chop the other kind of tomatoes you chose to use. I personally like grape tomatoes because it still has a nice firmness when halved vs other tomatoes.
5. In a large bowl, mix the seared corn, chopped green onions, orange bell pepper, tomatoes, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and mix this with the 10 ounces of baby romaine. You can also include the bacon in now, or what I did is serve the crumbled bacon on the side for those who wanted it so the cornbread salad is by default vegetarian.
6. Serving options:
   • If you want to present this in a layer, first put in some of the dressing, put in half of the corn + veggies and romaine mixture in your glass bowl. Next, crumble in half of the cornbread. Drizzle more dressing. Add the rest of the corn and romaine, and top with the crumbled cornbread you have remaining. Spread the rest of the dressing on top.
     
   • Or if you  prefer having more time for the flavors to all blend, mix everything all up in no layers – corn and romaine, cornbread, and dressing – and let chill in the fridge for a couple hours while prepping other dishes for the meal.
7. As an option, during the blending step you can also add pinto beans that have been rinsed and drained, but I don’t like beans so I didn’t use them. Also optionally, you can toast 2 cups of pecans on a pan until fragrant and add it into the salad for crunch.

Since you will know your cornbread best, you should use your judgement on how much to use ratio-wise with the salad – some cornbread is denser, some sweeter, etc. If your cornbread is very soft, you could consider toasting it after cutting it into smaller squares almost like toasting croutons.

Now don’t get me wrong – I still served creamed corn at my Thanksgiving because I’ve always remembered corn niblets of some sort at my Thanksgiving growing up – but I wanted to have another version of corn as it so represents harvest and liked having a “healthier” version via this salad.

Have you ever had cornbread salad or heard of it before? What’s your favorite kind of salad during late autumn/winter?