This easy Cornbread Salad has all of your favorite summertime flavors, like tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, and the star of the show, cornbread! Topped with a rich and creamy homemade ranch dressing, it’s a perfect potluck dish.
This salad includes my easy homemade cornbread recipe as one of the ingredients. It is seriously the BEST cornbread you will ever try!
What Is Cornbread Salad?
The first thing you think of when you hear “cornbread” probably isn’t salad. You’d probably think of grilling out or a big bowl of chili, or maybe a cool, fall day watching football with your favorite comfort foods being served up. But let me tell you, this cornbread salad is a game changer (and it doesn’t even have to be served on game day!).
Packed with colorful veggies, pinto beans, shredded cheddar cheese, and crumbly, sweet cornbread, it comes together beautifully with a creamy homemade ranch dressing to top it off. All these fresh and big flavors combine to make a decadent and rich salad that the word “salad” doesn’t do justice to.
It’s a big batch, and it doesn’t save all that well because the cornbread gets soggy overnight, so bring this to the next party you attend or just make a half batch for home. Either way, you’ll be sure to woo and impress!
How Do You Serve with Cornbread Salad?
I love layering up this salad in a glass bowl so you can see all the different colors and textures for presentation. It is so beautiful and fun! To serve, top with a drizzle of the ranch dressing with more in a small bowl on the side so people can add as much more as they’d like.
Can You Make Cornbread Salad Ahead of Time?
You can — to make it ahead of time, put all the veggies in a bowl, and keep the dressing, cornbread, and cheese separate so that nothing gets soggy or wilted. Add those three ingredients right before serving.
What is Cornbread Salad Made of?
Cornbread salad is hugely customizable, so you can really add any vegetables you like or have on hand, or use a different type of beans or cheese. (Black beans with blue cheese would be divine and rich!) For this version, I used romaine lettuce, corn, tomatoes, green onions, green bell pepper, pinto beans, shredded cheddar cheese, my famous cornbread, and a simple creamy ranch dressing using easy homemade seasoning. This is also a great dish to make when you have leftover cornbread you need to use up!
Cornbread Salad
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
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This easy Cornbread Salad recipe has all of your favorite summertime flavors, like tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, and the star of the show, cornbread! Topped with a rich and creamy homemade ranch dressing, it’s a perfect potluck dish.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of my famous cornbread, baked and cooled
- 6 cups shredded romaine lettuce, about 2 romaine hearts
- 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 4–6 green onions, chopped
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 large tomato, diced (or 3 roma tomatoes)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 can corn, drained (or 1.5 cups frozen corn, thawed)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 heaping tablespoon ranch dressing mix
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- When the cornbread is cool, remove it from the pan and cut into 1- to 1.5-inch cubes.
- Add the lettuce to a large bowl, and top with the cornbread, pinto beans, green onion, cheese, tomato, bell pepper, and corn.
- In another bowl, add the mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch mix. Stir to combine. Add enough milk to make a dressing that is pourable, but still on the thick side.
- When you are ready to serve, toss the salad well and drizzle with half the dressing. Serve right away with the other half of the dressing on the side so that people can add more as they like.
Notes
- This recipe is beautiful layered in a glass bowl or trifle! If I’m taking it to a party, I always layer it up because it’s so pretty.
- The cornbread falls apart and crumbles, but it’s so good! The texture and sweetness do something magical to this salad.
- This salad is super customizable — add what you have or like, and leave out what you don’t like or have. I love chopped jalapeno in it, and sometimes I’ll grill a few ears of corn instead of using frozen.
- Add some grilled chicken to make this a main dish salad.
- This recipe makes a lot of salad, and it’s not great leftover (the cornbread gets too soggy), so take it to a party or make a half batch.
- If you’d like to make this ahead of time, assemble the salad but leave the dressing and cornbread separate from everything else. Toss it all together right before serving.
- This is a great recipe to use with leftover cornbread.
- Category: Sides
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cornbread salad, easy cornbread salad, best cornbread salad, easy potluck dish, easy salad recipe
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For more yummy salad ideas, check out these recipes:
- Classic Tuna Pasta Salad
- Spinach Bacon Pasta Salad
- Deli-Style Broccoli Salad
- Easy Apple Spinach Salad with an Apple Vinaigrette
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad Recipe
- Midwestern Creamy Cucumber and Vinegar Salad
- Very Veggie Asian Pasta Salad
- Creamy Taco Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
About Melissa
I have a lot going on, and I’d much rather spend my time enjoying my messes than fretting about what I’m going to make for dinner. Over the past few years, I’ve nailed down a few strategies that helped me keep my kitchen running like a well-oiled machine, so I started Bless This Mess to help other mess-loving parents solve the nightly dinner delimma—no stress, no drama, just really great food your whole family will love. Read more...
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Your buttermilk cornbread recipe is amazing! I’m loving all your recipes and look forward to making some delicious meals.
Thank you!
I love that! Thank you!