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–+ servings
This cornbread salad has all of your favorite summertime flavors, like tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, and the star of the show, cornbread, and it's topped with a rich and creamy homemade ranch dressing! It's a perfect party dish.
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5 from 2 votes

Cornbread Salad

This easy Cornbread Salad has all of your favorite summertime flavors — 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.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 8
Author: Melissa Griffiths

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

Recipe Variations & Substitutions:
  • This salad is super customizable — add what you have or like, and leave out what you don't like or have. I love chopped jalapeño 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.
  • Try adding diced cucumbers, chopped bacon, black beans instead of pinto beans, or roasted corn for extra flavor. Red onion can replace green onions for a sharper bite.
  • You can use homemade ranch seasoning, Italian dressing mix, or even a simple combination of garlic powder, onion powder, and dried herbs for a custom flavor profile.
Best Fresh: This recipe makes a lot of salad, and it's not great leftover (the cornbread gets too soggy). Plan on taking it to a party or only make a half batch.
One Make-Ahead Tip: 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.
Let Cornbread Cool: Never rush this step! Warm cornbread will crumble too much and make your salad mushy. Cool cornbread cuts into clean cubes and maintains its structure when tossed with the other ingredients. This is actually a fabulous recipe to use up leftover cornbread!
Cornbread Pieces: Aim for 1 to 1.5-inch cubes for the best texture. Pieces that are too small will get lost in the salad, while overly large chunks can be difficult to eat and don't distribute evenly.
Dressing Consistency: Start with less milk in your ranch salad dressing and add more as needed. The dressing should be pourable but still thick enough to coat the ingredients without making the salad watery.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 8 cups | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 622mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 3718IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 220mg | Iron: 2mg

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