This Classic Cornbread Salad is the perfect Southern Summer food! It’s the ideal meal prep potluck dish to impress family and friends.
While looking out at a big, productive garden is satisfying, being able to use that garden to serve others is the ultimate goal! This Cornbread Salad does exactly that.
I combined tomatoes, peppers, and corn from the garden with a delicious Cheesy Cornbread, beans, and tender bacon. It’s Summer on a fork, topped with ranch dressing!
While the taste and texture of this dish is what will have you making it time and time again, the benefits don’t stop there. This is a gluten-free dish that is super easy to prepare ahead of time, leaving you less to worry about leading up to your next holiday or event!
Not only is this good on its second day–It’s AMAZING. My family has all agreed, it’s even better after the salad has been able to sit and soak up all the flavors in the dish.
On top of that, it’s not a dish that you have to keep warm or frozen, meaning it’s easier to transport and serve! Seriously, this is the perfect potluck recipe!
Ingredients for Classic Cornbread Salad
- Cornbread: you can use your favorite recipe, but I use one batch of this amazing Cheesy Cornbread
- Canned Corn: drained and rinsed
- Canned Pinto Beans: drained and rinsed
- Vegetables: bell pepper, green onion, tomatoes
- Shredded Cheese: I use cheddar, but another variety will also work
- Bacon: cooked until crisp and chopped
- Ranch Dressing: homemade or store bought
How do you make Cornbread Salad?
This recipe is a cinch to make. Just make sure you prep your ingredients, such as cooking and cooling the cornbread, chopping the vegetables and draining and rinsing the corn and beans. Once you’ve done that this recipe comes together in a matter of minutes!
- Simply layer the ingredients, crumbled cornbread, beans, corn, chopped vegetables, ranch dressing, shredded cheese and bacon.
- Repeat the layers until all the ingredients have been used. Be sure to salt and pepper the dish to taste for the best flavor.
- Cover and chill the salad at least 2 hours before serving.
Tips for the Best Potluck Salad
- Use fresh, quality ingredients for the best flavor.
- Cool and cool the cornbread completely before assembling. If you make the salad while the cornbread is even slightly warm it will result in a soggy dish.
- Be sure to add salt and pepper as you layer.
- Don’t forget to chill! This dish needs to chill at least 2 hours, but I prefer to make it 24 hours in advance to really give the flavors time to meld.
Other Potluck Side Dish Recipes
- Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese – Can be made up to 2 days ahead of time
- Cucumber Salad – No cooking or heating required & great for a picnic!
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – Cooks quickly and serves a ton!
- Sweet Corn Salad – Easy to meal prep and tastes AMAZING on the second day!
- Grilled Pineapple Salsa – Super fresh tasting & easy to double or triple for a crowd!
Classic Cornbread Salad
Ingredients
- 1 batch Cheesy Cornbread
- 2 15-ounce cans Pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can corn drained and rinsed
- 2 cups tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup green onions chopped
- 1 cup cooked bacon chopped (about 12 slices)
- 2 cups ranch dressing store bought or homemade
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.
Instructions
- Crumble your cooked cornbread, then set aside.
- In a 3 quart glass bowl (or 2 smaller bowls if you want to divide this into two salad) layer the cornbread, beans, corn, chopped vegetables, ranch dressing, shredded cheese and bacon.
- Repeat the layers until all the ingredients have been used. Be sure to salt and pepper the dish to taste for the best flavor.
- Cover and chill the salad at least 2 hours before serving.