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This Easy Summer Salad is my love letter to the colorful abundance of summer. Made with peppery arugula, fresh and juicy tomatoes, strawberries, and cucumber, and sweet crunchy corn this hearty entree salad tastes like summer.
For more fresh salad recipes to enjoy this season, check out my Mango Avocado Salad, Vegan Pasta Salad, Edamame Salad, and Creamy Cucumber Avocado Salad.
Quick Look: Summer Salad with Arugula & Corn
- 🔪 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 0 minutes
- 🍽 Total Time: 15 minutes
- 👨👩👧👧 Servings: 4
- 🌱 Calories: 397
- 🫘 Protein: 11g
- 🍠 Dietary breakdown: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.
- 😋 Flavor Profile: Crisp, fresh, sweet — substantial but light, like your favorite summer produce together in a bowl you can serve alongside almost anything.
- ✅ Difficulty: Super simple — just chop, shake, combine, and toss!
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Why You’ll Love Summer Salad
- A Summer Stunner: Crisp lettuce, juicy berries, crunchy cucumber, sweet corn, and hearty black beans, all in one bowl.
- Naturally Vegan & Gluten-Free: Wholesome, plant-based, and made for sharing — no one will miss a thing.
- Endlessly Versatile: Stick with the produce below or swap in your favorites or whatever’s ripe and in season.
- Quick & Easy: Just chop, shake, and toss — leaving plenty of time to get out of the kitchen and enjoy the sunshine.
At the height of summer, this fresh and hydrating salad is all I want to eat. It’s crisp, sweet, and bright — the kind of thing I want to eat straight from the bowl — and it goes with almost anything (from Vegan Chicken Nuggets to Black Bean Burgers). It’s an easy recipe I find myself craving constantly, and — conveniently — it uses up the seasonal odds and ends in my fridge before they go bad.
Grab your fresh veggies and let’s get chopping.
For more lettuce-based salads, check out my Vegan Caesar Salad and Vegan Nicoise Salad.
Key Ingredients
Corn: Fresh seasonal corn shines in this summery salad. Buy it pre-shucked or shuck it yourself, then slice the kernels from the cob. Keep it raw for a sweet crunch.
Black Beans: Use 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed) or convenience, or cook black beans from scratch for better texture and a more budget-friendly salad.
Persian Cucumber: These small cucumbers are sweet and lower in moisture, so they stay crunchy without turning the salad watery. They have thin skin and very little seeds, so no need to peel or seed them. Look for them at most well-stocked grocery stores.
Avocado: For that creamy element, choose a ripe avocado — if it gives slightly when pressed, it’s good to go.
Basil: Adds sweet, herbal notes that turn up the summer vibes. Baby dill, flat-leaf parsley, or cilantro work well too.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed is always best, but bottled works in a pinch.
Olive Oil: Use a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor. Avocado oil is a good swap for a milder dressing.
Maple Syrup: Delicately sweetens the lemon vinaigrette and softens its tartness. If needed, substitute agave syrup.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Recipe Variations for Summer Salad
The sky’s the limit when it comes to adding your own twist. A few of my favorite riffs:
- Add More Crunch: Top the finished salad with toasted pumpkin seeds for added crunch and nutty flavor. For a saltier finish top with chopped tamari almonds.
- Greens: Swap in romaine, butter lettuce, Little Gem, green leaf lettuce, massaged curly kale, or lacinato kale.
- Tomatoes: Use your favorite variety. I’ve been using a variety of cherry tomatoes we’re growing in the garden. Fresh beefsteak, heirloom, or slicing tomatoes work too. For a milder flavor, reach for yellow tomatoes.
- Corn: No fresh corn? Substitute frozen (defrosted and steamed) or canned (drained).
- Berries: Fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries all make great stand-ins for the strawberries.
- Fruit: Add more sweetness with sliced peaches, halved grapes, or pitted, chopped cherries.
- Cucumbers: English cucumbers aren’t as sweet as Persian, but they’re still delicious. For a different twist, try chopped snap peas or blanched green beans.
How to Make Summer Salad
- Assemble. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine vinaigrette ingredients. Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a glass jar with a lid. Tighten on the lid and shake until smooth.
- Dress and toss. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, toss to coat, and serve immediately.
Jenné’s Recipe Tips
- Make the dressing ahead. The lemon vinaigrette keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge. I often keep a batch on hand all summer so the salad’s ready to dress at a moment’s notice.
- Season to taste before serving. Give the dressed salad a taste and add a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon if it needs brightening — the beans and corn especially soak up seasoning.
- Storage directions. The salad is best enjoyed fresh to keep the greens from wilting. If you anticipate having leftovers, dress only the portion you plan on eating and store the leftovers separately. Dress the salad before enjoying.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this chopped summer salad as-is for a light, refreshing lunch, or turn it into a full meal with any of these toppings:
- Beans: Crispy Chickpeas or roasted edamame
- Toasted Seeds: hemp, chia, sunflower, or pumpkin
- Nuts: roasted pecans, pistachios, macadamia, or slivered almonds
- BBQ Tofu
- BBQ Tempeh
It’s also delicious served as a side salad alongside Zucchini Burgers, Tofu Tacos, Lion’s Mane Steaks, Grilled Eggplant, or Vegan Carbonara.
And if you’re looking for even more, check out my Best Vegan Salad Recipes!
Summer Salad FAQs
You can prep the components up to a day ahead—chop the lettuce, cucumber, and herbs, cook the corn, rinse the beans, shake up the dressing, then store everything separately in the fridge. Wait to add the avocado, strawberries, and dressing until right before serving so nothing gets soggy or brown. When you’re ready to eat, just add everything to a large bowl, dress, and toss!
Right before serving. The lemon vinaigrette is bright and light, but the lettuce will wilt if it sits in dressing for long. If you’re bringing this to a potluck or packing it for lunch, keep the dressing in a separate jar and toss just before enjoying.
Sauteed or grilled corn gives this summer salad a deeper earthier taste. Grill the corn yourself or use fire roasted frozen corn (available at most well stocked grocery stores). Just steam frozen corn for 5 minutes. And regardless of how you’re cooking the corn, allow it to cool completely before adding to the salad to prevent the arugula from wilting.
Absolutely. The salad is hearty on its own thanks to the corn and black beans, so it holds up fine without avocado. If you still want that creamy element, a drizzle of basil avocado dressing or a sprinkle of vegan feta does the trick.
Both! It’s substantial enough to be a light main on its own — the black beans and corn make it filling — but it’s also a great side alongside grilled mains at a cookout. To turn it into a heartier meal, add a plant-based protein like a scoop of Instant Pot quinoa or Air Fryer Tofu.
More Easy Salad Recipes
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Vegan Caesar Salad
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Mango Avocado Salad
Salads & Bowls
Zesty Black Bean and Corn Salad
Salads & Bowls
Amazing Edamame Salad
If you tried this Summer Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
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Easy Summer Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups baby arugula, packed, or other lettuce greens like romaine
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels, from 3–4 ears
- 1½ cups cooked black beans, from one 14-ounce can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ripe cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 cup ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 small Persian cucumbers, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil, packed, or other fresh herbs
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, from about 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a glass jar with a lid, tighten the lid, and shake vigorously until emulsified (or whisk together in a small bowl until smooth).
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, toss to coat, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make the dressing ahead. The lemon vinaigrette keeps up to 2 weeks in the fridge. I often keep a batch on hand all summer so the salad’s ready to dress at a moment’s notice.
- Season to taste before serving. Give the dressed salad a taste and add a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon if it needs brightening — the beans and corn especially soak up seasoning.
- Storage directions. The salad is best enjoyed fresh to keep the greens from wilting. If you anticipate having leftovers, dress only the portion you plan on eating and store the leftovers separately. Dress the salad before enjoying.
This is a bomb ass salad, even with substitutions. I’ve never been a salad person, but this had everything and more, and I can feel so good about how healthy it is, too!
I should’ve specified. I’ve just started with the first one. I substituted white beans for the ones you had because that’s what I had, didn’t have tomato, chives instead of basil because that’s what I had, added some carrots because why not, didn’t have Dijon so I use 50% Vegan mayonnaise and normal mustard. Still bomb ass and look forward to eating more of it.