Corn and Beet Salad

This simple recipe for corn and beet salad with ricotta pairs two favorite summer vegetables with a bed of creamy ricotta for a perfect summer side dish. A great accompaniment to grilled chicken, fish or steak, or all on its own as a light lunch!

why we love this recipe

This super simple beet salad recipe takes sweet beets and corn and sprinkles them over a bed a creamy ricotta. That along with a shower of fresh herbs and a drizzle of olive oil makes this a perfect swanky summer side dish…or your new favorite lunch!

And even better, if you start out with already cooked beets (more on that in a second) it will take you all of ten minutes to throw together.

And can I just say this salad wins ALL the prizes for Most Beautiful Salad Ever? It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

ingredients you need

ingredient notes and substitutions

• Beets: You can cook them up yourself, or you can buy them pre-cooked and ready to roll at your supermarket – more on that below!
• Corn: Fresh corn is definitely the way to go with this recipe. We like it raw right off the cob, but you can dunk it in simmering water for a few minutes if you want yours cooked.
• Thyme: You can find fresh thyme in the produce section of your supermarket. You can also use fresh chopped basil, oregano or even mint!
• Ricotta Cheese: Get the fancy kind from the cheese section of your supermarket – or even better, take an extra ten minutes and make your own ricotta! It’s so easy and so good.

how to cook beets

There are a couple of approaches to getting some delectable cooked beets for this recipe.

The first way is to grab yourself a bunch of beets at your local farmer’s market or grocery store.

Once you have scored your beets, wash them up, cut off the stems and leaves, and if they are particularly large, cut them into halves or quarters. Then you have two options.

You can boil them by popping them in a pot, covering them with water, bringing the water to a boil, then turning the heat down and simmering them for 30-45 minutes, or until the beets are fork-tender.

Or, you can do what my mama does and roast them. Put them on a sheet of heavy duty foil, drizzle them with olive oil, wrap them up and put them on a rimmed baking pan and roast them at 400 degrees for about an hour.

As for peeling the beets, you can, or you don’t have to. Once they are cooked, the skins will slide right off.

HOWEVER. If you want to start out with already cooked beets (raises hand!) you can also usually find them in your supermarket.

I’ve never tried the ones in the can (leave a comment below if you have and tell us how they are) but I do love these cooked beets in the package from Love Beets, which I buy on the regular in the produce section of my supermarket.

This concludes our beet lesson of the day!

how to make this recipe

STEP 1: Once you have your beets, cut them up into little squares.  Next, cut the kernels off of a couple of ears of fresh corn.  Personally we like our corn kernels right off the cob when it is in season, but if you like your corn best cooked then just dunk the kernels in a little simmering water for about a minute and then drain them.

STEP 2: Now!  Spread some creamy, dreamy ricotta over the bottom of a serving dish (or you can do this on individual plates).  Get the best ricotta you can find – more and more you can find fabulous fresh ricotta wherever they keep the fancy cheese in your supermarket.

STEP 3: Drizzle on a little olive oil, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper and scatter a little fresh thyme on top.  And that’s it!

recipe FAQ

want to round out your meal?

I could eat this salad all by itself and be totally happy, but it also makes a great side dish next to grilled buttermilk steak or rosemary chicken.

And for dessert, let’s have banana cream pie!

other summery salad recipes we love

Looking for more salad inspiration? Here is our complete collection of salad recipes!

could you leave us some stars?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section. Your thoughts and advice will help both us and your fellow readers. 🥰

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Corn and Beet Salad with Ricotta

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This simple recipe for corn and beet salad with ricotta pairs two favorite summer vegetables with a bed of creamy ricotta for a perfect summer side dish.

• Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Category: Salad
• Method: No Cooking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 ears sweet corn
• 4 beets, cooked, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
• Fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

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Instructions

1. Cut kernels from corn.  We like them raw, but if you want them cooked, dunk them for a few minutes in simmering water and drain well.
2. Spread ricotta over the bottom of a serving dish, or divide among individual dishes.  Scatter corn and beets on top.
3. Drizzle salad with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and scatter fresh thyme on top.  Serve at once.

Notes

• • Beets: You can cook them up yourself, or you can buy them pre-cooked and ready to roll at your supermarket – more on that in the post above!

• • Corn: Fresh corn is definitely the way to go with this recipe. We like it raw right off the cob, but you can dunk it in simmering water for a few minutes if you want yours cooked.

• • Thyme: You can find fresh thyme in the produce section of your supermarket. You can also use fresh chopped basil, oregano or even mint!

• • Ricotta Cheese: Get the fancy kind from the cheese section of your supermarket – or even better, take an extra ten minutes and make your own ricotta! It’s so easy and so good.