Food and Recipes Dish Salad Southern Cornbread Salad Is The Perfect Potluck Star 3.3 (3) 3 Reviews Show off at the family gathering with this incredible layered side dish. By Karen Rankin Published on March 30, 2023 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Active Time: 45 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins Servings: 12 Salads in the South are a bit confusing. We know that—and this Cornbread Salad won't help define the term. While most people think of salads as a bed of lettuce topped with chopped vegetables, maybe a bit of meat or cheese, and a dressing, we Southerners call a lot of things "salad" that bare little resemblance to that definition. Take as evidence Watergate Salad and Strawberry-Pretzel Jello Salad. Now add to it Cornbread Salad, a layered dish of cornbread, vegetables, dressing, bacon, and not a single piece of lettuce. What's in Cornbread Salad? Cornbread salads have as much personality as the local garden club. Each person's is different, and that's the way we like it. Ours uses homemade cornbread; bacon; a dressed-up ranch dressing with fresh herbs, mayonnaise, and buttermilk; black-eyed peas, cherry tomatoes; corn kernels, orange bell pepper, and red onion. Time-Saving Tip You'll need 4 1/2 cups of crumbled cornbread for this recipe. Our recipe below makes the perfect amount, but feel free to substitute your favorite cornbread mix or pre-made cornbread if you're in a hurry. Just make sure you have enough, or your cornbread salad will be a little short on the star ingredient. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox How To Make Cornbread Salad There are quite a few steps to this cornbread salad, but really, it's straightforward once you have all the elements. Start by making cornbread. We include a recipe here that makes the perfect amount, but you can make your own. Just make sure you have 4 1/2 cups of crumbled cornbread.Cook the bacon while the cornbread cools, and crumble.Give bottled ranch dressing a little more life with fresh herbs, buttermilk, and mayonnaise.Make the black-eyed pea mixture, and make the corn-and-tomato mixture. Both are dressed up with herbs and some seasonings.Finally, build your cornbread salad. We suggest an order, but the beautiful part about this layered salad is that the layers... don't really matter. Follow our suggestions, or do your own thing. The end result will still be incredible. What To Serve With Cornbread Salad This Southern cornbread salad is the perfect dish for potlucks, neighborhood picnics, family reunions, even holiday tables. It's also a great way to use up leftover cornbread, and it gets better after it sits for a day, when everything has a chance to meld just a bit. As for the rest of the plate, this is the perfect side dish for some classic recipes, such as: Slow-Cooker Ham Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts Light-And-Crispy Pan-Fried Catfish Ingredients Cornbread 1/4 cup unsalted butter 3 cups (about 14.4 oz.) self-rising buttermilk cornmeal mix 1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk 2 large leggs Salad 6 thick-cut bacon slices (such as Wright’s), cut crosswise into 1 1/2-in. pieces 1 (20-oz.) bottle refrigerated ranch dressing (such as Lighthouse) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup whole buttermilk 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, dill, chives), divided 4 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, divided 2 (15 1/2-oz.) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. kosher salt 2 1/2 cups halved multicolored cherry tomatoes, divided 2 cups fresh corn kernels (3 ears), divided 1 large (8 oz.) orange bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup) 1 cup finely chopped red onion (from 1 medium [8 oz.] onion) Directions Heat cast-iron skillet: Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in oven; preheat oven to 425℉. Once oven is preheated, remove skillet from oven. Add butter, and place skillet in oven. Heat in oven until butter is melted, about 3 minutes. Prepare the Cornbread: While butter melts, whisk together cornmeal mix, buttermilk, and eggs in a medium bowl until combined. Carefully remove skillet from oven; pour melted butter from skillet into batter, stirring quickly. Immediately pour batter into hot skillet. Bake the Cornbread: Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; turn cornbread out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Crumble cornbread. Prepare the Salad: While cornbread cools, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; set aside. Make ranch dressing mixture: Whisk together ranch dressing, mayonnaise, buttermilk, 1/2 cup of the herbs, and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Make black-eyed pea mixture: Toss together black-eyed peas, olive oil, salt, 1 3/4 cups of the tomatoes, 1/4 cup of the herbs, and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside. Make corn and tomato mixture: Toss together remaining 3/4 cup tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the corn kernels, and remaining 1/4 cup herbs in a small bowl; set aside. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Start layering the salad: Spread about 2/3 cup of the ranch dressing mixture in bottom of a 12-cup trifle dish or large straight-sided glass bowl. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Layer over ranch dressing mixture about 1 cup of the crumbled cornbread, about 1 cup of the crumbled cornbread, and about 2/3 cup of the ranch dressing mixture, lightly pressing down on layers to compact in trifle dish. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Finish salad layers: Continue layering over ranch dressing mixture half of the black-eyed pea mixture, about 1 cup of the crumbled cornbread, about 2/3 cup of the ranch dressing mixture, remaining 1 1/2 cups corn kernels, bell pepper, and half of the red onion. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Layer over corn kernels about 1 cup of the crumbled cornbread, about 2/3 cup of the ranch dressing, and remaining half of the black-eyed pea mixture. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Layer over black-eyed pea mixture remaining cornbread, remaining ranch dressing, and remaining red onion. Arrange cooked bacon around edges of dish, and arrange reserved corn and tomato mixture in center of dish. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 1 day before serving. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Rate it Print