Use an easy technique to roast frozen corn and make it into a roasted corn salsa that is as good with chips & vegetables as it is on salads & tacos. Head to the Quick Healthy Recipes page for more ideas!
So, I have a small confession. When I think of appetizer dips, I usually picture gooey cheese-filled bowls or some other type of creamy goodness. And there's nothing wrong with that - on occasion. I do like there to be a balance, though, if I'm offering a couple of appetizers and so often it's a jar of homemade salsa. Again, nothing wrong with that, but it just gets sort of routine, you know?
Which is why when I was planning what type of appetizers I'd share with you this month, I wanted to find something different - and that you could feel good about serving as that 'balance.' And does this recipe for roasted corn salsa deliver: bursting with flavor, full of vegetables, super easy, and, bonus - it uses corn from your freezer so you can make it at any time! I've also found that it works more than only as an appetizer, too, making a great topping for a variety of foods. More on that later - for now, let's get to the easy steps!
Gather your ingredients:
- a bag of frozen corn (I freeze corn three ways, and used blanched/cooked corn for this recipe)
- a couple mild peppers like anaheim or ancho (frozen, chopped hot peppers will work, too, the texture will just be a bit different)
- jalapeno peppers, depending on the level of spiciness you want
- tomatoes
- onion
- garlic
- lime
- cilantro or parsley (I'm not a big cilantro fan, so usually choose parsley - the benefit of diy cooking is tailoring to your tastes!)
- salt & pepper
The key to this recipe is the technique for roasting corn from frozen - it's a GREAT way to cook frozen corn in general that a reader turned me on to a few years ago. Not only is it easy, it brings a nice flavor to the corn, kinda like roasting does with most vegetables (check out how roasting revolutionized cabbage for me here).
While the corn is roasting, chop and add the remaining ingredients to a large bowl.
After letting the corn cool for about 5 minutes - we don't want to start cooking the fresh ingredients - add it to the bowl of chopped vegetables and mix it all together.
Done! In 15-20 minutes you'll have a refreshing, different salsa you can serve with chips, celery, or halved baby sweet peppers. Basically any vegetable that allows for scooping of the salsa works as well as chips if you'd like to emphasize vegetables over chips.
This recipe makes a huge batch, which you can halve of course, but our small household had NO problems finishing this in just a couple days.
We used it on salads, in this wonderful appetizer, in tacos and just as a snack. So yummy, really!
Quick & Easy Roasted Corn Salsa (using frozen corn)
Ingredients
- 12 to 16 ounces frozen corn kernels
- 5 tomatoes
- 1 to 2 mild hot peppers like anaheim or ancho*
- 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers depending on level of spiciness desired (omit for no spice)
- 1/2 large onion
- 1 lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Roast Corn: Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with silicone or parchment (corn will stick if pan isn't lined). Spread frozen corn on pan and roast 10 minutes.
- Stir and roast another 5-10 minutes until some of the kernels are starting to brown. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Make Salsa: While the corn is roasting, prepare vegetables: seed & chop tomatoes and peppers - add to a large bowl (if you want more spice, leave pepper seeds and add to salsa). Chop onion and add to bowl. Juice lime over vegetables and add remaining ingredients.
- When roasted corn has cooled 5 minutes, add to bowl and stir well.
- Serve immediately with chips or vegetables that can scoop like bell peppers or celery.
- Store leftovers in fridge.**
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