7/23/18

Confetti Cornbread Salad

A kaleidoscope of fresh vegetables, crisp bacon, creamy beans and cheese with a sour cream ranch dressing tossed with crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad.

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I felt like cooking this weekend. Like, really cooking. I don’t know if it’s because of everything I’ve had going on lately or because of all the fresh local produce in abundance this time of year or what, but the urge to camp out in my kitchen and cook myself blind struck me like a bolt of lightning this weekend.

Or maybe my body was trying to tell me something. Have you ever noticed that oftentimes the food you crave can be tied to something your body might be needing?

I tend to crave beef when my body needs iron, oranges and grapefruit when I’ve got a bit of a cold coming on, vegetables when I’m worn down, etc.

Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

I’ve had about the worst two months a person could have. It started when our beloved 15-year old golden retriever passed away and went downhill from there.

I won't trouble you with the rest of (Lord knows, we all have our struggles) but I will tell you we have been through the wringer and the stress and fatigue is surely what prompted me to want to cook up a mess of vegetables this weekend.

My body needed the nutrients and my heart needed mending and my kitchen is the place where I can take care of both.

Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

In addition to the absolutely ridiculous amounts of vegetables I cooked this weekend (including these Baby Lima Beans), I also made this Cornbread Confetti Salad which is chocked full of vegetables.

This is my version of a recipe I found flipping through one of my old community cookbooks eons ago. This is one of my favorite things to take to a covered-dish or potluck because you can bet there won’t be another dish there like it!

The crunchy veggies, creamy cheese, smoky bacon and rustic cornbread make for the perfect storm in this unique side dish. It makes a ton so it's great for entertaining!

Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

INGREDIENTS FOR CONFETTI CORNBREAD SALAD

Here's what I put in mine, but you can certainly change things up if you want. I try to pick veggies of all colors of the rainbow (though I've yet to come up with anything blue!) with a lot of variety in texture:

  • Tomatoes
  • Orange bell peppers
  • Corn
  • Jalapenos (seeded)
  • Black Beans
  • Red Onion
  • Pinto Beans
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Bacon
  • Cornbread
Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

When I want to be fancy, I layer the ingredients in a glass dish (veggies, cheese, bacon and dressing layered on the bottom then top everything with the crumbled cornbread) much like a 7-Layer Salad or traditional Cornbread Salad. But when it's just us, I mix it all together.

I've always loved cornbread in salads. You might think this is weird but when I order a big salad anywhere that serves cornbread, I always crumble the cornbread up in my salad! The little meat-and-three restaurant I introduced y'all to with my Baby Lima Beans recipe post has a chef salad with ham and fried chicken and I always get it with ranch dressing then crumble a few of their cornbread muffins over the top!

Ain't nothing healthy about it but I sure do love it! The cornbread kinda soaks up the dressing and just takes the entire salad to a whole other level of deliciousness!

Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

The original recipe has double the corn and pinto beans and only one packet of ranch dressing mix but I always found it too dry and a bit bland. Feel free to use whichever vegetables you like just try to keep them all diced about the same size so that everything looks, well, like confetti!

You could easily double this with a big pan of cornbread and double everything else but this recipe makes a HUGE batch so unless you're feeding an army, I can't imagine ever needing to double the recipe.

Confetti Cornbread Salad! A kaleidoscope of crisp bacon and diced fresh vegetables, creamy beans and shredded cheese tossed with sour cream dressing and crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad perfect for potlucks, picnics and Sunday dinner.

This is an AWESOME side dish for Thanksgiving! Here are some more of my favorites for Turkey Day (or a good Sunday dinner!)

Recipe for Confetti Cornbread Salad

Confetti Cornbread Salad

Confetti Cornbread Salad
Yield: 15 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A kaleidoscope of fresh vegetables, crisp bacon, creamy beans and cheese with a sour cream ranch dressing tossed with crumbled cornbread in a bright, beautiful, fun salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 small pan of cornbread
  • 1 16-oz carton sour cream
  • 2 packs dry ranch dressing mix
  • 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can corn, drained
  • 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
  • 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 1 8-oz block cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Prepare cornbread then allow to cool completely (this can be done the night before). Crumble cornbread then add to an oversized mixing bowl.
  2. Combine sour cream and ranch dressing mixes in a separate bowl then stir to combine.
  3. See notes below about layering the salad if desired or proceed with mixed version:
  4. Add sour cream ranch mixture, cooked bacon and remaining ingredients to the cornbread then gently fold until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  5. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

  • I use Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix baked in a 9x9 pan or 9”-round cake pan but you can use any package or recipe so long as it makes a “half-pan” batch (not a full 13x9 sized pan).
  • Cook cornbread a little longer than usual until the edges are dark golden brown (you want the cornbread to be a bit on the dry side).
  • I use the pan drippings from cooking the bacon to grease my cornbread pan.
  • The jalapenos do not make the salad spicy (so long as they’re seeded). I use them for a bit of green in the salad.
  • I’ve found that green bell peppers can overpower the flavors of the other ingredients.
  • LAYERED VERSION: Layer the ingredients in a glass dish or trifle bowl starting from the bottom: veggies, cheese, bacon, dressing, crumbled cornbread.
cornbread, corn bread, bacon, cheese, salad, 7-layer, layered, seven, southwest, mexican, pinto beans, corn, peppers, side dish, potluck, best, how to, ranch, sour cream, jiffy
side dish, vegetables, salad
amerian
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7 comments:

  1. Been out of my house for 3 months due to water damage -- just getting ready to go home to a virtually new house and a completely new kitchen. Must be feeling better because I'm looking at recipes again but I intend to try your cornbread confetti salad with multicolored fruit (I'll even have something blue --blueberries) -- Looking forward to trying it!

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  2. So sorry you've had a rough time.

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  3. Kinda been there myself and I know exactly what you mean about the kitchen being a safe place. The last couple of months I've been cooking from the past, remembered recipes from Mom, mother in law, grandmother, housekeepers etc. turned our dinners into a retro canvas, but somehow it was just what I needed. If Confetti Cornbread is what helps you through - more power to you for finding the way.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like your kitchen has been filled with love over the last couple months :)

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  4. Yummy, this looks so delicious! Great side salad dish!

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    Replies
    1. Can this be made the day before serving it?

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  5. I always make it the day before. Thanks Mandy for this recipe absolutely love it!!

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy