Easy Jiffy Layered Cornbread Salad without Beans
This layered cornbread salad recipe without beans will be your new go-to potluck dish. It is a vibrant, balanced, textured salad sure to join all your family favorites. Make it easy by using leftover cornbread or boxed Jiffy mix.
Ingredients
Cornbread
- 1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup of milk (whole or 2%)
Ranch Dressing Dip
- 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dip
- 16 ounces of sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
- ¼ cup of buttermilk
Salad
- 6 slices of uncooked bacon
- 1 batch of cornbread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ head of green leaf lettuce. chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 (15 ounce) can of sweet corn
- 1½ cups of cheddar cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
Cornbread
- Bake the cornbread and bacon in the oven at the same time. See the instructions for the bacon below. (See Note 1.)
- PREHEAT the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease an 8 X 8-inch baking pan.
- STIR the corn muffin mix, egg, and milk together in a large bowl until combined. A few lumps are fine.
- POUR the batter into the greased pan. Spread it in an even layer. Transfer it to the oven's middle rack.
- BAKE for 15 to 20 minutes. The cornbread is done when it is nicely browned, and a tester comes out clean when inserted in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven off.
- COOL the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then place the wire rack on top of the pan. Invert the pan so the cornbread comes out onto the wire rack. Cool for 30 minutes to an hour. (Cooling outside of the pan speeds the cooling time.)
- CUT the cornbread into cubes and set aside. (See Note 2.)
Bacon
- To save time, cook the bacon in the oven at the same time the cornbread bakes.
- PREHEAT the oven to 400°F (200°C) if you are baking it separately from the cornbread.
- LINE a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Fold the foil up over the sides so the bacon grease does not leak onto the pan.
- LAY the bacon strips onto the foil without overlapping. Touching is fine because the bacon will shrink. Transfer it to the oven. Bake it on the bottom rack if you are baking it with the cornbread. Otherwise, keep it on the middle rack.
- BAKE in the oven for 17 to 23 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it.
- TRANSFER it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess bacon fat.
- ROUGHLY CHOP the bacon when it is cooled.
Ranch Dressing Dip
- STIR the ranch dip packet into the sour cream. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined.
Salad Prep
- OPEN the can of corn and drain it in a wire mesh colander until you are ready to put the salad together. Make sure it is well drained or it may make the salad soggy.
- WASH the lettuce, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and green onions.
- CUT the lettuce into ribbons (or chop it). Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and dice it. Thinly slice the green onions.
- GRATE the cheese.
Salad Assembly
- LAYER the salad in a large glass or trifle bowl. Depending on the size of the bowl you may have room to repeat the layers. Layer in this order, starting on the bottom of the dish. Cornbread cubes, lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, corn, cheese, ranch dip, green onions, and bacon.
- COVER the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the salad for 2 to 3 hours.
- SERVE with extra ranch dressing on the side.
Notes
- Baking the cornbread and bacon in the oven at the same time saves time and energy. However, each may take about 5 minutes longer to cook when cooked together.
- You can make the cornbread a day in advance or use leftover cornbread. Store it in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out too much.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 7gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 198mgPotassium: 254mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2200IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 167mgIron: 0.5mg
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