Once tomato season hits, I buy sungold tomatoes almost every week. They are my absolute favorite tomatoes, and are perfect for this fresh corn and sungold tomato salad. Sungold tomatoes have an incredibly thin skin and are very sweet inside. Paired with raw sweet corn and a tangy vinaigrette, it’s the perfect side dish for any BBQ!
What are Sungold Tomatoes?
Sungold tomatoes are a hybrid species of 2 tomatoes that were initially hybridized by a Japanese breeder. They are incredibly sweet, thin skinned, and delicious. The natural color of these sungolds is a golden orange color, ripened by the sun as like its name.
It may be easy to confuse sungold tomatoes with yellow or orange grape tomatoes. Yellow or orange grape tomatoes are longer and more oval like in appearance, have a thicker skin, and aren’t as sweet. Although these are also tasty, do not confuse the 2. Below, you can see from left to right – cherry tomatoes, sungold tomatoes, and grape tomatoes.
Private Chef tips & FAQ:
- Where can I find sungold tomatoes? If I cannot find these, can I substitute regular cherry or grape tomatoes?
- Sungold tomatoes are most commonly found at farmers markets and local produce shops.
- If you cannot find sungold tomatoes, you can also use cherry or grape tomatoes. If you’re able to try a tomato before you buy it, just get the one that is your favorite.
- What knife should I use to cut these sungolds?
- Because sungolds have a very thin skin, you want to be extra careful with them. I prefer to use a serrated knife, but any sharp knife will do. You can browse my knives in this post here.
- How long can I let this sit before serving? Can I make this in advance?
- You can prepare each of the individual components, especially the corn and the shallot vinaigrette, days before serving. However, I would recommend cutting the sungold tomatoes the DAY OF serving. All the beautiful juices inside the sungolds are what makes them so delicious, and losing any of that by storing overnight is not worth it!
- It’s also important not to toss the ingredients with the shallot vinaigrette until serving, or just ~ 1 hour before serving. The acid from the vinaigrette will begin to break down the tomatoes, and again, we must do everything possible to preserve the delicious juices in the sungolds 🙂
- How well does this store in the refrigerator?
- After the salad is dressed, I recommend finishing the salad the same day. However, if you have leftovers and you’d like to eat them the next day, it should still be ok for 1-2 days.
Ingredients – for the Fresh Corn and Sungold Tomato Salad
Fresh Corn – It’s important to use fresh white or yellow corn in this recipe. The crisp and sweet corn balance the sungolds. If you haven’t tried raw corn before, this is a perfect recipe to do so. If you choose to use frozen or roasted corn, just note the flavors and texture might overpower the delicate sungold tomatoes. You can still definitely substitute, but it will have a different texture and overall feel.
Sungold Tomatoes – The star of the show and the a delicious summertime gem. Do your best to try and find these in town, or substitute with the freshest, sweetest tomatoes you can find.
Herb (optional) – I like to use a few picked cilantro to add some green color to this dish. Feel free to leave out, or substitute with chives.
Ingredients – For Shallot vinaigrette
1 large shallot, chopped – The shallot in the vinaigrette brings just the slightly boost to the overall flavor of the fresh corn and tomato salad. Feel free to substitute red onion.
1 lemon, juiced – The zing and punch I love to add to fresh vinaigrettes! You can substitute all champagne vinegar, but I find fresh lemon juice rounds out the entire vinaigrette.
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar – The other acidic component to the vinaigrette. Feel free to substitute white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar.
1 tablespoon honey – Just a tad of sweetness that pulls the vinaigrette together. You can substitute maple syrup or just brown or white sugar.
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil – Use a good quality olive oil in this dish. You can find my preferences in my pantry staples post here.
½ teaspoon kosher salt – the only salt used in the entire dish. Feel free to taste and adjust more as desired.
Black pepper – the only other seasoning used besides salt. I keep it simple so you can really appreciate the natural flavors of this dish.
VIDEO TUTORIAL: Fresh corn and sungold tomato salad tutorial
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Fresh Corn and Sungold Tomato Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Description
Sungold tomatoes are my absolute favorite tomatoes, and are perfect for this fresh corn and sungold tomato salad!
Ingredients
For the Salad
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7 ears of white corn, kernels cut off the cob
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1 pint sungold tomatoes, halved
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Picked Cilantro (optional)
For the Shallot Vinaigrette
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1 large shallot, chopped
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1 lemon, juiced
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2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
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1 tablespoon honey
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1/3 cup olive oil
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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Black pepper
Instructions
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Prep the vegetables – cut the corn off the cob and add this to a large bowl. Slice the sungold tomatoes in half. Be gentle with this, as sungold tomatoes have a very thin skin and you want to keep all those delicious juices inside. Add the halved tomatoes to a separate bowl or container. Lastly, chop the shallot for the vinaigrette.
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Make the shallot vinaigrette. Add the chopped shallot to a bowl or mason jar. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix together.
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When you’re ready to serve, toss the corn into a serving bowl and add ¾ of the sungold tomatoes. Add ½ of the vinaigrette and toss everything together.
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Taste, add more dressing as desired, and top with the remaining sungold tomatoes and picked cilantro if using.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
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