Try this classic carrot salad recipe made with just four ingredients. It’s one of the easiest salad recipes to make and is great for outdoor gatherings!
Shredded Carrot Salad has to be one of the easiest meals in the world to make, plus it’s pretty kid friendly and good for you!
The best carrots for carrot salad
The trick is to start with the best carrots you can find. Here, buying organic or from the farmer’s market really makes a difference in taste.
As a root vegetable, carrots are not only tastier when grown in compost-rich soil, but they are also more nutritious.
A flexible recipe
The proportions of this recipe are flexible depending on what you have on hand. Many traditional carrot salad recipes also call for mashed pineapple, but I think it’s sweet enough with the apples, raisins, and carrots.
By the way, on the market you can often find carrots of different colors – deep red, purple, bright orange and bright yellow. The flavor differences are subtle (they’re all delicious!). The main difference lies in their nutrient mix. For example, while orange carrots are high in beta-carotene, red carrots are high in lycopene — the nutrient found in tomatoes.
Make Ahead Salad
This salad — a cousin of coleslaw — can be served right away, but will keep in the fridge for an hour or two if you want to prep your dinner side and tick it off the list.
Don’t like mayo? Try this!
Several readers have tried mayo-free versions of this recipe over the years and shared their success with us in the comments. Here are some of their ideas:
- Greek yogurt with some honey
- lemon juice and honey
- Splash of freshly squeezed orange juice
- Salad dressing, like Thousand Isles or Poppy Seeds
- Vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and olive oil
Carrot salad variations to try
Swapping out the mayonnaise—as suggested above—can vary this carrot salad recipe. These are some additional variations that you can try.
- Add some fresh or drained canned pineapple.
- Add a teaspoon or two of mustard, lemon juice, or vinegar to add more flavor to the salad.
- Add fresh parsley for a little color.
- Use a combination of apple varieties for complexity.
- Swap out the raisins for chopped dates or dried cranberries.
- Add garlic, cumin, or chopped onions for flavor.
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch.
- Make it French! A French carrot salad has honey, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh parsley instead of mayonnaise and raisins. Some versions also add chickpeas.
Save the carrot salad
Refrigerate the carrot salad, tightly covered, for 3 to 4 days. The salad can become watery after a day or so, as the salt in the mayonnaise brings out the water in the carrots and apples.
More carrot salad recipes
- Moroccan salad with grated carrots and beets
- Jewel carrot salad with apple and pomegranate
- Orange Blossom Carrot Salad
- Autumn tabbouleh with cauliflower, carrots and golden beets
- Coleslaw made from winter root vegetables
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Classic carrot salad
ingredients
-
3 to 4 cups fresh grated carrots (4 to 6 medium carrots)
-
1/2 to 1 Cup raisins (regular, golden or a mix)
-
1 big Apple(peeled or not, your preference) seeded and chopped
-
1/4 to 1/3 Cup mayonnaise
method
-
Mix the carrots, raisins, apple and mayonnaise:
Gently mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
-
Cool, then serve:
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 313 | calories |
| 14g | Fat |
| 49g | carbohydrates |
| 3g | protein |
