How To Make Carrot Salad

How To Make Carrot Salad – a simple combination of grated carrots and a tangy-sweet dressing. Quick and easy to make, it can be served on its own, or as a side salad.

Shredded Carrot Salad Recipe:

I decided to share my spin on how to make carrot salad. There are many different variations of the recipe, but my main goal was to make it with minimum ingredients, light dressing and a low calorie final result.

Difference between graded and shredded carrots

Shredded carrots usually look like long, thin strips and grated carrots are smaller, almost crumb-like pieces.

I prefer grated carrots for some salads (like this one) and I often use shredded carrots for Asian Style salads and in some soups.

Shredded carrots usually melt in your mouth, while grated carrots have some crunch, when you bite into them.

Can you use purple, red or yellow carrots?

You can use any carrots of your choice. I did not have colorful ones, this is why I made the salad with orange carrots.

Keep in mind, that “rainbow” or colored carrots have different taste from orange carrots and the taste of the salad will be different.

Yellow carrots have a mild taste with notes of parsley and celery.

Purple carrots are rich and earthy. They can be on the sweet side with a “peppery” taste at times.

White carrots are very mild with no distinct flavor.

Ingredients:

• Carrots
• Lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
• Salt and black pepper
• Smoked Paprika (optional)
• Dijon Mustard
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Grate the carrots, using a hand held grater, a hexagon stainless steel box grater or any type of electric grater you have, including a food processor. I prefer to have carrots grated relatively thin.
2. Place carrots in a bowl.
3. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Pour on top of the carrots.
5. Toss to combine.
6. Let carrots absorb the dressing for 15-30 minutes (optional), then serve.

Carrot Salad Add ins:

This is just a very basic carrot salad recipe. You can add some extra ingredients to make it more filling and delicious.

Here are some options:

• Sesame seeds
• Everything but the bagel seasoning
• Raisins
• Cranberries
• Seeds like Sunflower and Pumpkin
• Chopped cucumbers or radishes
• Of course you can add a small amount of thinly chopped cabbage, but depending on the amount you add, you may need to prepare more salad dressing (double the recipe)
• Crated cheese – like Parmesan or Cheddar

How To Make Carrot Salad – Recipe Variations:

You have the option to thinly slice carrots into rounds, rice them (I don’t recommend), grate, shred or even make “carrot hearts”. The easiest option to me is to grate the carrots, using a hand held grater or a hexagonal grater (a very useful and inexpensive tool).

“Carrot hearts”, what are these? These are just carrots, sliced into thin rounds and then cut into “heart” shape. They are fun for kids, so you can definitely serve them with the salad dressing. We first saw them included in the “kids menu/Happy Meal” at McDonalds in Austria. My kids loved them.

Recipe Tips:

• Use freshly grated carrots, that are still moist and will absorb the most dressing.
• Store bought, shredded carrots can be used, if you don’t have time to grate them yourself. Keep in mind, that these may need to soak the dressing for some extra time, before serving.

More Carrot Recipes:

• Roasted Carrots and Radishes
• Grilled Carrots in Foil
• Easy Carrot Soup

What to serve this carrot salad with?

You can serve this easy carrot salad with grilled meat, soups or sandwiches. Find some of my suggestions below:

• Grilled Veggie Caprese Sandwich
• Easy Pork Tenderloin In The Instant Pot
• Air Fryer Steak Bites
• Instant Pot Chicken Soup