CARROT SALAD

If there’s one carrot salad you need in your life, this is it! Fresh, vibrant, and absolutely irresistible, this shredded carrot salad is the perfect balance of crunch, natural sweetness, and citrusy brightness.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is discovering new flavors and on a recent trip to Sedona, Ella and I found a fresh juice café with the most incredible raw carrot salad. It was simple yet packed with flavor. I knew I had to recreate it at home! My version takes it up a notch with freshly shredded carrots, crisp apples, tangy lemon, sweet coconut, crunchy walnuts, plump raisins, and a drizzle of honey to tie everything together. The flavors are perfectly balanced, and every bite is bursting with texture and natural sweetness.

This isn’t just any carrot and raisin salad, it’s the carrot salad. Light, refreshing, and unbelievably delicious, it’s one you don’t want to miss!

Why You Will Love This Raw Carrot Salad

• The flavors and textures in this carrot salad are perfectly balanced.
• It’s quick and easy to make! There’s no cooking required, just shred, chop, and mix.
• This carrot salad is great for meal prep and stores well in the fridge.
• It’s packed with flavor from the chopped walnuts, apples, shredded coconut, and raisins.
• This carrot salad is vibrant, fresh, and delicious!
• It’s healthy and made without olive oil or mayo.

What Is Carrot Salad?

This is the ultimate carrot salad recipe made with raw shredded carrots, chopped apples, walnuts, shredded coconut, and raisins. It all comes together with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavors and a drizzle of honey for the perfect touch of sweetness. The flavors are well-balanced, making this salad fresh, flavorful, and incredibly delicious.

Ingredients Needed

• Carrots: Freshly grate the carrots for the best texture. Use two pounds of grated carrots for this salad.
• Apple: Use one medium apple, we used Pink Lady. Chopped apple adds natural sweetness and crunch to the salad.
• Walnuts: Add a delicious flavor and crunchy texture.
• Shredded Coconut: Use unsweetened shredded coconut. It adds incredible depth of flavor to this carrot salad!
• Raisins: Roughly chop the raisins to evenly distribute them throughout the salad. We used golden raisins, but regular raisins also work.
• Parsley: Chop the fresh parsley for a burst of freshness.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon juice brightens the flavors.
• Honey: Just a touch of honey for the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Salt: Balances the flavors.

Ways To Grate Carrots

There are two methods to grate carrots for this carrot salad!

• Box Grater: If using a box grater, place it on a stable surface and shred the carrots on the side with the largest holes.
• Food Processor: For a quicker and more efficient option, use a food processor with a shredding disc attachment. Simply feed the carrots through the chute while the food processor runs. We recommend using this method as it saves time since there are two pounds of carrots needed for this recipe.

How To Make Carrot Salad

Step 1: Peel the carrots and cut both ends off.

Then, grate the fresh carrots using a food processor or box grater.

Step 2: Chop the apple into bite-sized pieces. Next, finely chop the fresh parsley.

Then, roughly chop the walnuts and raisins.

Step 3: Mix the honey in a bowl with the fresh lemon juice so it gets evenly distributed throughout the salad.

Step 4: Add the shredded carrots to a large bowl. After that, add the apple, walnuts, unsweetened shredded coconut, raisins, parsley, lemon juice, honey, and salt.

Step 5: Toss the carrot salad until combined.

What To Serve With Carrot Salad

There are so many delicious ways to serve this carrot salad!

• Easter: Serve this carrot salad as part of an Easter spread alongside carrot cake, ham and cheese quiche, cottage cheese egg salad, and deviled eggs.
• Grilled Protein: Serve it alongside grilled chicken or cooked fish, such as salmon. Or, pair it with grilled steak or pork chops.
• Sandwiches: It’s delicious as a side dish with a sandwich or wrap.

Expert Tips

• Freshly Grated Carrots: For the best texture and flavor, grate fresh carrots yourself. Avoid pre-shredded carrots, as they tend to be drier, less flavorful, and have a harder texture.
• Roughly Chop: It’s best to roughly chop the walnuts and raisins to ensure the flavors are evenly distributed throughout the carrot salad.
• Adjust The Sweetness: You can add additional honey to taste if you prefer more sweetness.
• Chill The Salad: If not serving this salad right away, let it chill in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to further meld together.
• Mix The Lemon & Honey: To ensure the honey is evenly distributed throughout the salad, mix it in a bowl with the fresh lemon juice.

Storage Instructions

Store leftover carrot salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It’s the perfect make-ahead salad that’s great for meal prep. Don’t freeze this carrot salad, as it will alter the texture.

Variations

• Walnuts Substitution: You can replace the walnuts with slivered almonds, chopped cashews, or chopped pecans.
• Nut-Free Option: Omit the walnuts or replace them with sunflower seeds.
• Raisins To Use: This carrot salad is delicious with golden raisins or regular raisins. Use your preferred raisins in this recipe. Also, check out our carrot raisin salad recipe next!
• Dried Fruit: You can use roughly chopped dried cranberries or chopped pitted Medjool dates instead of raisins if preferred.
• Apple Swap: We used a Pink Lady apple for a sweet and slightly tart flavor profile. For a more tart flavor, use a Granny Smith apple, or for a sweet, milder flavor use a Honeycrisp apple. If you love apples, try our carrot apple salad next!
• Make It Vegan: To make this carrot salad vegan simply replace the honey with maple syrup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Freeze Carrot Salad?

No, carrot salad cannot be frozen as it will significantly alter the texture and quality of the ingredients. The salad would lose its freshness and crunchy texture, and become watery once thawed. However, you can store leftovers in the fridge.

How Long Does Carrot Salad Last?

This carrot salad will last up to three days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container.

Can I Use Pre-Shredded Carrots?

No, we don’t recommend using pre-shredded carrots in this recipe. Freshly grated carrots will have a much better texture and flavor.

Is This Carrot Salad Vegan?

As written, this carrot salad isn’t vegan as it contains honey. However, you can easily make it vegan by substituting the honey with maple syrup.

Can You Make Carrot Salad Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can make this carrot salad ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Chilling allows the flavors to further meld together and deepen, which results in an even more delicious carrot salad.

More Recipes To Try Next!

• Carrot Raisin Salad
• Carrot Apple Salad
• Healthy Carrot Cake
• Carrot Cake Baked Oats
• Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
• Crustless Ham and Cheese Quiche

If you try this recipe please be sure to leave us a comment and star rating ★★★★★ letting us know how it turns out for you.