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In this simple carrot salad, crisp matchstick carrots, walnuts, and sweet craisins come together to make a fresh and vibrant salad with wonderful flavors and textures. Finish with a light lemon vinaigrette for an incredible side dish!
From savory to sweet, carrots add such flavor to dishes. They provide flavor, texture and nutrition. Some of our favorite recipes with carrots are carrot soup, carrot cake roll and these wonderful classic glazed carrots.
Carrot Salad Recipe
Looking for a light, bright recipe that goes with everything? Give this carrot salad a try! It’s made with simple, nutritious ingredients, and while it’s great for spring, it’s also great to enjoy year-round. It only takes 20 minutes to prepare and is so delicious it’s perfect for prepping ahead of time! This is my go-to to bring to any potluck or get together!
Trust me when I say you have to make this recipe! It’s a crowd pleaser that makes everyone ask for a second helping. It’s versatile enough to pair with most main dishes! Try it as a side dish paired with honey-glazed ham, air-fried chicken, or salmon.
What’s in Carrot Salad?
This carrot salad recipe comes with healthy, fresh ingredients that taste great! The dressing is the perfect finishing touch to make this dish really shine! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Carrots: Look for carrots that are firm and free of cracks or splits. Use multicolor or tricolor for a beautiful display!
- Walnuts: Adds a nutty crunch!
- Craisins: The sweet, chewy dried fruit is a great complement to the earthy, crisp carrots.
Dressing
- Lemon juice: The zest and fresh, lemon juice add just the right amount of citrus to this salad.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Helps to brighten up the salad and give it a nice little tang.
- Olive oil: The dressing gives the perfect consistency.
- Honey: 1 tbsp for just a hint of sweetness.
- Dijon Mustard: For some zippy flavor! This binds the oil and vinegar to keep the vinaigrette emulsified (mixed), so the oil and vinegar don’t separate.
- Thyme: Adds a nice herby flavor.
- Salt Pepper: 1 tsp each to enhance the taste.
How to make carrot salad
The most time-consuming part of throwing together is julienneing the carrots. It’s really that simple, but it’s worth it.
- Preparation: Prepare the carrots by washing them and julienne them (cut into thin matchsticks). Toss the carrots in a bowl with the walnuts and craisins.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Toss and serve: Pour the dressing over the carrot mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop and infuse in the carrots.
Tips and Variations
This carrot salad is amazing, but it’s so versatile, so you can easily change it up. Here are some tips and ideas to make it your own!
- Change the ingredients: You can substitute the craisins for raisins or dried cranberries, or leave them out altogether. Similarly with walnuts, you can substitute them for pecans, pistachios or sunflower seeds.
- Herbs: You can use fresh or dried thyme in this recipe. If using dried thyme, you will need 1/4 tsp. Also, feel free to use another favorite herb like oregano.
- Carrot Type: While plain orange carrots work perfectly for this recipe, I prefer a completely tricolor option for presentation.
- Roast the nuts: We love to toast the walnuts to bring out a really nutty flavor. Add them to a small dry skillet over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Recipe tip
We highly recommend julienne your own carrots. Don’t use a bag of pre-cut carrots from the store. You’ll want to fill this salad with sweet, crunchy carrots, and bagged ones are often dry and tasteless.
You can julienne the carrots with a julienne peeler or knife. Julienne peelers are cheap and efficient, you can prepare a whole bunch of carrots in just minutes! If using a knife, cut the peeled carrots into wedges and cut lengthwise into thin matchsticks.
Go ahead & stock up on leftovers
One of the best things about this salad is how easy it is to make ahead and how long it keeps in the refrigerator. This makes for a great meal prep option!
- Go ahead: Carrot salad is great to make the night before you want to serve it. All the flavors intensify and become even more delicious!
- Storing Leftovers: Refrigerate leftover salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
More salad recipes
If you love the fresh taste of fruit and vegetable salads like me, you’ll surely enjoy these tried and true favorites. I have everything from savory pasta salads to creamy, sweet salads. The hardest part is choosing which one to try first!
Pin it now to find it later
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- Prepare the carrots by washing them and julienne them (cut into thin matchsticks). Toss the carrots in a bowl with the walnuts and craisins.
- In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the carrot mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop and infuse in the carrots.
You can substitute craisins for raisins or leave them out altogether. Similarly with walnuts, you can substitute them for pecans, pistachios or sunflower seeds.
This recipe is great to prepare the night before and serve the next day!
You can use fresh or dried thyme in this recipe.
While plain orange carrots work well for this recipe, I love the tri-color option for sheer presentation.
Calories: 183kilocaloriesCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 468mgPotassium: 325mgFiber: 4gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 12668IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 1mg
Nutritional information is calculated automatically, so it can only be used as an approximation.
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