Name: Sweet & Crunchy Carrot Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard; 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup ((or honey)); 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; freshly ground black pepper; 1 pound carrots (, peeled and shredded (about 4 heaping cups)); 2 green onions (, chopped (light green and white parts)); 1 handful fresh parsley (, chopped (about 1/4 cup packed)); 1/2 cup raisins ((optional)); 1/2 cup pecans (, roughly chopped (optional))

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This Carrot Salad is lightly sweet, with the perfect amount of crunch, and makes the perfect addition to a potluck or brunch. Everyone will ask you for the recipe after they try it!

Carrot salad is an easy one-bowl recipe that takes about 20 minutes to stir together. It’s my go-to recipe for bringing to Easter brunch, or any Spring or Summer potluck.

How Do You Make a Carrot Salad?

To make this salad, you’ll start by stirring together the dressing ingredients in the bottom of a large bowl. Then you’ll just have to shred the carrots, chop up some green onions and fresh parsley, and stir everything together! It doesn’t get much easier than that.

This salad is lightly sweet and tangy on its own, and I often serve it without any extra toppings, but when I’m serving it for company I like to add raisins and pecans, for extra sweetness and crunch. They add another layer of texture and flavor!

You can add any other toppings you like and have on hand, too. I think dried cranberries and maple glazed walnuts would make a nice addition for a holiday salad.

How Do You Shred the Carrots?

You can use a box grater or food processor with a shredding blade to shred the carrots for this salad. I tend to use a box grater most often, because I hate to wash my food processor more than I have to, but if you make a double-batch of this salad (using 2 pounds of carrots) that’s when I would probably turn to a machine for help. (You can also use a salad shooter if you have one!)

I’ve found that freshly grated carrots work much better in a salad like this, when compared to store-bought shredded carrots. When you buy a bag of shredded carrots, they are typically thicker in texture so that they won’t turn brown in the bag, and they tend to be on the dry-side.

If you do use store-bought shredded carrots, you may want to add more dressing and let them marinate longer to soak-up the moisture.

How Long Will it Last in the Fridge?

Thanks to the lemon juice in this recipe, I’ve found that this carrot salad will keep well in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Freshly shredded carrots can start to turn brown around the edges after that, so if you want to make this ahead of time for a party, I would make it the night before you plan on serving it.

It’s also important to note that flavors tend to mellow as they sit in the fridge, so be sure to taste the salad before serving it. You might want to brighten up the flavor with a little more salt, or an extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

I recommend that you wait to add the pecans on this salad if you plan on making it in advance. They will soften in the fridge overnight, so I prefer to add them right before serving, instead, so they stay nice and crunchy!

More Popular Salad Recipes

If you want some other ideas to use up the ingredients in your kitchen, try one of these. They all make an excellent dish to bring to a party!