Carrot Raisin Salad

Carrot raisin salad is a classic. We make a creamy old-fashioned one, grandma’s style, with shredded carrots, raisins, and mayo, and a modern one with orange juice, raisins, and without mayo.

Both recipes are delicious crowd pleasers and easy to make in less than 15 minutes with simple ingredients. Which one is more for you?

Grandma’s carrot raisin salad

Carrots

Get whole carrots and grate them with the large holes of a box grater. We recommend against using pre-grated carrots. They tend to be dry and won’t make the best, juiciest carrot raisin salad.

Raisins

You can use regular brown raisins, golden raisins, or a mix of the two.

Mayonnaise

This recipe uses our homemade vegan mayo, but feel free to use your favorite mayonnaise.

Yogurt

We cut the mayo with yogurt – plant-based or greek yogurt – to lighten up this recipe.

You can substitute more mayonnaise for the yogurt if you want the old-fashioned carrot raisin salad.

Sugar

Any sugar works, white, brown, maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup.

Lemon Juice

Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds acidity and boosts the other flavors. You can substitute apple cider vinegar for lemon juice.

Salt and Pepper

Those are optional; however, we think that a pinch of salt and a twist of black pepper enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.

Other Ingredients

Other ingredients that go well in this salad are crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits, a couple of tablespoons of pineapple juice, sliced apples, toasted slivered almonds or other crushed nuts, and sunflower seeds.

Modern carrot raisin salad

Carrots

We recommend getting whole carrots and grating them or shredding them at home. Store-bought grated carrots tend to be dry and less suitable for this recipe.

To grate or shred your carrots, you can use a box grater, a food processor, or an electric salad shredder with a fine grating cone attachment.

Raisins

You can use regular brown raisins, golden raisins, sultanas, or a mix. If your raisins are very dry, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes before adding them to the salad.

Walnuts

Chopped walnuts add crunch and a delicious nutty flavor. Together with the raisins and the carrots, they remind us of a delicious carrot cake.

Mustard and Orange Dressing

• Dijon Mustard: to emulsify the dressing and add a tangy and mildly spicy taste.
• Shallots: you can substitute red onions or green onions for the shallots. Shallots add a mild tangy taste.
• Orange Juice: freshly squeezed orange juice adds sweetness and a slight acidity that is perfect for this recipe. However, feel free to substitute lemon juice for orange juice for a tangier, more refreshing carrot raisin salad.
• Olive oil: we like to use extra virgin olive oil, but regular olive oil works too.
• Salt and Pepper: kosher salt or sea salt adds plenty of flavors; freshly ground black pepper adds a pleasant spicy aroma.
• Cumin: ground cumin is the star spice of this recipe, and we adore it in this carrot raisin salad recipe. Try to add it in. If you don’t have it, you can leave it out, although you’ll miss its fragrance and aroma.
• Parsley: flat-leaf parsley adds color and freshness. It fits the other ingredients perfectly.

Peel the carrots and grate them with the large holes of a box grater. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add mayo, yogurt, raisin, sugar, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Mix well with a spoon for a couple of minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mayo fully incorporates the other ingredients.

The carrots should be slightly wet and not dry at all. The dressing should be visible on the salad. Add more mayo, yogurt, or juice if the carrots are too dry.

Serve as a starter or as a side dish with your favorite main.

Modern carrot raisin salad

Peel the carrots with a vegetable peeler and shred them with a food processor or an electric salad shredder. Transfer shredded carrots to a bowl.

You can use a box grater if you don’t have those appliances.

Add the ingredients for the dressing to a small jar: mustard, finely chopped shallots, freshly squeezed orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, cumin, and chopped parsley.

Shake well until emulsified.

Tip: Whisk the ingredients in a bowl if you don’t have a jar.

Pour the dressing over the shredded carrots, add crushed walnuts and raisins, and toss.

Let the flavor meld in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestions

We recommend serving carrot raisin salad as part of a larger salad buffet for a special brunch on the weekend or for a family dinner.

It goes well with crusty bread, together with:

• Green beans salad
• Red cabbage slaw
• Grilled zucchini and grilled eggplant
• Avocado spread
• Baba ganoush
• Chickpea hummus

Carrot raisin chickpea salad

Our favorite variation is one where we add canned chickpeas and toasted shaved almonds to our modern carrot raisin salad recipe.

The chickpeas turn this salad from a side dish to light and fulfilling lunch or healthy dinner.

Carrot raisin apple salad

Sliced apples add a tart, sweet, and acidic taste to the carrot salad, making it extra fresh and crunchy. We think this is a winner variation and often make it instead of the basic recipe.

You can easily substitute pineapple for the apple, making the salad sweeter and almost dessert-like.

Storage

Store our carrot raisin salads in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. We don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

More Carrot Recipes

These are our favorite carrots recipe; we hope you like them as much as we do.

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