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This simple shredded Carrot Salad is made with grated carrots and a quick vinaigrette. It’s a healthy salad with a great crunch and a tangy dressing that’s a cinch to whip up any night of the week.
Unlike the classic potluck staple carrot salad, this one is super simple and healthy with not a raisin or dollop of mayo in sight.
Want more veggie salad recipes? Try my Creamy Cucumber Salad, Vegetable Pasta Salad, and Simple Cabbage Salad.
Table of Contents
Why I Love Carrot Salad
This simple carrot salad is standard fare in France – every restaurant, bistro, and home serves it regularly. Some parents have been known to mix up a quick vinaigrette to dress it, and give it to kids to enjoy while preparing the rest of the meal.
This French Carrot Salad recipe is simple enough that (most) kids will love it, especially since the carrots are shredded. But it’s also sophisticated enough that you can serve it as a delightful starter or side dish for adults.
This Carrot Salad is:
- Fast – The whole recipe takes about 10 minutes to make.
- Simple – There are a handful of ingredients plus a few seasonings that are all pretty easy to find at your local grocery store.
- Delicious – The super simple vinaigrette is both tangy and just a little sweet, pairing really well with the slightly sweet carrot shreds.
- Make Ahead – You can make this salad a few days in advance. It holds really well!
Ingredients
- Carrots – You’ll need about 2 pounds of carrots to get about 5 cups of shredded or grated carrots.
- Green Onions – 1 bunch, or about 8-10 stems, thinly sliced. I like to use both the white and green parts.
- Dressing – Olive oil, white wine (or red) vinegar, maple syrup (or honey), dijon mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, and Herbes de Provence. You can swap lemon juice for the vinegar if you like.
How To Make Carrot Salad
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Mix Vegetables – Add the shredded carrots and green onions to a medium-sized bowl. I like to grate the carrots myself using a box grater, but when I want a quick shortcut I buy the pre-shredded.
Mix The Vinaigrette – Whisk together some olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence until well combined.
Toss and Taste – Toss salad in half the dressing and give it a taste. You can adjust the salt level and add more dressing as desired.
Every Kitchen Needs a Box Grater!
I love this tool and I use it several times a week. It’s obviously great for grating all types of cheese, but also vegetables and even stripping herbs! And right now it’s even on sale!
FAQs
Sure! The easiest way to do this is using your food processor. You could also grate them by hand, but the shreds with be thinner.
Definitely. I’d encourage you to save half the dressing and add more before serving. This gives the flavors time to get to know each other, while also ensuring that the salad is not overdressed.
Cover and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezing this recipe is not recommended.
Especially if you are using pre-shredded carrots, you might need to soften them a bit to avoid a difficult to chew texture. The simple solution is SALT! place the carrots in a bowl and sprinkle and toss with ¼ teaspoon of salt per cup of carrots. Let them sit for 15 minutes and they should be softer, but not mushy. Perfect for this salad!
Pro Tips
Use a grater or a food processor to shred the carrots. Don’t try slicing into matchsticks; they’ll be too big.
Feel free to add other ingredients, like parsley, pineapple or almonds.
More Cold Salads
Simple Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups shredded carrots (a little less than 2 pounds, depending on thickness)
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced (around ¾ cup)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (you can also use red wine vinegar)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Instructions
- Place shredded carrots and sliced green onions into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence until well combined.
- Toss salad in half the dressing. If making in advance cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, toss with remaining dressing.
