Classic creamy carrot salad has a crunchy texture and sweet flavor. It’s great for a potluck, picnics, and BBQ parties. Shredded carrots, pineapple chunks, sweet raisins, and pecans are tossed in a simple creamy dressing.
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Southern classic potluck salad
This old-fashioned Southern favorite potluck salad is creamy and sweet with a crunchy texture. This creamy carrot salad is a great coleslaw alternative and is made with easily available ingredients.
It’s so easy to make, simply throw in ingredients together and in 2 minutes you’ll have full of flavor creamy carrot salad. It’s great to make ahead salad, and will last for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
You can easily adapt the recipe and make carrot salad depending on your diet and taste preference. To make it vegan use vegan mayonnaise. For the lighter version use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. To give it a creamy tang taste use a mix of mayonnaise and sour cream.
When you think of summer salads, cool refreshing salads such as cucumber salad, smashed cucumber salad, corn salad, and Greek pasta salad are some of the common salad recipes that you might think of. But have you a classic salad made using carrots?
This fresh tasting refreshing summer salad is fuss-free and goes with everything, with pilaf, rotisserie chicken, ham pulled pork, and pork chop.
Ingredients needed
Here’s what you’ll need-
- Carrot
- Raisins
- Pineapple
- Pecans
- Mayonnaise
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Salt
- Pepper
All ingredients exact measurements are mentioned in recipe card below.
- Carrot – use a mandolin slicer to shred the carrot. You can also use a regular box shredder or food processor (with grate attachment) or Julienne peeler to shred carrots.
- To save time, buy already shredded carrots from the store.
- Raisins – regular raisins work great. You can use any type of raisin that you have in your pantry – black raisins, golden raisins, and red raisins all work.
- Pineapple – use canned pineapple chunks, you can also use canned crushed pineapple or pineapple rings (cut into chunks). Make sure to drain the pineapple well before adding it to the creamy carrot salad recipe.
- Nuts – Nuts add great texture and bite to the salad. Feel free to use any nuts. Walnuts, pecans, or pine nuts. You can also use seeds like sunflower seeds, and melon seeds to the salad.
- Mayonnaise – for best results use full-fat premium quality mayonnaise. For the light version use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. You can also use a mix of mayonnaise and sour cream for more flavor.
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Sugar – for a touch of sweetness to creamy carrot salad. You can substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup.
- Season – salt & pepper to taste.
Additional ingredients & substitutions
Creamy carrot salad is very easy to customize according to your taste and preference. You can add ingredients that you like to the salad recipe. Here are some suggestions for additional ingredients that go well with this carrot salad-
- Shallots (finely diced).
- Dried fruits like dried cranberries, dried blueberries.
- Apple, use tart apple diced into bite-size pieces.
- Can of green peas, drained.
- Can of mushrooms, drained thoroughly.
- Minced garlic for an extra punch of flavor.
- Seeds like sunflower seeds, and melon seeds.
- Honey dressing to make it sweet can be used instead of sugar.
- Add Dijon mustard for flavor.
- Fresh lemon juice can be substituted with apple cider.
- Fresh parsley can be added for garnish. It adds freshness to the salad.
How to make
The creamy carrot salad recipe can’t get any easier. Simply throw everything together, toss! Viola salad is ready.
In a bowl whisk mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper until creamy.
To the creamy dressing add shredded carrots, raisins, pineapple, and nuts.
Toss everything together.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before servings.
Useful tips
- Fresh is best. It’s always best to buy a carrot and grate it fresh just before making the salad.
- Good quality mayonnaise for the best taste. Use full-fat premium quality mayonnaise for the best taste.
- Plump raisins are optional. If you want softer, juicy textured raisins you can soak raisins in warm water for a couple of minutes.
- Substitute mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt for a light creamy carrot salad.
Common questions
Use a mandolin slicer to shred the carrot. You can also use a regular box shredder or food processor (with a grate attachment) or Julienne peeler to shred carrots.
It’s creamy and sweet with a touch of tang. This salad leans more on the sweeter side. If you do want to add a touch of savory note to the salad, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard to the dressing.
Yes, it’s a great make a make-ahead salad. You can make the salad, add dressing and store in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing, mayonnaise does not freeze well. The texture of the salad will become unpleasant.
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📋Creamy Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots grated
- 1 cup raisins
- 8- ounce pineapple chunks drained
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper until creamy.
- To the creamy dressing add shredded carrots, raisins, pineapple, and nuts.
- Toss everything together.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before servings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- Fresh is best. It’s always best to buy carrot and grate it fresh just before making the salad.
- Good quality mayonnaise for best taste. Use full fat premium quality mayonnaise for best taste.
- Plump raisins, optional. If you want softer, juicy textured raisins you can soak raisins in warm water for couple of minutes.
- Substitute mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt for a light creamy carrot salad.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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