Carrot Raisin Salad is a crunchy, creamy, colorful mix of the veggies and fruit you know and love. In under 15 minutes, fresh carrots are finely shredded and tossed together with sweet crisp apples, chewy raisins, and a dressing that is to die for.
This fantastic carrot and raisin salad is perfect for the summer, or for anyone who needs a delicious reason to get their fruit and veggies in!
Reasons You’ll Love This
Fruits and Veggies – What better way to get in your fruits and veggies than to throw them all in a bowl together combined with a tasteful, creamy dressing that ties it all together?
Picky Eater Approved – If you’re having a hard time getting someone to eat their carrots, you have to make this for them! They’ll forget they are eating carrots.
Flavor and Texture – The crunch of the carrots and apples, mixed with the chewy raisins and smooth dressing, really creates a sweet party in your mouth!
Perfect Side Dish – This makes a wonderful side dish at the summer BBQ, but is versatile and great for the holiday season, or just whenever you feel like it!
Homemade Dressing – Nothing beats a homemade dressing that is creamy, sweet, a bit tangy, and pairs perfectly with this recipe.
If you’ve never had carrot salad with raisins before, you may be looking at the title like.. “What? Why would I eat carrots and raisins as a salad?” Well, they say the best things are unexpected, and you’d never expect that this carrot raisin salad recipe is about to become your new favorite food!
Ingredient Info
- Carrots – Shredded carrots are ideal for this recipe. You can buy the bag of pre-shredded carrots, or shred them yourself. Whichever method works best for you!
- Apples – Pink Lady or Fuji apples are usually the best choice of apples for this recipe because of their sweetness and juiciness. Make sure to chop up the apples into bite sized pieces before adding it to the salad.
- Raisins – Can’t have carrot raisin salad without raisins! Use any type or brand of raisins that you like. You can even use Craisins!
- Toasted Pecans – Pecans add a delightful crunch to the salad. If you want, you can substitute for toasted walnuts or cashews or leave it out all together.
- Plain Yogurt – Since you’ll add honey to the dressing which adds sweetness, you’ll only need plain yogurt with no sweetener or flavor. You can use plain greek yogurt instead if you’d prefer.
- Honey – a classic sweetener for this dish. You can substitute for agave syrup if you’d prefer.
- Lemon – You’ll need lemon peel shavings and lemon juice for this recipe so I recommend just grabbing yourself a fresh lemon or two and squeezing the juice out of it, and grating off the peel.
Step By Step Instructions
- Start with a mixing bowl. Add the plain yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt.
- Mix that together until evenly combined.
- Add the carrots, raisins, chopped apples, and toasted pecans.
- Toss everything together until evenly coated. If desired, sprinkle additional toasted pecans over the top and serve!
Tips And Advice
Storage – Store the leftover carrot raisin salad in the fridge, covered in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Equipment
For this recipe, you’ll need a mixing bowl and something to stir with. If you need something to help you shred and dice your fruits and veggies, check out this veggie chopper!
MOre flavor
You allow the raisin carrot salad more time to absorb the flavors of the dressing if you let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. You don’t have to do this, but I highly recommend it. I also think it tastes a bit better when served chilled.
FAQs
Grated carrots are smaller, and crumb-like, where as shredded carrots are thin strips of carrots, like small ribbons.
You don’t have to as long as you wash the raw carrots very well. The only difference between peeling them or not is the way the carrots look in the salad.
Serves Well With
Serve this scrumptious side next to some delicious BBQ staples this summer!
- BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
- Cheeseburger Sliders
- Pork Tenderloin on the Grill
- Sloppy Joes
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Carrot Raisin Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- pinch salt (optional)
- 1 pound shredded carrots
- 1 cup Pink Lady or Fuji apples (unpeeled and chopped into small bites size pieces)
- 1/2 cup raisins (craisins can also be used)
- 2 tablespoons toasted pecans (chopped)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, honey, lemon peel, lemon juice and salt. Mix until creamy and smooth.
- Add carrots, apple, raisins and pecans to the bowl. Mix well to coat with the dressing.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate prior to serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
I thought the dressing was great, will try it again with pineapple.