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This crunchy grated carrot salad is the perfect snack or side dish to use up any extra carrots or boost the amount of fiber you eat in a day. The carrots and healthy fats give you a nice afternoon burst of energy. The lemon and orange also brighten it up because we could all use a little extra sunshine in our lives.
The beta carotene found in carrots makes them orange and is great for eye health. They are naturally sweet yet low in natural sugar. The nutrients in carrots may help protect the body from several kinds of cancer.
Carrot Salad Tips
I created this salad for my Plant-Based Cleanse as a nourishing snack recipe. It’s not really main event material yet it works perfectly as a snack.
- If you decide to buy whole carrots, you can grate them yourself. This adds more carrot flavor to the dish (store-bought shredded carrots save time, but you’ll lose out on some of the flavor).
- Up the protein in this salad by adding chickpeas or extra sunflower seeds.
- Toast the sunflower seeds for a richer flavor
- Top with fresh fruit if you want more of a classic French carrot salad.
QUick Tip
Make multiple servings of this Carrot Salad and store in small snack-size containers to grab and go all week when you’re feeling hungry in between meals.
More Healthy Carrot Recipes
If you love this grated carrot salad, use the rest of the bag in your fridge or pull some more from the garden to use in these recipes:
Don’t forget to rate + review this recipe once you’ve made it. I can’t wait to read how yours turned out!
Crunchy Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- ¼ cup cilantro stems removed and chopped
- ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
- dash ground black pepper
- dash sea salt
Dressing
- 2 tbsp orange juiced
- 2 tbsp lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk together orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.
- Combine carrot strips, cilantro and sunflower seeds on a plate.
- Drizzle dressing over salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- You can use whole carrots and grate them for stronger flavor.
- Swap out the sunflower seeds with hemp hearts (still nut-free) or sliced almonds.
- Does cilantro taste like soap to you? If so, use parsley instead.
- Feel free to use the carrots of your choice. When I created this salad for my Plant-Based Cleanse, I used rainbow carrots because they’re fun!
Nutrition
Carrot Salad FAQs
Carrots contain beta carotene, fiber, potassium and antioxidants. Talk about nutrient-loaded!
The carrot salad you knew as a child is probably a French Carrot salad. It often includes fruit and is used as a side dish. Feel free to add fresh apples or raisins to my version!
While this salad is at its best eaten right away, you can refrigerate it for a few days and have as a quick snack.
I probably should back off on the lemon juice. The dressing was too tart for me.
Really good salad. I used it as a main dish. Here are my hacks –I used a package of baby carrots and added the cilantro to my blender on pulse (turning the blender on and off frequently), then added hemp hearts and pepitas (pumpkin seeds), tossed, added 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp lemon vinegar. Dinner in 5 minutes with plenty of vegetables, flavor, and protein.
Sounds amazing! Great blender hack to make it easier too!
Mixing carrots and sunflower seeds isn’t something I would have thought of. It’s pretty good, but I’m not a huge fan of carrots.
I’m not a carrot person unless it’s carrot cake
BUT I did like the incorporation of the citrus, cilantro and sunflower seeds.
I’m gonna make it creamy next time I make this because it is tasty. I think some cashew cream with maybe some raisins would jazz it up but would also take away the healthy light aspect of this recipe.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ overall ❤️
Those are some excellent ideas!
Enjoyed this simple crunchy salad. Refreshing side or great for a healthy snack.
Really great ingredients, so bright and fresh. It’s more like a garnish or salsa than a salad, but it’s delicious! Went very well with poached salmon tonight. I added a few slices of blood orange and slivers of kalamata. Pretty!
General consensus, “I didn’t think it would be that good!” For such simple ingredients the whole family really enjoyed it
I totally get it. This one is definitely a pleasant surprise!
Enjoyable! Liked the dressing. Nice side salad
I didn’t care for this salad. It felt like it was missing something but I couldn’t figure out what. The dressing was very good. Lemony, not too tart, not too sweet.
This was more a relish side instead of a salad for me. I did think it was fun and yummy. I will be making it again but adding greens or additional veggies if using as a salad.
I made this today for lunch but doubled the recipe. This one is my absolute favorite . Loved all the citrus with the carrots. Definitely a winner!!
Yay! I love when Rawkstars find their fave!
This was sso simple yet so delicious! Loved it
I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this simple salad, but I was surprised that it was actually very good! I shaved the carrots and roughly chopped the cilantro. I sprinkled the sunflower seeds on top when serving. I did add approximately 1 tsp. of honey to the dressing to balance the tartness. The salad was a perfect cooling side to a spicy main dish.
Nice touch with the honey! 🙂
So good! This is a simple salad, quick and easy to make. I never thought to make a salad with carrots as the star. The lemon juice was too much for so I added an additional tbs or orange juice and it was perfect.
I wasn’t too sure about today’s salad but I’ll try most anything once. I poured the dressing over it this morning and let the carrots & cilantro “ marinate” all day and it’s really good as a side with my left over grilled shrimp from yesterday. Also adding some of the modified pasta salad from yesterday (it was my lunch, too).
I like the carrots, OJ dressing and sesame seeds combinations. Very fresh and simple.