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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 love carrots so this salad will be one of my favorites
Carrots are rawesome, glad you love it!
I loved the crunch of the salad. It’s simple and light. The sunflower seeds gave it an extra crunch. It made a perfect side dish.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I really liked the carrot salad but substituted pumpkin seeds for the sunflower. The salad dressing was nice and light but I will get 4 servings out of it. I paired it with baked cod and it was delicious!
Great seed substitute!
Sorry, but I also am not a fan of carrots (or cilantro) as the primary ingredient of a veg salad. Give me lots of greens any day with a few shredded carrots as garnish, but not carrots as the salad base.
Again flavors I would never have thought would go together make a great salad. Sweet and clean with a little crunch.
The dressing tastes really good with the carrots.
This was pretty good. I’ve never had carrot salad before so I have nothing to compare it to. The dressing was light and refreshing.
Loved this one! I thought it was going to be too simple, but often in simplicity there’s perfection. This was crunchy, light, and refreshing. The perfect compliment to many meals, particularly in the warmer months.
It was okay just not one of my favs.
Overall we liked the idea and the ingredients went very well together. I think my carrot pieces might have been a little bit unruly! I would make them half the size next time. The dressing was delightful. While this is not our favorite of the other seven recipes we would make it again and use multi-colored carrots.
This recipe couldn’t be simpler or a better combination of flavors and textures! It’s a win.
So simple, but so tasty. I shredded whole carrots into long strips with a vegetable peeler – so lovely. But if I’d bought shredded carrots, this would have been an almost instant salad. Perfection!
Yes! Matchstick carrots would make it easier!
I loved the carrot and sesame seed flavors but thought the lemon was a little to strong.
Very good!!!
Very refreshing!!!
Never had a carrot salad quite as tasty as this
My family enjoyed it and all the flavours were enjoyed they said it was very tasty they loved the crunch
Rawesome, glad the family enjoyed it!
The salad was better than I thought it would be. Next time I will put on less dressing, it was a little too sweet. It’s a good side or snack.