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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.
Another great salad! The orange lemon dressing mixed with cilantro is wonderful! This would be great to serve for Easter any spring time potluck!
Easter would be a perfect time to serve this for a potluck!
This one wasn’t my favorite. I grated the carrots but I think the cilantro was too much for me. If I make this again I’d probably try the parsley switch or even just lessen the cilantro added in.
Ok. This salad surprised me. Simple and short list of ingredients. I thought this salad would be plain and just a side dish. It turned out really delicious!
I really liked this one. Even though it was simple it was so full of flavor. The combination of sweet orange and sour lemon was so good together; and I especially am a fan of cilantro. I used roasted pumpkin seeds cause I didn’t have any sunflower seeds.
Sally Blair March 28, 2022 at 10:03 pm. I’m reposting this review because my email was entered incorrectly.
5 stars My hubby and I both enjoyed the crunchy carrot salad with the lemon orange dressing. It was refreshing and a taste treat not quite like any salad I had eaten before. The sunflower seeds gave it some extra bite which we also both enjoyed. We agreed it was a side salad, not a full dinner but would definitely try it again.
The Crunchy Carrot Salad is not my favorite but colorful and good as a topping to a green saladI think. As suggested fruit would be good like pineapple chunks added to it.
A nice alternative to traditional slaw recipes. I used cashews instead of sunflower seeds, because that sounded best to me of what I had on hand. I doubt I will make it very often, but I really liked it!
My hubby and I both enjoyed the crunchy carrot salad with the lemon orange dressing. It was refreshing and a taste treat not quite like any salad I had eaten before. The sunflower seeds gave it some extra bite which we also both enjoyed. We agreed it was a side salad, not a full dinner but would definitely try it again.
Easy, simple but oh so tasty!
Simple (once I switched from peeling to grating!) and tasty. Probably doesn’t need quite as much dressing.
Simple and delicious. We enjoyed it!
Simple, Light and refreshing. Toasted sunflower seeds kept it interesting. I used parsley as cilantro tastes tinny to me.
I LOVE this carrot salad, but then again I live most carrot salads:). SGS recipes never disappoint!
Great salad. Easy to make. Prefer a lighter olive oil so it doesn’t overpower the other flavors.
It was a good side dish. It would have been nice to break it up with another veggie/green.
Not your grandma’s carrot salad!