Raw Carrot Raisin Salad
Best Raw Carrot Raisin Salad – This fabulous cold southern salad recipe is brimming with crunchy carrots, plump raisins, and sliced almonds tossed together in a tangy and creamy dressing!
Why We Love This Carrot Recipe
Carrot and Raisin Salad is a traditional southern side dish popular at picnics in potlucks. Crunchy, slightly chewy, perfectly sweet, earthy, and a touch creamy… This classic no-cook recipe has offers a simple combination of fresh carrots with pantry staples like mayo and honey. We’ve also given our’s toasted almonds and green onions to give it a little pop and crunch!
Along with fantastic texture and taste, you’ll also love how extremely easy it is to make. Simply shred carrots and toss them with raisins mayonnaise and a few well-selected seasonings. Then chill, and done.
Raw carrot salad holds up well in the refrigerator for several days, so it is a great make-ahead for events. Serve it at your next gathering in a big bowl with a large spoon and watch it disappear!
Ingredients You Need
- Carrots – thinly shredded
- Raisins – black or golden
- Mayonnaise – can be low fat
- Honey – enhances the sweetness of the carrots and raisins
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is best, but bottled will do well in a pinch
- Ground cumin – a tasty earthy, savory spice that balances the sweet flavors
- Green onions – chopped
- Almond slices – toasted
- Salt and pepper – to taste
How to Make Carrot Raisin Salad
Place the sliced almonds in a shallow dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the almonds, tossing the pan several times until most of them are slightly golden brown. Then turn off the heat to allow the almonds to cool.
Set out a large bowl. Use a grater to shred 5 to 6 large carrots creating 4 cups of shredded carrots. (You can use the shredding plate on a food processor to do this quicker.) Place the shredded carrots in the bowl. Drizzle the lemon juice over the carrots and toss well to protect the carrots from browning.
Then add in the raisins, mayonnaise, honey, and cumin.
Get the Complete (Printable) Raw Raisin Carrot Salad Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Mix until all the ingredients are well coated in the dressing.
Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Toss in the chopped green onions and the toasted almonds. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
This crisp, refreshing, and sweet salad was made for sharing! It’s always a big hit at potlucks and picnics, barbecues, and any casual gathering.
We love to pair the carrot salad recipe with our favorite summer main dishes. Enjoy it as a sweet balance to savory BBQ Chicken, Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends, Coffee Brushed BBQ Ribs or Babyback Ribs, or Frito Chili Cheeseburgers.
Want a full table that’s sure to please a crowd? Consider serving a few other easy summer-iffic sides, too! Dishes like:
- Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Retro Cornbread Salad
- Cheesy Hominy Casserole
- Zesty Roasted Okra
Frequently Asked Questions
A bit of lemon juice goes a long way to keep carrots a lovely orange color.
You can substitute mayonnaise with yogurt in this recipe if you like.
It’s easy to swap a couple of ingredients and make this a vegan raw carrot salad recipe. Use your favorite eggless vegan mayo, and substitute honey with agave syrup.
This salad keeps well for up to 4-5 days in an airtight container.
No, this dish does not hold up well to freezing.
Want to mix things up? Try adding in diced apples, crushed pineapple, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, other types of chopped nuts, feta, or candied ginger.
Looking for More Easy Salad and Side Dish Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Cool and Creamy Grape Salad
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Caribbean Coleslaw Recipe
- Raw Beet and Sweet Potato Salad
- Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Raw Carrot Raisin Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded carrots
- ¾ cup raisins black or golden
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- ½ cup sliced almonds toasted
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the sliced almonds in a shallow dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the almonds, tossing the pan several times until most of them are slightly golden brown. Then turn off the heat to allow the almonds to cool.
- Set out a large salad bowl. Use a grater to shred 5 to 6 large carrots creating 4 cups of shredded carrots. Place the shredded carrots in the bowl. Drizzle the lemon juice over the carrots and toss well to protect the carrots from browning. Then add in the raisins, mayonnaise, honey, and cumin. Mix until all the ingredients are well coated in the dressing.
- Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Toss in the chopped green onions and the toasted almonds. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
I made this. I doubled the dressing except for the cumin because we like it creamier than the original. I also added pineapple tidbits. Great side salad.
So delicious! I made this salad for a potluck the other day and everyone was asking for the recipe! Thanks for sharing, I’ll definitely be making it again!
THIS DISH!!! So good!! The toasted almond slices really elevates it altogether!
This was great, even my super picky kids were eating this.
what a playful way to bring in your veggies! this was super tasty and I cannot thank you enough for sharing this recipe!