This carrot salad is fresh and healthy, with a tangy vinaigrette dressing! It’s easy to make, ideal for cookouts, potlucks, as a side dish, or for lunch.
Carrot salad might sound humble, but it’s anything but. Serve this carrot salad to your friends and family, and they’ll be singing your praises! We know because after we made this at our house, it disappeared within minutes. It’s simple and refreshing, featuring strings of carrots doused in a a tangy Mediterranean-style vinaigrette. Just a handful of ingredients and you have a healthy side dish you won’t want to stop eating. Here’s how to make it!
How to julienne carrots: 3 ways!
The only hard part of this carrot salad, if there is one, is how to julienne the carrots. You can grate the carrots if you’d like, but we love the look of a good julienne. Julienne cut is cutting a vegetable into long thin matchsticks. The slices have squared off edges. You can julienne carrots with a knife if you’d like. But for this salad, there are a few faster ways:
- Handheld peeler: Use a handheld julienne peeler. Here’s the one we use.
- Food processor: Use the grating blade on a food processor. Feed in the carrots through the hole in the top of the lid.
- Grater: Here’s a shortcut: use the large holes on a box grater! Grated carrots are in flatter pieces than julienne, but they’ll work in a pinch.
This simple carrot salad is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound carrots, julienned (3 cups)
- 2 green onions
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar or maple syrup, and kosher salt. Gradually mix in the olive oil.
- Julienne the carrots using a julienne peeler, with the grating blade on a food processor, or using the large grate holes of a box grater (this will do but the pieces aren’t as pretty).
- Thinly slice the green onions. Finely chop the parsley.
- Add all the vegetables to the bowl with the dressing and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.