A classically Southern side you may remember from grandma’s kitchen or the Chick-fil-A menu, creamy, crunchy carrot raisin salad is the right make-ahead dish for potlucks, cookouts, and spring or summer holidays. It’s made with only a handful of ingredients and absolutely no cooking needed.
🧺 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- This carrot raisin salad comes together in only minutes! The food processor makes super-fast work of shredding the carrots and after that it’s only a matter of stirring all the things together.
- Some people might call carrot raisin salad old-fashioned, and others might think it just sounds downright gross. Personally, I find it irresistible. It’s light and filling and creamy and crunchy, the raisins are plump, and the “dressing” is just the appropriate amount of sweet.
- Facing a potluck or a summer cookout? This salad is simple to maintain within the fridge and dish out for a last-minute side. Make it early within the day or the night before your get-together and sleep well knowing you’ve got not less than one thing checked off your list.
- Carrot raisin salad only needs 6 ingredients, however it makes enough to serve as much as 20 people, depending in your portion sizes. Easy, tasty, budget-friendly? Say no more.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- While carrot raisin salad is an awesome make-ahead option, I don’t recommend making it greater than 24 hours before you propose to serve it. As it sits, the moisture from the carrots could make the dish watery or make the creamy “dressing” separate.
- You buy (and use) pre-shredded carrots if you happen to want, but there’s a difference in texture between those and freshly shredded carrots. Since we’re using the food processor somewhat than a box grater, the little little bit of beyond regular time it takes to shred them yourself is completely value it.
🥗 Other Salad Recipes You’ll Love
Carrot Raisin Salad
Great for Easter, 4th of July, or any spring or summer potluck, chilled carrot raisin salad is so simple as it’s delicious.
Equipment
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vegetable scrub brush or paper towels, or dish towel
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Food processor fitted with shredding disc
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large mixing bowl with lid
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Large picket spoon
Instructions
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Rinse 8 large carrots under running water, scrubbing carrots with brush or towel to remove all surface dirt. Place rinsed carrots in food processor. Work in batches as needed depending on size of carrots and size of food processor.
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Once carrots have been rinsed, secure lid on food processor. Pulse carrots as needed until completely shredded, then transfer shredded carrots to large mixing bowl. Repeat with any remaining carrots as needed until all carrots have been shredded.
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Add all shredded carrots to large mixing bowl, then add 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in 100% juice (drained), 1 cup raisins, 10 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 pinch salt, 2 tablespoons white sugarand 2 tablespoons whole milk.
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Stir ingredients together gently until fully incorporated, adding as much as 1 additional tablespoon whole milk as needed if mixture is just too thick. Taste mixture and stir in additional sugar if desired.
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When satisfied with flavor and consistency of salad, cover bowl with lid and place bowl in refrigerator. Chill salad not less than 1 hour or until able to serve. Stir salad again immediately before serving and serve chilled.
Notes
- Make it Dairy Free: Use unsweetened coconut milk as an alternative of whole milk.
- Make it Vegan: Use unsweetened coconut milk and vegan mayonnaise. Be sure your sugar is 100% vegan, as some are filtered with bone char.
- Make it Added-Sugar Free: Use Swerve sweetener as an alternative of white sugar.
- Make-Ahead: I don’t recommend making this salad greater than 24 hours prematurely. The moisture from the carrots could make the creamy dressing separate and make the dish watery.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate leftover carrot raisin salad in an airtight container as much as 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 serving (roughly ¼ cup), Calories: 93kcal, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 69mg, Potassium: 154mg, Total Carbs: 11g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Net Carbs: 10g, Vitamin A: 4743IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 0.3mg