By:Nagi
62 Comments
Ever wondered how to take a bunch of carrots and turn it into a can’t-stop-eating-it Carrot Salad? The French know! Grate them then toss with a simple yet mouthwatering Honey Mustard Lemon Dressing. It adds tons of flavour and makes the carrot “juicy” with a Coleslaw-like texture.
One bite and you’ll know this is a keeper!
Carrot Salad
If you’re like me, youalways have carrots in the fridge.
Also, if you’re like me, you’re “always” scratching around for quick vegetable side dishes to serve with dinner.
So – ever thought about making Carrot Salad??
It’s quick, it’sunbelievablytasty, and you’ve probably got everything you need to make itright now. And you can feel verytres chic because grated carrot salad is actually a French dish!!
You’ll love how this salad gets nice and “juicy” – just like Coleslaw!
Here’s what you need
Carrots are kind of mandatory here (being a Carrot Salad recipe and all 😂) but other than that, you can switch out the other ingredients:
green onion – this adds a touch of freshness, easily substituted with red onion, eschallots/French onion or even very finely sliced normal onions;
parsley – more for visual than anything, so feel free to leave it out. Coriander/cilantro is also really lovely here, as are chives and chervil;
dijon mustard – American or wholegrain mustard will also be fine here. It’s used for thickening and a touch of touch. Just not hot English mustard – too spicy!
Lemon juice – white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne, sherry or any other slightly less harsh vinegar than plain white vinegar will work a treat here.
As for how to make it – it’s nothing more than shaking up the Dressing in a jar then tossing everything together in a bowl.
French Carrot Salad!
This Carrot Salad is actually a riff on French Carrot Salad. Fresh vegetable sides are few and far between at traditional Parisian bistros, but if they do have one, it’s probably a grated carrot salad.
A traditional grated French Carrot Salad is dressed more simply with just lemon juice and olive oil. It’s fresh and light, intended to cut through rich French food.This Honey Dijon Mustard dressed version has more flavour – so much so that I’ve had it as a light meal on more than one occasion. Try piling it on toasted bread spread with ricotta!
What to serve with Carrot Salad
Carrot Salad is versatile enough to pair with any protein. It pairs with a simple Juicy Baked Chicken Breastas well as it does a golden seared Marinated Pork Chop. It’s fresh enough to serve alongside a rich Garlic Butter Steak and flavourful enough to be a striking side for a simple piece of Crispy Pan Fried Fish.
And it’s just as suited for a simple midweek meal like everybody’s favourite Meatloaf, yet unique enough for a dinner party.Try it on the side of grand centrepieces like:
Herb and Garlic Roast Chicken
Epic Prime Rib (Standing Rib Roast) – or Marinated Roast Beef
Roast Turkey!
Brown Sugar Garlic Butter Roast Pork– or Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling
Classic Sunday Roast Lamb LegOR an incredible slow cooked Lamb Shoulder
Enjoy!– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Video typo! Says coriander instead of parsley. It should say PARSLEY! Please follow recipe card below.
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Incredible, Simple French Carrot Salad
Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Total: 10 minutes mins
Western
4.96 from 21 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Recipe video above. This carrot salad will surprise you – it's so simple, yet so incredibly delicious! I'd go as far as to say it's can't-stop-eating-it good (and that's a big call to make about a salad!) It's a slight riff on a classic French Carrot Salad (which is typically dressed much more lightly with just lemon and olive oil). At the risk of offending an entire nation – this is tastier! 😂
Ingredients
- 4 carrots , medium, peeled
- 2 green onion stems , finely sliced on the diagonal
- 1/4 cup parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Honey Dijon Mustard dressing
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp lemon juice , fresh
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Grate the carrot use a standard box grater (or the shredder attachment of food processor). Aim for strands about 4cm/1.5" long.
Place in a bowl with green onion and parsley.
Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar. Pour over carrot, toss then serve.
Recipe Notes:
This salad gets nice and juicy like Coleslaw after about 30 minutes or so. I like it both ways – freshly dressed, and after it’s been sitting around for a while!
Substitution options:
- Green onion – 1/2 red onion or 1 eschallot / French onion finely sliced
- Dijon mustard – normal American or wholegrain mustard
- Lemon Juice – same amount of white or red wine vinegar, champagne or sherry vinegar
- Honey – maple syrup (same amount) or 1.5 tsp sugar
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 125cal (6%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Protein: 1g (2%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Sodium: 286mg (12%)Potassium: 186mg (5%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 8453IU (169%)Vitamin C: 10mg (12%)Calcium: 24mg (2%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: Carrot Salad
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
More Carrot recipes
Creamy Carrot Soup
Brown Sugar Glazed Roasted Carrots
Dorothy’s Easy Carrot Cake
Glazed Stovetop Carrots
Life of Dozer
Okaaaaay Dozer…. you can have some carrot peel!!
Hi, I'm Nagi!
I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!
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62 Comments
Anastasia says
Love it!!Reply
- Emylia says
Easy and so good. I made this as a pair for the brined roast chicken.Reply
- Pat Rolt says
Made this yesterday to serve with oven baked pork belly rasher – delicious! As always with salad dressings, I only dress the serving size on my plate rather than have the leftover salad vegetables getting soggy. For lunch today, I made a corned beef sandwich with some dressed carrot salad – OMG! next level corned beef sandwich!Reply
- Marble says
My husband pulled carrots from the garden, so I knew what I was making! The dressing recipe will nicely coat a food processor full of shredded carrot. Mine is an old, old Cuisinart, so maybe 10 cups? This will be served with dinner IF we can stop snicking!Reply
- Lyse says
Easy and soooo good…better than store baught, a keeper…thank you again for tastyrecipes!
Reply
- Deborah foulis says
So simple so delicious
Nagi- you’ve done it againReply
- Frances Reed says
Just loved it, will make it again and again. Had no idea carrots and onions would taste so good.Reply
- Lana says
Honestly one of my favorite salads of all time now. How to turn a boring vegetable into a culinary delight-and all with simple ingredients. I applaude you 👏👏Reply
- Sylvia says
Made this salad many times with positive results from family thank you so much for sharing. I have cooked many of recipes with the same results.Reply
- Kyra T says
Damn! So good!
Quick and easy salad to make up if your buying takeaway- saves money buying a salad when you can whip this up in no time!Reply
- Kyra T says
I also added celery and spinach because I also had that in the fridge that needed to be used.
Reply
- Kerrie Thompson says
Hey there Nagi , just a question in video you’ve added coriander but in recipe you’ve got parsley . If I use coriander is it the same amount as the parsley ?
Reply
- Nagi says
Hi Kerrie! Sorry about the typo, it should say parsley in the video! But actually, coriander would be super good in this too for a different flavour angle. And yes, I would use the same amount. N x
Reply
- Sarah Mould says
Thanks for this – it is wonderful in a sandwich with hummus!
Reply
- Ann says
Great idea
Reply
- Kathy says
Love carrot salad! Can’t wait to try this one. Everything you make is spot on!
Reply
- Nagi says
Thanks so much Kathy!! N x
Reply
- Stuart says
Hi,
Nice tasting salad, the only problem for my calorie controlled diet is you didn’t rate the calories in the dressing. 1 tbs of olive oil as 119 calories so you dressing added a whopping 500+ calories to your salad!
Reply
- Nagi says
Hi Stuart, you’re incorrect sorry – the recipe INCLUDES the dressing, so for all these ingredients and assume 5 servings as per the recipe – the calories are 125 per serve, dressing and all!
Reply
- Stuart says
Hi,
That is great news! I love carrots and honey and dijon mustard I never thought of putting them all together. I use your recipes not just because they are normally very nice but also because of the calorie content information.
Reply
- Mary says
Hi Nagi – thanks for another great looking recipe. I see that you add chopped coriander to the salad in the video but don’t list it in the ingredients. What amount would be suitable please?
Reply
- Jerri Chessecake says
Had To makes with brown onion and one tsp of english mustard tho your said not to it still turned out great!Reply
- Nick says
So good and easy!!!!
Reply
- Mike says
Great Recipe. As I do with Coleslaw, tweaked it with chopped Apple. Delicious
Reply
- Nagi says
Sounds delicious Mike!! N x
Reply
- Jarek says
I only found your website by google recommendation. This simple salad was a big surprise, very tasty and I don’t really like carrots. Only thing I was missing was a little bit of a fresh chillies mixed in.
I also cooked a poached chicken using your method and it was very juicy and soft. Great collection of recipes. Greetings from PolandReply
- Nagi says
I’m so glad you found me Jarek, & I’m so happy you’re loving the recipes so far!! N x
Reply
- Angela says
This is delicious! We had it on crusty rolls with pulled bbq brisket and it worked so well. We also had your potato salad as a side. The French dressing in the potatoes was a game changer. Thanks Nagi.Reply
