This Classic Carrot Salad recipe is on almost every southern table at Easter! It is just a few simple ingredients like grated carrots and canned pineapple stirred into a sweetened dressing.
Let’s get started making this Classic Carrot Salad!
Start by prepping your carrots. Cutting off the ends and using a veggie peeler to take their skin off. I guessed at how many of these were going to give me 2 cups of grated carrots. I guessed EXACTLY right! 50+ years in the kitchen have taught me well.
You can use a food processor or box grated to prep them. I have even bought pre-shredded carrots for a FAST side dish on a busy day.
The rest of the ingredients are simple too. I use drained canned pineapple tidbits usually. Today I only had pineapple chunks so I just chopped them in half. They need to be drained and DRIED off or the salad will get watery fast. Raisins are a “treat swap Purple” for the 21 Day Fix. I am only using 3 tablespoons in this salad and dividing it by the serving size means I will only be using 1/4 of 1 treat swap. There is more information about treat swaps HERE.
Dressing the Salad
I use grated onions with their juice in my Classic Carrot Salad dressing, it gives it a “sweet and sour” taste. If I am using the raisins I add them into the dressing, so they can begin to soften. I just put everything in a jar with a lid and give it a hardy shake.
The dressing is going to sit for a little while so the sugar melts and the flavors melt together. I simply call this “sweet dressing”. We make it with yogurt, Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, or a combination of any of them and sugar. I use it as a fruit salad dressing and an apple salad dressing. I used a combo of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise in this recipe because all yogurt would be too much “bite” for me.
There are 2 ways that people serve this salad. #1 They make it ahead, giving the dressing time to soften the carrots. You need to stir that salad before you serve it to wet everything back down with dressing, as the carrots released juice. #2 Make the dressing ahead and make the salad fresh or just add the dressing to a prepped salad right before serving. That way keeps the carrots crunchy and is my favorite way to eat it. But I don’t turn my nose up at the leftovers the next day.
Classic Carrot Salad {21 Day Fix}
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated onion and juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Carrot Salad
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits drained and dried off
- 3 tablespoons raisins, optional
Instructions
Dressing
- Add all the ingredients to a jar. Add your raisins if you want them to soften. Let it rest for 30 minutes or more. (The longer the raisins stay in the dressing the softer they will be)
Carrot Salad
- Add carrots, pineapple, and dressing w/raisins to a bowl and stir well. Serve immediately.
21 Day Fix Container Counts for a serving size of about 2/3 cup: ½G, ¼P, 1½ oil spoons, 1 sweet spoon--- if using raisins ¼ treat swap Purple
What can you serve with this Classic Carrot Salad?
It is a perfect side dish for a good ol’ plate of country food! Like the mashed potatoes in this recipe HERE.
Maybe some grilled meat and a Squash Casserole!
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[…] A classic carrot salad is a great way to get veggies on the table that everyone will like! I have a great recipe HERE. […]