Try this simple carrot ribbon salad featuring crunchy carrots, dried cranberries, and pepitas, all drizzled with a homemade maple dijon dressing.
Easy side dish recipes can add flavor and variety to meals. We love adding fresh vegetable side dishes like broccoli salad with dried cranberries, or a spinach salad with mandarin oranges to dinner.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Comes together in minutes
- Fancy enough as a side dish for the Holidays
- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Low FODMAP Recipe
Featured Ingredients
- Whole Carrots - Fresh carrots, peeled into ribbons.
- Dressing Ingredients: avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, pure maple syrup, dijon mustard, and kosher salt - A flavorful and balanced maple dijon vinaigrette.
- Dried Cranberries - Sweetened dried cranberries add a pop of sweetness.
- Roasted Pepitas - Add texture and salty flavor.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Grab a large enough bowl to hold the carrot ribbons. Add the avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, and kosher salt. Whisk it until fully combined. Set aside.
Step 2: Wash and peel the carrots. Cut off the tops and bottoms, and discard them.
Use a paper towel to catch the peelings, making cleanup a breeze!
Step 3: Peel long carrot ribbons with a peeler. Add to the bowl. Toss until the carrot ribbons are coated with the dressing.
Step 4: If serving right away, add the dried cranberries and pepitas.
If not, cover and chill until ready to serve. Before serving, toss the carrots again and then add the cranberries and pepitas.
Tips
Did you know a peeler can get dull? If yours is anything like my twenty-year-old peeler, it wasn’t exactly peeling easily anymore… Time to replace yours, too? I bought a Y-peeler from Amazon, and it's amazing how much better it works! I might actually look forward to peeling potatoes for almond milk mashed potatoes!
Ingredient Swaps
- Oil Options: Any neutral-tasting oil will work.
- Vinegar Options: White distilled vinegar will provide a sharper bite to the dressing.
- Raisins: Swap in raisins for the dried cranberries.
- Sunflower Kernels: Use roasted sunflower kernels instead of pepitas.
FAQs
Sure, but make sure you shred them yourself for the freshest flavor.
Pure maple syrup is made solely from maple syrup, without any added ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.
While this carrot salad is a no-lettuce salad, feel free to add a spring lettuce mix or arugula for added nutrition.
Storing
Store: Keep this salad covered and in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. The longer it sits, the less crunchy the carrots will be.
Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this carrot salad.
When To Serve Carrot Ribbon Salad
Holiday Meals: Add this fresh, crunchy salad to Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter menus. It will provide a crunchy break from the heavy side dishes like green bean casserole.
Potlucks: Bring this beautiful salad to a potluck! Everyone will love it, and it is budget-friendly!
Summer BBQs: Carrot salad is always in season and goes great with burgers, hot dogs, and pasta salad.
Loveable Side Dishes
Love This Recipe?
Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating + comment. It helps so much, and we love hearing from everyone! Thank You -Venessa
Recipe
Carrot Ribbon Salad
Equipment
- Y-Peeler
Ingredients
- 2 pounds whole carrots about 5 cups
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil (Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (Note 2)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (Note 3)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries (Note 4)
- ½ cup roasted pepitas
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, and kosher salt. Whisk the ingredients together until combined. Set aside.
- Wash and peel the carrots. With a knife, cut off the bottoms and the tops.
- Hold the top of the carrot and use the peeler to shave it into ribbons.
- Add the carrot ribbons to the bowl with the dressing. Toss until coated with dressing.
- If serving right away, add the dried cranberries and roasted pepitas. If serving the next day, wait to add until just before serving.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad. The longer the carrots sit in the dressing, the longer they marinate and the softer they get.
Venessa Mandelkow says
Made this for Easter and got rave reviews from everyone!