Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes are
Simple, Refreshing and SO Healthy!

These Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes are super simple and delightfully refreshing. I love Carrot Salads, especially during the summer. They are not only simple and refreshing, but also invigorating with the addition of fresh citrus, a little fruit, and a tad of sweetener. Skip the mayo, let the refreshing, sweet, earthy flavors of carrots, a little citrus, and some optional fresh or dried fruit, seeds, nuts, or other vegetables, shine! Naturally vegan and gluten-free.

Carrots (and their greens) are super affordable, yet provide many health benefits ~ worth their weight in, well, orange, yellow, purple and even black! You'll be doing your eyes, bones, and heart plenty good when you enjoy any of the variations of Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes, or some other form of carrots, on the regular! (Heck, with their soluble and insoluble fiber, they can help keep you regular too!)

Do some extra meal prep one afternoon, and grate up a pound of carrots, or carrots & beets to create delicious Carrot & Beet Salads which are equally refreshing, and great for your eye health, liver, blood sugar balance, and more!

Prefer a more savory flavored Carrot Salad Recipe? I've got you covered. See all the Carrot Salad Recipe variations, below.

Try any variation of these Simple and Refreshing Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes as a stand alone snack, on top of fresh salad greens, added to a wrap or stuffed pita with hummus or other bean dip, or as an accompaniment to any main meal.

Shaved Carrot Salad with Basil & Raisins

How shall I grate thee, oh humble carrot?

A fun way to add variety to your Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes is to experiment with different cuts of shredded or shaved carrots. Each has a slightly different texture, flavor, and chew. The more finely grated the carrots are, the sweeter they taste, and the easier to chew.

Even when shredding carrots, I get a different texture and taste when I hand grate versus when I grate them using my food processor. When doing plant-based meal prep, it's certainly helpful to grate a pound or more of carrots all at once. Using a food processor helps this process go quickly.

Alternatively, hand grated, or even hand shaved produces a slightly less moist, more fresh taste. At least it does to me. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, below.

Store bought grated carrots will be a thicker grate than what you end up with using a hand grater or food processor. It's very convenient. However, for some folks, ok, for my mom, it got to be too much chewing. So, there's that. And, you pay a premium for the added convenience of already prepped vegetables. Plus, pre-shredded carrots sit at the store for who knows how long; with more surface area exposed, they can dry out, and typically taste a little less fresh than when you grate the carrots yourself.

The decision of course will be personal, often based on saving time when really busy. Sometimes, it's a lot easier to buy a bag of already shredded carrots to make these Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes even simpler than they already are!

What types of carrots should I use for Carrot Salad Recipes?

As I discuss in the Health Benefits of Carrots article (if not yet linked, it will be shortly) there are different varieties of carrots, often classified as eastern or western. With respect to taste, texture, and vitamin and antioxidant compounds, there are some differences.

According to the research cited in my article about the Health Benefits of Carrots, "the taproot of purple carrots had more anthocyanin accumulation than that of yellow and orange carrots." Anthocyanins are the compound in purple carrots and other purple colored fruits and vegetables that help improve vision, and prevent disease.

That said, carotenoids provide many health benefits themselves, as also discussed in my article about the Health Benefits of Tomatoes. Generally speaking, Don and I aim to consume at least 1 large carrot each per day, along with other orange, carotenoid-rich vegetables, such as winter squash (technically a fruit), or sweet potatoes.

In my opinion, orange carrots are the sweetest tasting, followed by yellow carrots. I have found the purple and red carrots to be more earthy flavored, woody in texture, and less sweet than the other varieties. But that's just my opinion, thus far.

Of course, according to Chinese Five Elements Theory, each color would benefit different elements, with the red carrots benefiting the Fire element, which includes the heart and small intestines, the yellow and orange carrots would benefit the Earth element, and organs of digestion, and the purple carrots would most closely benefit the Water element, which includes the kidneys and urinary bladder.

If you like 'eating the rainbow,' or if you tend to consume less purple fruits and vegetables, or if you like the color and textural contrasts, enjoy the full spectrum of colored carrots in your Carrot Salad Recipes.

What types of ingredients can I add to my Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes?

Well, really, anything goes. Keep it simple, or more elaborate. That's up to you. Here is a short list of what I especially like in my Carrot Salad Recipes:

Carrots (had to state the obvious!)
Other veggies (sliced celery, scallions, beets, radishes, etc.)
Dried fruit (raisins, currants, cranberries, shopped apricots)
Fresh fruit (diced apples, pineapple, mandarin oranges)
Fresh herbs (mint, basil, parsley, chives, dill)
Acid (fresh squeezed orange, lemon or lime juice, or a vinegar, such as rice, brown rice, or apple cider vinegars, or a light floral white balsamic, or deeper, more rich plain or fruit flavored balsamic vinegar such as pomegranate or raspberry balsamic vinegar)
Sweetener, optional (maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or your favorite. I used to use local raw honey, but no longer buy honey. Some people like agave syrup, but I have personally not used agave.)
Seasonings, optional (pepper, possibly dried herbs, cumin, a little reduced sodium tamari, miso, etc.)
Nuts / seeds (chopped toasted walnuts, pecans, and/or whole or ground sunflower or pumpkin seeds)
Oil (high lignin flax oil, high oleic sunflower oil, light or toasted sesame oil are my favorites, but you could use an extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, a nut oil like walnut or hazelnut oil, or your favorite. If you are avoiding all oils, simply omit the oil, and up the acid a bit, balancing with whatever type of sweetener you use, and fresh or dried herbs.)

Now that you have the above list of possible ingredients, feel free to create your own favorite Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes! Or, check out mine, and see what you think!

A great benefit for making Carrot Salads in bulk as part of meal prep is that they get better as they sit. The citrus or acid component breaks down the carrot and the flavors merge together.

Fresh Romaine Salad with Carrot Salad added

Thick cooked lentils on top of greens and topped with avocado, served with brown rice & Carrot Beet Salad with Cashew Dressing

Mixed Fruit & Vegetable Salad with Carrot Salad on top

Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound carrots
2 - 3 Tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice, or 1 lime or lemon - Zest citrus first to add for an extra fresh pop!
2 Tbsp. High Lignin Flaxseed Oil, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Walnut or Hazelnut Oil, or oil of choice (or omit if oil-free, and sub chopped roasted nuts or seeds instead as the fat improves absorption of the carotenoids)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (also good for blood sugar balance)
1/4 cup raisins
2-3 tsp. maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or sub a few drops of liquid stevia, or your sweetener of choice

STEPS

Peel / clean carrots
Grate using the largest holes in a box hand held grater, or shred in a food processor, or make shavings w/ a potato peeler
Combine ingredients in a bowl
Add any of the following additional fruit or variations as desired from the list below, or outline of ingredients, above.

Notes:

If it helps, combine the citrus, sweetener and oil in the bowl first to make sure the ingredients blend well, then add carrots and any other ingredients. Toss until all the carrots are well coated.

Our preferred flax oils are high lignan, especially by Omega Nutrition, also linked above, Flora brand, or Barlean's brand, all organic, high lignan.

I also prefer USA grown High Oleic Sunflower Oil, such as Fresh Press Farms in Georgia, linked above, or La Tourangelle Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil out of California is a reputable oil producing company. They also have several different good nut oils.

Possible Vegan Carrot Salad Recipe Add-Ins or Variations

Add 2+ shredded beets ~ increasing the amount of liquid ingredients accordingly (great with any of the citrus or balsamic vinegars)
When ready to eat, add 1/2 a peeled and chopped apple
Add mandarin oranges ~ fresh or canned
Add unsweetened canned pineapple along with some of the pineapple juice
Add 1-2 Tbsp. shredded coconut
Add chopped fresh or roasted walnuts or pecans
Add sliced celery ~ with or without chopped apple
Sub fresh or dried apricot in lieu of raisins
Use apple cider vinegar orrice vinegar
Garnish with thin sliced fresh mint, dill, basil or fresh chopped parsley
Season with fresh cracked pepper, or a salt-free lemon pepper blend

Vegan Plant-Based Meal with Marinated Baked Tofu, Sweet Potatoes, Baby Bok Choy & Carrot Beet Salad

More Savory Vegan Carrot Salad Recipes

Vegan Carrot Salad can be made more savory, and served with your main entree.

4-6 carrots, peeled and shredded
1-2 shredded beets, optional
Juice of 1-2 limes (add the zest of the limes for more of a fresh pop!)
1-2 Tbsp. oil of choice
2 thin sliced scallions
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
About 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
A pinch of cayenne pepper to taste or just black or white pepper
Tiny pinch of ground clove, optional
1 tsp. maple syrup, optional

Combine all ingredients, and toss. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Asian Flavored Vegan Carrot Salad Recipe

Blend 1+Tbsp. light or toasted sesame oil (or a blend of both) in a small bowl with equal amounts of rice vinegar & reduced sodium tamari with a little Sriracha or other hot sauce, and 1+ tsp. sweetener of choice, which can include an organic vegan brown sugar, or xylitol. To this you can also add a little squeeze of orange or other citrus. Adjust taste as needed, then use this as your Savory Carrot Salad Vinaigrette.

Toss with fresh sliced scallions, and any other optional vegetables, such as thin sliced celery or Napa cabbage. Garnish with slivered almonds.

Learn more...

>>>Read more about how taking time to Meal Prep (especially on a whole-foods, plant-based diet) is soooo helpful, with tips, basic recipes, lots of photos and more!

>>>You may also like Quick Blanched (QB) Greens & Veggies!

Learn more about the fascinating health benefits of different foods!

>>>Health Benefits of Carrots >>>Health Benefits of Tomatoes >>>Health Benefits of Potatoes