I’ve discovered a salad that my daughter will gobble up like candy. In fact, she eats so much of it that she’s almost in danger of turning orange! I’m talking, of course, about good, old-fashioned carrot salad–but with a few updates and improvements.
Carrot salads are usually loaded with mayo and sugar, but I’ve found a way to cut out both and wind up with a salad that’s actually more delicious than the regular version.
The not-so-secret ingredients are cashews and raisins, which when blended produce a creamy, lightly sweetened dressing that brings out carrots’ natural sweetness without smothering them. Normally I use lemon juice to balance out the sweetness, but just for fun this time I substituted orange juice for a sunny burst of flavor.
If you have a good high-speed blender and a food processor, you will not believe how quickly this 6-ingredient recipe comes together.
Carrot-Cashew Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (or 2 tbsp. lemon juice)
- 1/4 cup plain soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 pound carrots
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with hot water. Soak until raisins are plump. (Place in refrigerator if soaking overnight.)
- Drain the raisins (you may reserve the water to use for sweetening other dishes). Place 2 tablespoons raisins, 1/4 cup cashews, the orange juice, and the soymilk in a blender and blend on high speed until completely liquefied.
- Set up your food processor with shredding disk. Trim the carrots, cut them into lengths so that they can fit horizontally in the large feed tube, and shred them in several batches. Place carrots in a large bowl, stir in the cashew cream, and add salt to taste. Stir in the remaining raisins and cashews. Refrigerate for at least an hour and stir before before serving.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Diane Yaghoobian
October 17, 2011 at 5:07 pmI made and enjoyed this but will stop when the batch is gone because – and this flummoxes me about virtually all “fat free” vegan recipes – it is actually quite high in fat. Nothing with 1/2 cup of cashews could by any stretch be considered fat free. I got Isa Moskowitz’ Appetite for Reduction, supposed to be low fat vegan – NOT. Scavenging on the net, things are apparently called low fat or fat free in a belief the fat you are using is more virtuous. Fat is fat, and raisins are high sugar, no wonder your daughter eats it like candy; it is, albeit more nutrient dense. Maybe if the raisin box read “high fructose concentration” that would ring the appropriate alarm bell. It is certainly a great way to eat raw carrots but it is not fat free or sugar free.
SusanV
October 17, 2011 at 5:17 pmIt is labeled as a higher-fat recipe, not a fat-free one.
jessica
January 13, 2012 at 10:16 amso – it’s 11:00 and i just made this to have “for lunch” in a few hours… but half of it is gone already! what an awesome recipe! thanks for sharing it!
Gabrielle
March 3, 2012 at 8:18 pmOh my, Susan. You’ve done it again. I just made this and I cannot bare to leave it in my fridge to marinate. I must eat it right now, its too good. Thanks so much for this recipe. I’m definitely going to make it again!
Elena
March 26, 2012 at 1:47 amMmm…perfect for the warmer weather! Although I would add almond milk….don’t like the phytoestrogens in soy.
Mimmi
April 7, 2012 at 10:44 amHello!
I tried this carrod salad and found it great! Here in Finland the carrot salad includes only carrot – nothing else, so for me this was a dessert. But what’s better than dessert-salad!
Lovisa
April 9, 2012 at 5:03 amWow. This salad was amazing! Sure to say there are no leftovers, and even my fussy 3-year old son claimed it was “yummy”. Next time I’m bringing salad to a pot-luck, I’m bringing this one.
S Price
May 28, 2012 at 6:20 pmDelicious! The dressing was A-mazing! My only recommendation would be to try to squeeze as much water as you can from the carrots before you add the other ingredients because it tasted just a little watered down. I tasted the dressing before I added, so I know it wasn’t that. Other than that, fabulous!
serialspinner
July 29, 2012 at 1:29 pmI found your blog through a search for a carrot salad. This one came up and I just made it. Wow!! It’s great! My only deviation from the recipe was to add a little bit of orange zest with the juice.
Thanks so much for a great collection of recipes. I’m going to spend a lot of time here as I try to clean up our diet.
Cheryl
December 30, 2012 at 7:18 pmThank you so much for this recipe! I make it all the time. I never have raisins here so I substitute craisins or chopped dried plums. My all time favorite salad recipe!
Toni Cooper
March 18, 2013 at 5:31 pmYummmmm! I’m having leftovers for breakfast !!
Lilli
December 29, 2013 at 5:34 amMy Mum makes an amazing carrot salad, she uses finely chopped hazelnuts instead of cashews and adds finely chopped spring onions and pea shoots. It’s delicious!!
Carrie
October 20, 2014 at 8:21 amI made this yesterday and took it to a dinner get together – a big hit and everyone wanted the recipe! Just the right amount of sweetness mixed with the tang of lemon in the dressing. Absolutely delicious and so worthy of my fresh garden carrots. 😉 Thank you, Susan!
RawFruitBasedLiving
February 25, 2015 at 11:06 amThis looks good. The colour is lovely, and I do think raisins and carrots go well together. I like the pound of carrots! 😉
Sarah Mc
July 31, 2015 at 12:51 pmHi Susan,
I’m still loving your recipes! But I’m writing to thank you for your post from quite a few months ago about Amzaon’s deal on an electric pressure cooker. I bought one right away, and then let it sit in the box for months (it was my busy work season -yeah, excuses, excuses :-). Anyway, I started using it the past few weeks, and I am totally hooked. It has made making delicious recipes, beans, and intact grains so much easier. So THANK YOU for thinking of your readers, and tipping us off to this great deal. I would pay the same amount again – that’s how much I love this machine!
Have a great weekend.
Sarah
Olga
September 13, 2015 at 3:35 pmlooks fantastic
Johanne Beaulieu
July 22, 2020 at 4:26 amHow long will this keep in the fridge?
Susan Voisin
July 22, 2020 at 10:31 amI never keep any prepared food longer than a week.