A grated carrot salad piled on a wooden cutting board with two lemon wedges.

4.89 / 9 votes

Grated Carrot Salad

This grated carrot salad is an obscenely easy, quick, and healthy side made without mayo. Just carrots, olive oil, and lemon juice. Don't think it's boring, though. Trust us.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Sides

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: servings

Calories: 88

Ingredients

▢ 4 carrots, peeled and julienned or finely grated
▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
▢ Juice of 1/2 lemon
▢ 3 small pinches salt, or less to taste
▢ Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place the carrots in a bowl and add the oil, lemon juice, and salt. Mix gently, season with a little pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Notes

How To Make This Grated Carrot Salad In Advance

We’re all for simplicity in terms of flavors and ingredients and recipes, so long as it doesn’t sacrifice taste. If you prefer to impart a little bling, kindly go ahead and do your thing. Some ways to add a little oomph, off the top of our heads, include

a pinch each ground cinnamon and ground cumin

a handful dark or golden raisins

a pinch garam masala

a spinkle of sumac

a dash hot sauce (whether Tabasco, Cholula, Tapatío, Sriracha, or what have you)

a fistful of fresh herbs

a little more lemon

Or a little of anything else you please. See? Easy peasy.

In Advance Advice

Although the author exhorts you to “serve immediately,” several of our more rebellious testers covered and refrigerated the salad for anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours and found the dish to be just as terrific in taste and texture as it was the moment they made it. In fact, one tester deemed it “still fabulous.” He went on to say, “The carrots were still crunchy but they were a little bit sweeter and the oil and lemon were less pronounced but still present. The salad was harmonious and totally addictive. Keeping the salad in the fridge for 24 hours before serving might be too much planning ahead, but why not chill for 30 minutes and see where that gets you?” Well, what are you waiting for?

Nutrition