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This raw carrot salad is such a pretty, easy side dish! With ribboned carrots, salty feta, nutty pistachios, fresh parsley, and shallot vinaigrette, this is a super flavorful, but simple, salad that’s perfect for BBQs, weeknight dinners, and more.

A white platter with raw carrot salad with feta, pistachios, and parsley on a white counter next to a wood bowl of parsley and beige linen.

Once spring hits, I officially enter ‘salad mode’ which I promise is a lot less boring than it sounds. Around here, ‘salad’ is a very loose term and basically means includes anything that vaguely represents a veggie with some kind of dressing. Such is the case in my antipasto tortellini pasta salad. But, I digress. Today, we’re talking about carrot salad!

Honestly, I don’t think we appreciate carrot salad enough in the states, because I’ve never really see them here unless I’m at a European deli or something. But, it’s one of my favorite side dishes. Like. I’ve probably eaten this salad at least 12 times in the past month. I’m honestly hoping this habit eventually upgrades to a spinach obsession.

Here’s why I love this salad

Carrot salad recently went viral on TikTok, but it’s nothing new. Back in culinary school, we used to make it as a topping for sandwiches. But, this specific recipe has been my favorite ever since I started making it years ago!

  • Carrot salad only has a handful of ingredients. And they’re all easy to find!
  • The recipe is simple and comes together in minutes.
  • It’s a great side dish for BBQs, dinner parties, or weeknights.
  • This salad is fresh, tangy, flavorful, and perfect for spring or summer.

Use fresh carrots

Carrots, a white bowl of feta, a white bowl of pistachios, a wood bowl of shallots, parsley, and white bowls of oil, honey, vinegar, and mustard on a white counter.

The important thing with this recipe is to use fresh carrots. You can either peel them into ribbons or shred them. Pre-shredded carrots are usually spongy and dry so it’s best to skip them in this recipe!

For the salad, you’ll also need freshly-crumbled feta cheese, shelled pistachios, and Italian parsley. To make the dressing, you’ll need shallots, red or white wine vinegar, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, Morton’s Kosher salt, and freshly-cracked black pepper.

Blend the dressing

Three steps to making shallot vinaigrette. In photo 1, a food processor bowl is filled with shallots, Greek yogurt, vinegar, and mustard on a white counter next to parsley, carrots, and a white bowl of feta. In photo 2, a hand is pouring olive oil in the food processor. In photo 3, the food processor is filled with dressing.
Blend the shallots, vinegar, yogurt, Dijon, & honey until smooth. Add the olive oil, salt, & pepper.
  1. To make the dressing, add the diced shallot, white wine vinegar, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, and honey to a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
  2. Next, with the food processor running, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture until emulsified.
  3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a jar, cover, and refrigerate.

Toss the salad

Three steps to making carrot salad. In photo 1, a hand is peeling carrots into a white bowl on a white counter next to parsley and a white bowl of feta. In photo 2, a woman is tossing the carrots with dressing. In photo 3, a hand is sprinkling parsley over the carrots on a white platter.
Peel the carrots into ribbons. Toss with the dressing, feta, pistachios, & parsley.
  1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the carrots into long ribbons. 
  2. Then, toss the carrots with the dressing until coated.
  3. Transfer the salad to a platter and garnish with feta cheese, pistachios, and parsley. Enjoy immediately.

Feel free to shred the carrots instead of peeling them into ribbons. You can shred them with a food processor or box grater.

Carrot ribbons

To make the ribbons, all you need is a vegetable peeler! Here’s how I do it:

  1. Start by peeling the skin off of the carrots. This isn’t entirely necessary, just my preference!
  2. Next, lay the carrot against a cutting board (for safety).
  3. Then, use the peeler to peel down the length of the carrots until you can’t get anymore ribbons off of it. Repeat with the remaining carrots until you have a bunch of ribbons.

What to do with the leftover carrots

Two images of carrots; on the left, a pile of carrot sticks on a white counter. On the right, a white bowl of diced carrots on a white counter.

After you shave the carrots, you’ll have a bunch of random little carrot chunks that can’t be ribboned anymore. But, you definitely shouldn’t throw them away, because they’re still useable! Here’s a few things I like to do with the leftovers:

  • Slice them into sticks to enjoy with hummus.
  • Dice the carrots and freeze them for soup or stir-fry.
  • Roast them with butter and fresh herbs.
  • Grate them in a food processor to add to meatloaf or carrot cake.
A woman in a green floral dress using tongs to grab raw carrot salad with feta, pistachios, and parsley off of a white platter next to parsley and glasses of white wine with a white and grey background.

Storing & prep in advance

Any leftover salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Keep in mind that the pistachios will soften as they sit in the dressing, so if you expect to have leftovers, I recommend adding the pistachios to each individual serving.

You can also make the dressing and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. To prep the carrots, place the ribbons in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel or linen, gently pressing it against the carrots. Cover with a bowl cover or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Don’t prep the carrots more than 12 hours in advance. They’ll get dry as they sit in the fridge!

Notes & tips

  • To make this salad vegan, simply leave out the feta cheese. You’ll also want to replace the honey in the dressing with maple or agave syrup.
  • For the best flavor, I recommend making the salad a couple of hours in advance. It will give the carrots time to soak in the dressing without making them soggy.
  • Sprinkle the pistachios over the salad right before serving. They will get soft as they sit in the dressing.
Raw carrot salad with feta and shallot vinaigrette on a white platter placed on a wood board next to glasses of white wine, silver tongs, and a wood bowl of parsley on a white background.

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Raw carrot salad with feta cheese and parsley on a white platter.
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Carrot Salad with Feta & Shallot Vinaigrette

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
This raw carrot salad makes for a pretty, fresh, and easy side dish! With ribboned carrots, salty feta, nutty pistachios, fresh parsley, and shallot vinaigrette, this is a super flavorful, but simple, salad that's perfect for BBQs, weeknight dinners, and more.
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Ingredients

Shallot Dressing

  • 1 small shallot, peeled & roughly chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Carrot Salad

  • 2 pounds carrots, washed, trimmed, & peeled
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup pistachios, toasted & roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

Equipment

  • Vegetable peeler

Instructions 

Shallot Vinaigrette

  • Add the shallot, white wine vinegar, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, and honey to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pulse until the mixture is smooth.
  • With the food processor or blender running, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the shallot mixture until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
  • Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Transfer the dressing to a jar, cover, and refrigerate for later.

Carrot Salad

  • First, ribbon the carrots. Start by laying a carrot against a cutting board (for safety). Then, use a vegetable peeler to peel down the length of the carrots repeatedly until you can't get anymore ribbons off of it. Repeat with the remaining carrots until you have a big pile of ribbons.
  • Transfer the carrots to a large bowl and add half of the dressing. Toss until combined. Taste, and add more dressing, if desired.
  • Spoon the carrots onto a platter and garnish with the feta, pistachios, and parsley. (Alternatively, toss the feta, pistachios, and parsley into the large bowl of carrots.) Enjoy!

Notes

To prep the carrots in advance, place the ribbons or grated carrots in a large bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel or linen, pressing it against the top of the carrots. Cover with a bowl cover or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Instead of shaving the carrots, you can also make grated carrot salad. Grate the carrots with a box grater or with the grater attachment of a food processor.
I like to make this salad about 1-2 hours in advance so the carrots have time to soak up the dressing. Just add the pistachios right before serving, or they will get soggy.
This salad will make 6 larger or 8 smaller servings. Feel free to halve or double it.
Cuisine: American
Course: Salad
Author: Sara Lynn Hunt Broka
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 259kcal, Carbohydrates: 21.5g, Protein: 7.7g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4.2g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 313mg, Potassium: 636mg, Fiber: 4.4g, Sugar: 11.6g, Calcium: 160mg, Iron: 1mg
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Originally posted on April 16, 2018.