Carrot Salad
Firm grated carrots, crunchy celery, and grassy green peppers, also known as mangoes, combine with a vinegar based dressing to create a fresh, raw vegetable salad with just the right amount of tang.
Served cold, this old fashioned Carrot Salad with Celery is a refreshing side dish that is perfect for parties, potlucks and summer cookouts!
Why You’ll Love This Raw Carrot Salad Recipe
We’ve been working to sneak more vegetables and fiber into our diet.
Just like our Asian Broccoli, Carrot Bread, and Broccoli Casserole with Ritz Crackers when veggies are incorporated with other ingredients or served in a unique way it’s easier to eat healthier.
What I Love:
- A simple way to serve more fresh vegetables at family meals.
- Easy storage and portability – great to make ahead and travel to family reunions and summer potlucks.
- Make it once and enjoy it for days—this big batch of pickled vegetables keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a week.
- Shared by my sister-in-law from a community cookbook, this recipe has stood the test of time and been prepared in many family kitchens.
Raw Carrot Salad Recipe
Our Carrot and Celery Salad is one of those old fashioned recipes that is resurfacing and having another round of popularity.
Green peppers are also known as mangoes in Ohio and other Applachian areas like West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The first time we made it was for a combination 4th of July and birthday celebration. We brought this carrot salad and our Country Potato Salad and both were a big hit!
How to Make Carrot & Celery Salad with Mango
- Slice and chop celery, onion and green pepper which is also known as a mango.
- Shred whole carrots if needed. Combine all veggies in a large bowl
- Mix up homemade vegetable dressing.
- Marinate vegetables at least 24 hours before serving. Always store in the refrigerator.
Easy Dressing Recipe for Carrot Salad
This easy marinade recipe with vinegar can be used to make many different pickled vegetables and vegetable salads.
Simply mix together white vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, salt and celery salt to great any easy homemade dressing for carrot salad.
Using a wide dish as opposed to a tall dish is best. This allows most if not all of the vegetables can be submerged in marinade. The more sides of every piece of vegetable that have contact with the dressing the more flavor that will be infused in every bite!
How Long Does Carrot Salad Last in the Refrigerator?
Carrot salad when stored in an air tight container and marinated in a vinegar based dressing may be good for 5 – 7 days in the refrigerator as long as fresh, good quality vegetables were used to make the salad. We prefer to enjoy the salad in the first 3 – 4 days to maximize food quality and safety.
If veggies used were at the end of their shelf life the salad will not last as long.
This recipe is several decades old and the author noted that it will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator, but I don’t think I’m that brave. Keeping food safety in mind I would try to eat the salad as quickly as possible, or make half of a batch so that it can be kept fresh.
Tips for Making Carrot Salad
- We prefer the veggies to be chopped into smaller pieces so that more flavors can mix in every bite.
- Onions can be sliced or diced based on your preference. Sliced onions provide a more noticeable flavor in each bite, while diced onions blend more seamlessly with the other vegetables.
- Marinate veggies in a thin layer in a wide container as opposed to a tall container to allow maximum contact of vegetables to dressing. Marinate for at least 24 hours for the dressing to really soak in.
- Other veggies can be mixed in and pickled if desired.
Can The Carrots Be Cooked?
When we first tested this recipe we lightly boiled the carrots. They were cooked, yet firm. We used whole carrots that were peeled, sliced and boiled.
Cut, chop, slice into bite-sized pieces that are a shape you enjoy. Using different sizes of carrots and different cooking methods changes the texture, which is often a personal preference.
Drain carrots in a strainer once they reach desired doneness and run under cold water to help stop cooking.
These cooked carrots are pictured below along with the fruit mangos, when I did not know that green peppers were commonly called mangoes in the past. That mixture tasted good too and was very unique, but didn’t last as long as using fresh vegetables only.
Other Refreshing Summer Recipes:
- Simple Strawberry Popsicles
- Sauerkraut Salad
- Linguine Salad
- Cashew Chicken Rotini Salad
- Brown Rice Salad with Spinach & Tomatoes
- Mardi Gras Pasta Salad
Carrot Salad
Ingredients
Carrot Salad
- 32 ounces shredded carrots
- 3 ribs celery sliced
- 1 medium onion diced or sliced
- 1 green pepper diced
Pickle Vegetable Dressing
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup white vinegar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
Instructions
- Slice celery into thin pieces, chop onion and green pepper.3 ribs celery, 1 medium onion, 1 green pepper
- Mix vegetables together.32 ounces shredded carrots
- Combine dressing ingredients. Marinate vegetables in dressing in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.3/4 cup sugar, 2/3 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
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I was just looking for recipes and side dishes and then I saw this. It looks delicious! I’ll have to give it a try!
I really like to cook salads. There is so much variety. Here are some more ideas from you. Thanks for sharing!