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Get ready to meet your new favourite way to eat carrots. Raw Carrot Salad with Calabrian Chili & Tahini dressing is on a weekly rotation around here all summer long. Crisp, fresh carrot ribbons tossed in a fiery creamy dressing. If you’ve been searching for a unique way to eat your veggies, this carrot salad recipe is it.
Table of Contents
🥕 Why You’ll Love Raw Carrot Salad
Easy to prepare: firstly, this raw carrot salad requires only a few simple ingredients.
Versatile: secondly, this is great recipe for a light lunch, BBQ side dish, picnic or potluck.
Flavour combination: creamy tahini dressing, spicy Calabrian chili spread and thinly sliced raw carrots make for an unexpectedly addictive flavour combination.
🗒 Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Raw Carrot Salad
- Carrots: the star of the show; thin crispy carrot ribbons are the bulk of the salad.
- Olive oil: helps to emulsify the dressing, by slightly thinning out the tahini.
- Tahini: adds a rich, nutty flavour that helps to thicken the dressing.
- Calabrian chili spread: adds a flavourful and spicy kick.
- White vinegar: adds an acid that cuts through the richness of the tahini.
- Garlic cloves: adds a zesty flavour.
- Fresh basil: adds an aromatic freshness; similarly fresh parsley would be a great alternative.
✍🏼 How To Make Raw Carrot Salad
Prepare the carrots: first, prepare the carrots by peeling them into ribbons.
Make the dressing: secondly, mix together all of the dressing ingredients in a small food processor or blender.
Assemble: then, pour the dressing over top of the carrot ribbons and toss to combine.
Garnish: finally, finish with fresh basil leaves.
🗒️ Variations & Substitutions
Carrot preparation: instead of carrot ribbons, use a box grater or food processor to finely shred the carrots.
Dressing variation: instead of Calabrian chili spread, you can use sriracha, chili garlic sauce, or another hot sauce variety.
Tahini substitutions: cashew butter or almond butter will work however, keep in mind the flavour will be slightly different.
🤝 Pairs Well With
- Lemon Dill Salmon
- Italian Chicken Cutlets
- Caramelized Onion Pasta
- Oven Baked Ribs with Espresso BBQ Sauce
🤔 FAQ’s
Generally speaking, you can. This salad recipe holds up well in the fridge. However, for the freshest texture and flavour, it’s best to dress it no more than an hour before you plan on serving it. Alternatively, you can prepare the carrots and dressing seprately and then assemble once ready to eat.
Using a vegetable peeler will give you long, thin carrot ribbons. Firmly press a vegetable peeler along the top of the carrot and peel into ribbons. Alternatively, you can use a box grater or food processor to prepare the carrots.
Typically, this salad is best enjoyed within 1-2 days, but will last up to 3 days.
🍴 Leftovers? Lucky you.
Storage: store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Ultimately, while the carrots will soften over time, the salad will still be delicious. Therefore, this is a great recipe for a quick lunch that can also serve as leftovers the following day.
👩🏻🍳 Hungry For More?
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Hot Corn Dip with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
- Spicy Penne Rosé with Sausage & Spinach
- Lemon Herb Pasta Salad
💌 Let’s Stay Connected
Keep in touch with me on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest! If you do make this recipe (or any recipe of mine) don’t forget to leave a review.
Raw Carrot Salad with Calabrian Chili & Tahini
Equipment
- 1 large serving bowl
Ingredients
- 10 carrots, ribboned with a vegetable peeler, mandolin, or knife
Calabrian Chili Dressing:
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tbsp Calabrian chili spread
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 3-4 tbsp warm water, to thin the dressing
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/8 tsp salt
- fresh basil, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the carrots: using a vegetable peeler, being peeling the carrots into ribbons. Starting at the top of the carrot, slide the peeler down the entire carrot until you have a ribbon. Repeat until all carrots have been prepared.
- Make the dressing: using a small food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Begin with 3 tbsp of warm water and add an addition 1 or 2 to achieve your desired consistnecy.
- Assemble: pour the dressing over top of the carrot ribbons and toss to combine.
- Garnish: with fresh basil leaves and an extra drizzle of Calabrian chili oil.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
