A creamy carrot salad with plump raisins and juicy pineapple makes for a delicious and refreshing picnic or cookout side dish that's sure to be a family favorite.
As the weather warms up, cookouts, grilling, and picnics all become more popular. We love to eat outside and grill whenever the weather permits. And we all need to have some tasty (and easy) side dishes to go along with our summer dinners.
I love the usual potato salads, macaroni salads, and baked beans, but I like to add all sorts of other salad side dishes to go along with grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs, and more. This Creamy Carrot, Raisin, and Pineapple Salad is a cool and refreshing change-up to the usual side dishes.
This is sort of like a slaw and definitely reminds me of an old-fashioned salad. It is a side dish that my carrot and fruit loving kids enjoy a lot! This is a side dish that goes well to a potluck or a cookout with friends and family. You can easily double this recipe to make more to feed a larger group.
One thing you don't want to let it sit too long because it will get very watery after a while. I like to make it about a hour ahead of time so it has chilling time while still not getting too watery. If you leave it overnight, it won't be as good.
This salad requires only a few ingredients - carrots, raisins, pineapple tidbits, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and a little sugar and salt. I like to use a food processor for shredding the carrots to make it even easier, but you can do them by hand on a box grater as well.
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Creamy Carrot, Raisin, and Pineapple Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple tidbits
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Drain the pineapple juice into a small bowl and add the raisins. Let them sit to plump while you make the rest of the salad.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients (mayo through salt) in a large bowl. Add the carrots.
- Drain the raisins well and add them to the bowl along with the pineapple. Stir to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving (chill for 1-2 hours). Stir before serving.
Notes:
You can use all mayo and omit the sour cream if you prefer. Feel free to add a bit more or less as well according to how much dressing you like.
You can use black or golden raisins, or even dried cranberries for this recipe.
Many similar recipes call for a smaller can of pineapple tidbits. Feel free to use the 8 oz. can. My family loves pineapple, so we use the large can.
I hope you give this carrot salad a try! Let me know in the comments below.
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I like the combo of carrots and fruit. My husband loves it with mango and cranberries. And I usually use avocado dressing. Gotta try your version next time. It looks really appetizing.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Angie -- carrots and fruit really work well together. Particularly pineapple. I make a somewhat similar salad, with coconut added. Like how you've added raisins. And your dressing looks really good!
ReplyDeleteThis certianly looks like a perfect picnic/bbq salad - lots of wonderful flavors and textures in this salad.
ReplyDeleteYour carrot salad is a longtime favorite of my husband's. Thanks for the reminder that we haven't had it in a long time.
ReplyDeleteYour carrot salad is a longtime favorite of my husband's. Thanks for the reminder that we haven't had it in a long time.
ReplyDeleteI'd have never thought to make this flavor combo but it sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteWhat a refreshing salad! I love the addition of pineapples.
ReplyDelete