Carrot raisin salad is one of those vintage classic dishes I grew-up eating. This Carrot Raisin Salad with Pineapple takes a bit of a turn from the classic as it features crushed and chunks of pineapple as well as thinly sliced red onion which gives it a bit of a bite. All dressed with a homemade poppy seed dressing to enhance the flavor giving an update to this classic dish.
Carrot Raisin Salad with Pineapple
The colors in this salad make me happy. Vibrant orange, sunny sweet pineapple and dark red raisins make it a feast for the eyes. I highly recommend that you skip grating the carrot and julienne the pieces instead which tends to hold up better to the dressing and maintains the integrity and crunchiness of the carrot pieces. There's texture galore and when using julienned carrot it doesn't turn to "mush" the next day like grated carrot salads tend to do. This simple dish can be served with nearly any grilled entrée, during the holidays as a festive side dish or as a warm weather salad for a casual backyard barbecue. The sky's the limit.
Shortcuts Can Be Lifesavers on Busy Days
- If you're pressed for time, grab a couple of packages of matchstick carrots from the produce department and you'll be good to go with minimum prep.
- I really love having a bit of pineapple flavor in every bite so, I chose to sneak crushed pineapple into the dressing and then chunks of pineapple into the salad mix for texture.
- It's a vintage salad brought forward with a few flavor twists making it a super special side dish to make and serve.
- Other no-cook salads to try is my popular Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw scrumptious Fresh Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad as well as Pickled Carrots from The Pioneer Woman.
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Helpful Kitchen Items:
Carrot Raisin Salad with Pineapple
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly julienned carrots About 4-5 medium-large carrots
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 8 oz can pineapple chunks, well drained
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar or equivalent sweetener of choice
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic or rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt or garlic salt omit garlic powder if using garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 8 oz crushed pineapple, well drained
- Snipped fresh chives for garnishing optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl toss together the carrots, raisins, pineapple chunks and onion. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, poppy seeds, salt, onion and garlic powders. Whisk until fully combined then stir in the crushed pineapple. Taste and adjust salt and sugar, if needed.
- Pour over the carrot mixture in the mixing bowl and stir until evenly coated.
- Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
- Stir well before serving. sprinkled with chopped chives, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Bettie
I didn't think carrot salad could be improved upon but once again, you've gone and done it! Using both crushed and chunks of pineapple was brilliant. Thank you!
Melissa
Wow, thanks for such a nice comment!
Betty
As a foodie and cook I have to say this is the best carrot salad I've ever eaten.
Melissa
I consider that high praise, thank you!
Marie
(Sorry) 🙂 also Melissa can I use white wine vinegar instead of the white balsamic? Would I need to add more sugar? - this is one of your salads that's going to sit on the table for my husband's 60th and I know it's going to work - thankyou for stress free sides that work.
Melissa
I've never tested sultanas in this recipe but, they should work fine. Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your personal taste, it may not need additional sugar in that instance.
Jennifer de Souza
Hi Melissa
Can you kindly provide the nutritional facts for this salad? Sounds soooo good, but I'm watching my weight. Thanks very much.
Kind regards
Jennifer
Melissa
There are many free online tools available to calculate calories and nutritional value checkout this article here it may help.
Mariy
The Carrot, raisin,onion pineapple salad is excellent...thank you for posting
Melissa
It's my pleasure!