This easy side dish is sweet and tangy. Since it's so quick to make it's going to be a favorite all year long.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Carrot salad with pineapple only requires a handful of ingredients, and there is no cooking at all!
- This easy salad is a fabulous side for your next cookout. It's also great for weeknight dinners when your picky eaters just need some veggies.
- Soaking the raisins in the pineapple juice before adding the rest of the ingredients gives them a softer texture.
Juicy pineapple, sweet carrots, plump raisins, and crunchy pecans doused in a luscious, creamy dressing—is your mouth watering yet?
This classic carrot salad is a Chick-fil-A copycat that tastes just like grandma’s old-fashioned recipe.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Use regular raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries—whatever fits your personal preference or pantry stock.
- You can use fresh pineapple chunks with leftover pineapple juice instead of canned pineapple tidbits.
- Toasting the pecans enhances their nutty flavor, but plain pecans will also work just fine.
- If you don’t like pecans, replace 'em with chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, or sliced almonds.
- Not a fan of mayo-based dressing? Use sour cream, plain yogurt, or Greek yogurt instead. It won't taste quite as rich, but it'll do.
- In addition to the pineapple, some people like to add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for an even brighter, tangier dressing!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Soak the raisins in pineapple juice.
- Peel and grate the carrots.
- Drain the raisins and mix with the grated carrots, pineapple, and pecans.
- Mix the salad dressing ingredients and stir into the carrot mixture.
🥫 How to store leftover carrot salad
Pineapple carrot salad is best enjoyed fresh. That way, you taste a wonderful medley of different textures and flavors.
Refrigerate any leftovers for up to two days. Store the salad in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Serve it chilled for best results.
I don't recommend freezing carrot salad.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: To roast pecans, lay them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. Toss them occasionally so they don’t burn.
- To roast pecans, lay them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. Toss them occasionally so they don’t burn.You can use a bag of pre-shredded carrots (sometimes called matchstick carrots) instead of whole ones to save on prep time but the results aren't as good, in my opinion.
- Don’t skip the sugar! It’s key to achieving the right balance of sweetness and acidity in this recipe.
- Instead of discarding the pineapple juice after soaking the raisins, save it for later use to make piña coladas or other tropical cocktails!
- If you use fresh pineapple, make sure you chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Let the salad chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving to preserve that crisp, crunchy mouthfeel, and let the flavors of the dressing blend.
- Stir it well before serving since the dressing will settle at the bottom while it sits.
👩🍳 FAQs
No, I don’t recommend it. The mayo dressing thins out and separates after a day or so in the fridge. That ruins the texture of the salad!
Nope! Crushed pineapple is too liquidy for this recipe. You don’t want your salad to be swimming in pineapple juice! Plus, the extra acidity could start to curdle your luscious dressing!
If you want juicy raisins, then you need to soak them in juice. Tough, chewy raisins have no place in a classic carrot salad recipe!
Most people prefer Hellman’s or Duke’s mayonnaise, but the choice is yours! Since mayo is the star of the salad dressing, make sure it’s a brand you love.
📚 Related recipes
- Craving a nostalgic side dish? Mom’s Homemade Potato Salad is a classic recipe that has the creamy texture and flavor you know and love.
- Southern Cucumber Salad is tangy, crisp, and made of easy ingredients that bring fresh summer flavor to your table any time of year!
- There’s nothing quite like macaroni salad at a picnic or potluck. Old-Fashioned Macaroni Salad with Hellman’s is always a crowd-pleaser.
🍽️ Serve with...
Carrot raisin pineapple salad is a great recipe to use as a side dish for Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken. Keep the tropical flavors going with tender chicken breasts slow-cooked in sweet pineapple teriyaki sauce—yum.
On the other hand, turn your next cookout into a state fair with easy Texas Corn Dogs. Pineapple carrot salad perfectly pairs with juicy, smoky hot dogs wrapped in sweet corn batter.
Then, complete your meal with a big hunk of Pig Pickin’ Cake for dessert. This sweet, moist orange cake is slathered with a creamy pineapple topping that will have you coming back for seconds... and thirds!
📞 The last word
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars!
📖 Recipe
Carrot Salad with Pineapple and Raisins
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound carrots, grated
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup pineapple chunks, cut in ¼ths, juice reserved
- ½ cup cup pecans
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sugar, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Heat the reserved pineapple juice to a boil in the microwave.
- Add the raisins and set aside.
- Grate the carrots. This is quick and easy in a food processor.
- Drain the raisins but reserve the juice still.
- Mix the carrots, raisins, pineapple, and pecans in a large bowl.
- Whisk the mayonnaise and sugar together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- If the mayonnaise mixture seems too thick thin it down with some of the reserved pineapple juice.
- Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the carrot mixture.
- Stir to blend.
Notes
- To roast pecans, lay them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. Toss them occasionally so they don’t burn.You can use a bag of pre-shredded carrots (sometimes called matchstick carrots) instead of whole ones to save on prep time but the results aren't as good, in my opinion.
- Don’t skip the sugar! It’s key to achieving the right balance of sweetness and acidity in this recipe.
- Instead of discarding the pineapple juice after soaking the raisins, save it for later use to make piña coladas or other tropical cocktails!
- If you use fresh pineapple, make sure you chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Let the salad chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving to preserve that crisp, crunchy mouthfeel, and let the flavors of the dressing blend.
- Stir it well before serving since the dressing will settle at the bottom while it sits.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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