A little sweet, a little punchy, carrot apple salad is a great dish to make during the colder months. It keeps well for a few days, so you can make it and store for later, and it’s a good way to get some raw vegetables in. This is good even for picky eaters as it is a bit sweet and doesn’t have any green (lettuce, herbs) in it. And since a head of lettuce costs 2€ now, it’s the kind of salad we’re making a lot more of this year.

For more German-style sides, try this easy vegan coleslaw with an oil and vinegar dressing, an early summer radish potato salad, or another go-to recipe, sautéed red cabbage.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Apples: ideally you want an apple that’s a good sweet-tart balance, like boskoop. When in doubt, go for a sweeter eating apple with a thin skin.
• Mustard: use a good Dijon mustard, or something equivalently spicy. Do not use yellow hotdog mustard.
• Lemon: fresh lemon juice is best. If you want more zip, you can add a splash of apple cider vinegar.
• Honey: substitute maple syrup if necessary.
• Onion: this is optional and makes for a much punchier salad. I add it about half the time but note that it makes the salad much less sweet and more pungent.

Step by Step

Step 1: mix the vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl.

Step 2: grate the carrot and apple. If using onion, grate that too.

Step 3: add everything to the bowl with the vinaigrette.

Step 4: mix well to coat in the vinaigrette. Serve immediately or let it rest for a while.

Recipe Notes

Carrot apple salad tastes even better if it can relax for about half an hour before serving (like coleslaw). It’ll be more flavourful and everything will meld together more effectively. Don’t worry if you don’t have time for this step – it’s still excellent served immediately.

If you have a food processor with a grating attachment, or something similar, you can use that to make quick work of the grating.

How to Store

Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Be sure to have mixed very well or the apple might start to brown, and note that the texture softens over time. I don’t recommend freezing this.

Expert Tips

• No need to peel: not only is it a waste of time to peel the apples and carrots, it’s a waste of good food, too! You certainly won’t notice the peel when everything is shredded up. Give the carrots a good scrub.
• Adjust the vinaigrette: if you know you like a more acidic salad, either increase the lemon juice or add a splash of vinegar. You can adjust the amounts of mustard and honey to suit your taste but keep in mind that the salad ingredients are sweet, so you don’t want too much honey.
• Must love mustard: the mustard is a key flavour element here and if you don’t like Dijon mustard you won’t like this salad.

More Cold Weather Salads

Orange and Red Onion Salad
Quinoa Carrot Salad
Winter Kale Salad
Red Cabbage Orange Salad