Packed with healthy ingredients and super easy to put together, this shredded beet and carrot salad is sure to become your next favorite.
The flavors are so versatile, they work wonderfully with almost any main. Plus, you can also play around with the ingredients and experiment with the dressing based on what you have at hand.
The recipe is perfect for you if you have been looking for a simple yet interesting way to eat more of raw and colorful foods, and don’t fancy spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
Ingredients For the Recipe
- 1 medium beet, shredded
- 2 small carrots, shredded
- 1 small bunch coriander, chopped
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- ⅕ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- Crushed black pepper
- Salt to taste
How to Make the Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad
Prepare the dressing first by mixing together the balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, combine the onion with the shredded beet, carrots, pomegranate arils and coriander, reserving some of the coriander aside for garnish.
Mix all the ingredients together, add the dressing and give it a good mix.
Transfer everything to a salad bowl and top with the leftover chopped coriander and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other veggies like radishes, cucumbers and turnips make for great additions to this salad. You can also take a quick peek into your refrigerator to see if you have any veggies or ingredients that can work well with the flavors of this salad, and add them in.
If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar as alternatives. The idea is to lend the salad a bit of tanginess and acidity. If you don’t have any of these, a squeeze of lemon juice should do the trick.
Pomegranate molasses balances the acidity of the vinegar with its sweetness. If you don’t have it, you could use honey or jaggery powder instead.
We’ve used toasted pumpkin seeds, but you can use practically any other seeds of your choice. The seeds don’t just lend a bit of crunchiness to the salad, but are incredibly nutritious and take the flavor of the salad up a notch.
While you might be tempted to shred the veggies in advance and then put the salad together when you need to, doing that will cause the veggies to lose water and become limp, eventually losing their crunchiness. You could still shred them in advance, but it isn’t recommended.
Just like most other salads that make use of fresh veggies, this shredded beet and carrot salad is best consumed within a day. Make sure you transfer any leftovers to an airtight container or a glass jar and refrigerate.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad
While the process of putting this salad together is super easy and straightforward, you might want to have these little tips and tricks handy to make sure you nail the recipe.
- To make the salad look more fun and colorful, you can use a combination of red and orange carrots, instead of sticking to just one variety.
- You can also consider adding some other veggies like jicama, parsnip, bell peppers, snow peas, chopped iceberg lettuce and celery into the mix.
- Want to lend the salad a bit of a protein kick? Throw in some edamame.
- Orange segments, grated apple and pears also complement the flavors of this shredded beet and carrot salad wonderfully.
- Raisins, dried cranberries and sultanas are all excellent additions to this salad, and can lend it a nice burst of flavor.
- You can also add a bit of garlic powder and/or dried herbs like basil and oregano to the dressing to make the flavors of the salad sing.
- If you’re considering topping the salad with nuts and seeds, make sure you do that towards the end, right before you serve.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Your crunchy and healthy shredded beet and carrot salad can be paired nicely with any roast mains, a rice dish or even along with a sandwich.
And if you loved this recipe and are looking for some more creative and fun recipes that include veggies, here are a few good ones you might want to check out.
- Roasted Pumpkin With Creamy Yogurt Sauce
- Yachaejeon: Korean Vegetable Pancakes
- Garlic Butter Green Beans Skillet
[penci_recipe]
Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 1 medium beet (shredded)
- 2 small carrots (shredded)
- 1 bunch coriander (chopped)
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- ⅕ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Crushed black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing first by mixing together the balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, combine the onion with the shredded beet, carrots, pomegranate arils and coriander, reserving some of the coriander aside for garnish.
- Mix all the ingredients together, add the dressing and give it a good mix.
- Transfer everything to a salad bowl and top with the leftover chopped coriander and toasted pumpkin seeds.