This carrot miso salad is a simple and delicious side dish. The Asian-inspired flavors are complemented by the addition of toasted sesame seeds and sweet currants.
This salad is ideal for parties, picnics, and barbecues because the flavors continue to improve over time. Since it is mayonnaise-free, there isn’t a risk of contamination if it’s left sitting out for a few hours.
Best of all, using fresh, unpasteurized miso gives this salad a dose of probiotics!
Always Seasonal
Carrots are an affordable vegetable that is always in season (at least in my part of the world)! This is probably why carrot sticks are the boring go-to for all social occasions.
Why not serve this carrot miso salad as an easy and delicious alternative?
Swaps and substitutions
I’m a huge fan of recipes that can be altered to suit your taste buds. This salad is a perfect example. Feel free to mix up the ingredients a bit!
- Add a 1/4 cup of toasted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, or chopped peanuts to give the salad a bit of crunch.
- Skip the dried fruit for a savory salad.
- Replace some of the carrots with other vegetables, like cucumber and colored peppers. Just finely slice or dice them to match the shredded carrots.
- Try different flavors of miso.
Serving as a sandwich filling
This miso carrot salad also works as a sandwich filling. To serve it as a topping for everything from burgers and sandwiches to glory bowls, allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving. This will ensure that the flavors are blended and the carrots are nicely softened.
Carrot salad With Miso Dressing
This carrot miso salad is beautiful and delicious. It’s perfect for potlucks and barbecues because it’s mayonnaise-free and the flavor improves with time.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Miso Dressing
- 2 Tbsp miso paste
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt, to taste
Salad
- 6 large carrots
- 1/4 cup of dried currants or raisins
- 2 Tbsp chopped chives (or spring onions)
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all the dressing ingredients in the bottom of a large bowl. I recommend measuring the miso paste first, before measuring the liquid ingredients.
- Scrub the carrots. There’s no need to peel them unless they are old. Grate them with a mid-sized grater.
- Add the carrots to the dressing and toss to combine. Taste, and add more salt, if necessary.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, currants, and chives.
- Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 min before eating to allow the flavors to blend.
Notes
- If you want your salad to be probiotic you need to use live, fresh miso. Try making homemade miso or look for fresh miso in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. You can also find fresh miso online
.
- I like currants in this recipe because they are smaller than raisins and blend easier into the salad. It’s also the best way to stop my kids from mining the dried fruit out of the salad! Raisins are just too easy to hunt for with the serving spoon.
Keywords: probiotic, vegan, gluten free, keto, paleo, fall, winter, picnic, barbecue, potluck, Asian-inspired, nut free, dairy free, egg free, mayonnaise free
So good and simple! I was wondering if this would work with other roots like parsnips or turnips?
★★★★★
Sure! I think sweet spring turnips would be delicious.