The Viral Carrot Ribbon Salad

Make this gorgeous and yummy Carrot Ribbon Salad by ribboning carrots into long, thin slices and tossing them in a fresh, tangy, sweet and savory Asian soy dressing that truly makes it shine.

This is basically a light and healthy raw Asian carrot salad recipe that requires no cooking! Ready under 10 minutes, it makes for a delicious quick side dish to complement your favorite main courses.

Love carrots? Don’t forget to also check out some of my other carrot favorites: Roasted Whole Carrots, Carrot Raisin Salad and Garlic Honey Carrots are some of my other favorites.

Asian carrot ribbon salad

Carrot ribbon salad has been going viral on TikTok lately and I was very captivated by the concept. So naturally, I have to try it. It turned out so good I ended up making it so many times and of course, also made my own spin to it.

Carrot ribbon salad is a simple an Asian carrot salad salad that combines raw ribboned carrots with an Asian inspired dressing, made with soy sauce, sesame oil, and maple syrup

Just like many of my Asian inspired salads such as Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad, Asian Salmon Salad and Thai Noodle Bowl, it has complex flavors, bringing together components of savory, sweet, and tangy.

Because we ribboned the carrots, the dressing is able to soak into the thin strips of carrots much more efficiently, unlike if we use large chunks of carrots.

Carrot ribbons are long and thin slices of carrots achieved by peeling whole carrots lengthwise using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, creating delicate, flexible, and noodle-like strips. Carrots are consume raw, and they are tender yet still maintain a slightly crisp texture.

I ribbon my carrots with a vegetable peeler. Simply run the vegetable peeler down the carrots and they would come out as lovely thin and long strips of carrots.

The end product not only tastes better but is also super pretty and visually appealing. Carrot ribbon salad is so elegant that it compliments dinner parties and holiday tables as well.

So if you want to try making this pretty and delicious carrot ribbon salad, set aside ~10 minutes and you too can enjoy this delicious bowl of crunchy and ribboned goodness.

Ahhh, and I think you are going to LOVE it!

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients you will need to make carrot ribbon salad:

• whole carrots – use long, thick carrots for easy shredding into ribbons. Make sure carrots are firm, not mushy.
• sesame oil – this oil is often used in Asian cooking and brings a unique umami flavor to the dressing. Sesame oil has a very nutty, smoky fragrant.
• soy sauce – this staple Asian sauce brings in much of the savory flavors to the carrot ribbon salad.
• maple syrup – this natural sweetener balances out the savory soy sauce.
• garlic – use fresh garlic for best flavor, avoid using garlic powder.
• lime juice – the citrusy touch brightens the dressing and adds a nice tanginess to it. Rice vinegar or white vinegar can be used as a substitute to bring the tangy flavors.
• cilantro – this herb brings a layer of freshness and also a slight complexity in flavor to the dish.
• sesame seeds – sprinkle on top the carrot ribbon salad for a delightful texture and an element of crunch.

How to Make Ribbon Carrot Salad

How to ribbon the carrots

The best way to ribbon carrots is to use a vegetable peeler. Simply run the vegetable peeler down the carrots to shred it, and they would come out as thin and long strips of carrots that we call as ribbons in this recipe.

You can also use a mandolin or knife to cut the carrots into thin ribbons, I just find that more challenging to get it as thin as you would using the vegetable peeler.

The thinner the better for this carrot ribbon salad!

When you are done, you will leave a thin core of the carrots unused (as shown in the bottom left picture below). I simply discard those. Or munch on it as a snack while I finish up preparing my carrot ribbon salad!

Make the Asian Dressing

Next we will bring together the dressing.

In a small mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, chopped cilantro, brown sugar, and sesame seeds.

Pour into the bowl of the ribboned carrots.

Use a pair of tongs to toss carrots in the dressing until they are evenly coated.

Then transfer into a serving bowl. Garnish with more sesame seeds and cilantro, and serve!

Carrot ribbon salad will be crunchy and coated in that savory, sweet and tangy dressing. The longer the carrot ribbons sit in the dressing, the more flavorful it will get.

Variations

Some variations to this recipe for Asian carrot ribbon salad:

• Substitute cilantro with other herbs such as parsley, scallion, mint dry chives.
• To bulk up the salad and add for some heartier crunch by adding other vegetables such as cucumbers, red onions and beansprouts.
• Garnished with crushed peanuts, cashews, and/or green onions for added flavor and extra crunch.
• For the Asian soy dressing:
  • red pepper flakes can be added for a slight kick – great options if you want a little more spice.
  • honey or agave can be used as a sweetener instead of maple syrup
  • other spices or seasonings to use: ginger, rice vinegar (this will add tanginess, use in place of lime juice)

Storage

When storing, because carrots naturally holds water, I would suggest not storing carrots and sauces together because it makes this carrot ribbon salad soggy.

The texture just wouldn’t be the same and it just wouldn’t be as good. So only combined salad and sauce together when you are ready to eat it.

If you do have leftovers, try to finish it up in 24 hours. Carrot ribbon salad do become more flavorful over time but it will also get soggy.

When storing, you can use sealable bags or airtight containers for both the carrot ribbons and the sauce.

Frozen sauce will keep for ~3 months in the freezer.

Serving Suggestions

Carrot ribbon salad is a versatile side dish or great way to add more veggies to any meal so I love serving it as a side to all kinds of dishes, or throw some protein into it to make it a light main course.

Here are some dishes that go so well with it:

• Asian inspired dishes: Kung Pao Chicken, Sushi Bake, Salmon Sushi Cups, Hibachi Fried Rice
• Protein: French Onion Chicken, Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Dill Garlic Butter Salmon
• Appetizers: Air Fryer Crab Rangoons, Asian Lettuce Wraps

More Salad Recipes

• Greek Cucumber Salad
• Vietnamese Spring Roll Salad
• Crispy Chicken Salad
• Lemon Orzo Spinach Salad
• Fall Harvest Salad
• Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad
• Corn and Tomato Salad
• Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing