This raw carrot salad recipe with lemon and feta is a light and tasty lunch or side dish that you can make in minutes. Bright lemon, tangy feta and sweet carrots complement each other in this easy winter salad. Only 5.5g net carbs per serving so eat for a healthy lunch or dinner.
You might also like other delicious carrot recipes!

When I first made this raw carrot salad it was because I bought these beautiful multi colored carrots from Trader Joes. But I really liked it and now I just use regular carrots because I can’t make it to Trader Joes every time I want to eat this simple salad.
And now I love this lemony cold carrot salad because it very crunchy and bright and only uses minimal ingredients. While it might seem like a summer salad it really is great in winter because of the color and citrusy flavor. The tangy dressing is has a bit of a Greek flavor with fresh garlic, lemon and oregano is the perfect balance to the veggies, feta and pine nuts.
When I make this I often eat it for a meal, even for dinner because to me it is very filling. Sometimes I add cooked chicken if I have it on hand to make complete meal. Anyway you want to use this fresh salad, I think you are going to love as much as I do. And carrots generally have many health benefits!
Recipe ingredients and substitutions.
The simple ingredients I used were fresh carrots, fresh lemons, garlic, oregano, olive oil, salt and black pepper, baby spinach and feta cheese. I also use toasted pine nuts on top but those are optional and I’ll offer substitutes below.
Fresh Raw Carrots
Today I used regular fresh carrots but the last time I made this I used rainbow carrots that I bought at Trader Joe and they looked really nice for this recipe. If you go to Trader Joe often grab a bunch and make the salad because they come in 3 colors – orange, yellow and purple.
Also I have never used pre-shredded carrots which I know some stores carry. I think they would work fine in this recipe.
Baby Spinach
I mostly used the fresh spinach to add color and nutrition. You could use other greens if you wish but I like how the leaves are so tender. You can also eliminate them if you want to just want carrots.
Toasted Pine Nuts and Feta Cheese
I really like the feta cheese with the lemon dressing to give it a Greek salad flavor however you can also use strong flavored cheeses like blue cheese, goat cheese, asiago cheese or parmesan cheese. And I love pine nuts in just about everything but they are expensive. You can eliminate them or substitute with sliced almonds, chopped pecans or walnuts. You can also substitute the nuts for seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
The Dressing
I just used a handful of ingredients (fresh lemons, olive oil, fresh garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper) for the salad dressing. You need fresh lemons for this dish because of the lemon zest which adds lemon flavor and a brightness to the dressing. If you don’t have a fresh one you could just use bottles lemon juice but the zest adds a bit of extra flavor.
I also like the flavor of fresh garlic in my dressings as it’s a stronger garlic taste and goes well with the other ingredients. If you have to substitute with garlic powder remember ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder equals 1 clove of garlic.
And sometimes I like to use good extra virgin olive oil because it gives it more of a Mediterranean flavor but you can use regular olive oil or even avocado oil.
Other Veggies and Foods to Try
Other vegetable you can add to this salad are parsnips, thin strips of bell pepper, thinly sliced red onion, zucchini noodles, cucumber noodles, etc. You can use other veggies as well but just chop them so they are easy to eat with the carrots.
What kind of spiralizer to use.
I got a spiralizer last year for Christmas and I just love it. It makes eating vegetables fun. Last time I made this I used this spiralizer with the smaller blade to make thin curly noodles as you can see to the right.
This time I used my julienne peeler which creates thin spaghetti like noodles and I’ve used it in this carrot and parnip salad with an Asian twist or these roasted veggie noodles seen to the left. Sometimes I use this when I don’t want to bring out the other bigger machine.
You can also use a regular vegetable peeler and make crunchy carrot ribbons. Check out this post which shows all the different kinds of vegetable noodles you can make with different peelers and spiralizers.
How to make this raw carrot salad with feta and lemon.
If you are using the pine nuts get out a small skillet add the pine nuts and heat to medium heat. Stir and let the nuts turn golden brown and they are done and toasted. You have to watch them because they burn quickly. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
Step 1: Using a spiralizer, julienne peeler or even just a vegetable peeler make your carrot noodles. You can also use a cheese grater or box grater to make grated carrots but use one with large holes or use the shredder tool on a food processor. Also finely chop the baby spinach and add these to a salad bowl.
Step 2: Mix the dressing by whisking the lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, dried oregano, salt and black pepper as well as the crushed fresh garlic cloves in a medium bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Toss the salad with half of the dressing and then taste it to see if you want to use more dressing or not. this makes a large batch of dressing. Next sprinkle the feta cheese on top and either toss it or leave it on top. Scatter the toasted pine nuts or other nuts on top if use.
And that is all there is to this simple salad. Either serve right away or refrigerate until ready to eat. You can also add fresh herbs like fresh parsley or cilantro if you want for added nutrition, taste and color. Parsley would go best with the Mediterranean flavors of the dressing.
Store leftover in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.
This is a very crunchy salad and also very filling. As I mentioned above I can eat this for a filling lunch or even dinner. But you can pair this with a sandwich, soup or eat as a side dish in place of a traditional salad.
Other healthy recipes that use a spiralizer.
I love using my spiralizer to make veggie noodles but other use them in salads like this.They are very filling dishes and a good way to eat your veggies. Plus they are often low carb or low calorie recipes. Here are a few of my favorites.
- keto zucchini linguine pasta salad
- Greek raw zucchini salad
- lo mein using veggie noodles
- keto spaghetti casserole using turnip noodles
- Thai butternut squash noodles with red curry
- beet noodles and goat cheese
- keto air fryer cheesy zucchini noodles
- wide zucchini pasta with sausage and peppers
While this may seem like a summer salad, it was really light and bright and perfect for when you have the winter blues. There is something about vibrant flavors and colors that really brightens my mood in the cold weather.
I hope you like this quick and easy raw carrot salad as much as I did. My husband really liked it too though he’s not as much of a salad freak as I am.
It did make me realize that I can make these colorful and healthy salads for dinner and he would enjoy them as a lovely side dish instead of the usual starches or veggies. Enjoy!
The nutritional information for 1 serving (but only using ½ the dressing for this recipe) is 296 calories / 28.8g fat / 7.4g carbs / 1.9g fiber / 3.7g protein = 5.5g net carbs
And if you really like this recipe please give it a 5 star rating!
Lemony Raw Carrot Salad Recipe
This lemony raw carrot salad recipe with feta and pine nuts is a light and tasty side dish that you can make in minutes. Bright lemon, tangy feta and sweet carrots complement each other in this easy salad or healthy snack.
Ingredients
- 3-4 carrots, made into noodles
- 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)*
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
Greek Dressing
- ½ lemon zested
- 2 lemons juiced or ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- If using the pine nuts, get out a small skillet and heat to medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast until golden brown. This should only take a few minutes so make sure to stir a few times because they can burn easily. Take off the heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, crushed garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the carrot noodles and chopped spinach. Either mix in the feta cheese and pine nuts or put them on top at the end.
- Start with about half of the dressing to toss with the salad. I only used half but you can taste and add more if you like. Add the feta cheese and pine nuts if you haven't already mixed them in.
- Either serve right away or refrigerate until ready to eat. You can also add fresh herbs like parsley for added nutrition, taste and color. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
*Note you can substitute the pine nuts with other nuts like sliced almonds, walnuts or pecans. Or you can use seeds like pumpkin or sunflower seeds. You can also just eliminate them if you want but I really like the extra crunch.
The nutritional information for 1 serving (but only using ½ the dressing for this recipe) is 296 calories / 28.8g fat / 7.4g carbs / 1.9g fiber / 3.7g protein = 5.5g net carbs
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 296Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Cheryl Dillenbeck
The salad recipe is 4 servings, but it’s for 3-4 spiralized carrots. I bought the frozen already spiralized carrots which is a quantity of 4 cups. i don’t know and haven’t been able to locate how many cups the 3-4 carrots make. So what size are the servings? A cup each? less?
Thanks in advance-we love your recipes
Denise
Hi Cheryl, it’s been awhile since I’ve made this. I would say that my recipe makes about a 3/4 cup serving. If you are trying to use the bag of carrots that you have I would just use it all and you should get 8 small servings. You would want to double everything except the dressing. I only used half of the dressing so you could use all of it. Hope that made sense! Let me know if you have any questions.
Lindsay Cotter
This looks so delicious! Love how easy it is to make! Perfect side for summer gatherings!
Denise
I really liked it….I’m big on lemon and crunchy salads!
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C
What a colorful salad! I’ll have to look for these carrots. The recipe sounds wonderful, with the lemon and feta.
Denise
Thanks Andrea!
Beth
This salad looks simply delicious! I love the rainbow too! My family not so much! (Goofy!) I’m definitely adding this to my list of salads to make this summer!
Denise
My hubby liked it but my son not so much. He will eat carrots dipped in ranch and that’s about it. Baby steps.
Sarah Newman
This salad is so up my alley! Fresh, simple, clean ingredients, I’m in love! Thanks for sharing!
Denise
Thanks for stopping by Sarah!
jenn peas and crayons
I have a weekness for anything with lemon and feta in it, and this salad looks BOMB! So fresh and flavorful!
Denise
Thanks Jenn!
Julia @ HappyFoods Tube
This salad looks amazing! And those multi-colored carrots! I don’t think you are strange, I would be buying them all the time if I saw them around here 🙂
Denise
Thanks Julia! I’m not the only person who is attracted to multi-colored carrots. 😉