Carrot Raisin Salad

If you're a loyal, longtime fan of Chick-fil-A, then you’re likely familiar with the now-discontinued Carrot & Raisin Salad. You can recreate that dish at home with copycat recipes, or the recipe the chicken restaurant released themselves. It's great for a quick dinner, but we wanted to create a company-worthy version of that famous side dish in a slightly elevated style, one you might want to put on your Easter table, for example.

The first person to make a carrot raisin salad certainly created a unique, possibly questionable, fruit-and-vegetable combination platter. Surely more than one person asked themselves how carrots, raisins, pineapple, and mayonnaise could possibly come together and be even remotely tasty? This is why it’s never a good idea to judge a book by its cover.

Once you taste this salad, it all seems to make sense. Crunchy, sweet carrot ribbons, juicy pineapple, raisins that plump up beautifully when they soak in all of those sweet juices, and tangy vinegar create a really fun and delicious profile of flavors. Creamy, mellow mayonnaise brings it all together with a balance of flavor and texture. 

Here, the carrots are peeled into wide-cut ribbons for a gorgeous presentation, Champagne vinegar is included for a hint of tang that isn't overpowering, and for a bit of extra crunch and nutty, toasty flavor, this salad also calls for chopped toasted walnuts.

If you never had an opportunity to try Chick-fil-A’s Carrot & Raisin Salad, here’s your chance. It was one of the company’s original Southern recipes, and now you can recreate it yourself at home with this Carrot Raisin Salad inspired by the original.