Roasted Carrot Salad (2024)

Made with arugula, cranberries, and feta, this Roasted Carrot Salad is a quick and easy winter salad recipe. It’s light, fresh, healthy, and so pretty! Serve this as part of a holiday feast, small dinner parties, or even potlucks – it always receives rave reviews, and everyone loves it.

Another favorite salad incorporating arugula and feta cheese is our arugula beet salad – make them both!

Easy Winter Salad Recipe

This roasted carrot salad recipe is inspired by a salad that’s sold at a popular market in Woodstock, VT. We enjoyed it once a few years ago while on vacation and I daydreamed about it so much after returning home that I tried to recreate it.

I’m glad I did because it’s so easy to make and everyone loves it. It’s got just a handful of ingredients and the vinaigrette dressing is simply vinegar and honey. It sounds too simple but with all the other flavors, it’s just right, paired with my oven roasted carrots, which are amazing even on their own.

Roasted carrot salad is quite pretty and is great to serve on holidays or bring to a small dinner party.

Ingredients Needed

This winter salad is made with a handful of ingredients, like cranberries, carrots, feta, and arugula. Feel free to customize the toppings as desired.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

Carrots – I recommend whole carrots, peeled and sliced, not baby carrots.
Olive oil – Coats the carrots before roasting.
Spices – Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes season the carrots.
Arugula – The base of the salad.
Apple cider vinegar – Thins out the vinaigrette and adds a tangy flavor.
Honey – Adds sweetness to the dressing and balances out the vinegar.
Sliced almonds – I love toasted almonds for the extra flavor and textural crunch they add.
Cranberries – Dried cranberries add a pop of tart-sweetness and color to the winter salad.
Feta – Crumbled feta adds a bit of briny, salty flavor that really makes this Thanksgiving salad stand out.

Recipe Variations

As with any salad, this roasted carrot salad can easily be customized based on your preferences. Here are a few easy switches you can make.

Add beets. Both roasted beets and pickled beets are a great addition to this salad.
Switch up the cheese. I love the salty flavor of feta but goat cheese and gorgonzola also work well with the flavors in this Thanksgiving salad.
Switch up the greens. Not a fan of arugula? Spinach and mild greens are both good options.
Add some color. For a variety of color in the salad, try using rainbow carrots.
Try a different dressing. Instead of apple cider vinegar, try using balsamic vinegar for a slightly deeper flavor.

How to Make Roasted Carrot Salad

This recipe makes the perfect holiday salad.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

Roast the carrots. Slice the carrots diagonally into 2-inch thick pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the spices. Toss to coat then spread in a single layer. Bake at 400F for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until tender. Allow to cool.
Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the honey and apple cider vinegar. Drizzle half over the carrots.
Assemble the roasted carrot salad. Add the almonds, cranberries, and feta to the bowl with the carrots. Toss to combine evenly. Add the arugula and toss again, along with the remaining dressing. Enjoy.

TIP! Double the Dressing

This roasted carrot salad is lightly dressed. To me, it’s perfect but if you want more dressing, I recommend doubling the dressing ingredients. However, only toss the salad as written and pass the extra dressing at the table. Otherwise, the other ingredients can become wilted and/or mushy.

What to Serve with Carrot Salad

This winter salad is an easy way to dress up almost any meal. As I mentioned above, it’s perfect for the holiday dinner table. It’s also lovely with this bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin which has an apple stuffing – paired with this salad, it’s the perfect combo of fall and winter flavors. You can also never go wrong with salad and steak and it would pair well with honey garlic chicken.

Serving and Storage

Can This Be Made in Advance? Sort of. The roasted carrots can definitely be made in advance – in fact, I recommend it since they should be cool to the touch. The vinaigrette can also be prepared ahead of time and you can even combine the cooled carrots with the other ingredients, except for the arugula. If you are making this roasted carrot salad in advance, I recommend mixing in the arugula as needed right before serving, as it will become wilted if allowed to sit in the carrot mixture too long.
Storing leftovers. If you plan on having leftovers of this roasted carrot salad, it’s best to keep the arugula separate as noted above. Greens tend to wilt quickly in vinaigrette and this is no exception. If you plan on meal-prepping the salad, I would also recommend leaving the vinaigrette off the carrots while storing and adding it before eating. Once the salad is assembled, it can be stored overnight in an airtight container, just note that the arugula will have likely wilted.

More Easy Salad Recipes:

Pea Salad
Grape Salad
Broccoli Salad
Creamy Cucumber Salad
Pear Salad

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onTikTok,Facebook,Instagram,Pinterest, andYouTube!

Roasted Carrot Salad

5 from 3 Ratings

Made with arugula, cranberries, and feta, this Roasted Carrot Salad is a quick and easy winter salad recipe. It's light, fresh, healthy, and so pretty! Serve this as part of a holiday feast, small dinner parties, or even potlucks – it always receives rave reviews, and everyone loves it.

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots , peeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 & 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of cracked red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 cups baby arugula

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Then slice the carrots diagonally into 2-inch thick pieces. Place onto a baking sheet, then drizzle with the olive oil and season with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cracked red pepper flakes. Toss to coat and then spread them out into a single layer.
Roast the carrots in the preheated oven until tender and the edges turn brown, tossing once, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, transfer carrots to a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together the honey and cider vinegar; drizzle half of the mixture with the carrots until coated.
Add the almonds, cranberries, and feta cheese; toss again until evenly mixed.
Combine with the arugula and toss with the remaining dressing, if needed, right before serving so the leaves don't wilt.

Notes

Add beets. Both roasted beets and pickled beets are a great addition to this salad.

Switch up the cheese. I love the salty flavor of feta but goat cheese and gorgonzola also work well with the flavors in this Thanksgiving salad.

Switch up the greens. Not a fan of arugula? Spinach and mild greens are both good options.

Add some color. For a variety of color in the salad, try using rainbow carrots.

Try a different dressing. Instead of apple cider vinegar, try using balsamic vinegar for a slightly deeper flavor.

Nutrition

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Roasted Carrots Recipe, thanksgiving salad recipe, winter salad recipe

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