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This Carrot Pineapple Salad is a grown up, healthy version of the retro carrot pineapple gelatin salad from childhood. A creamy sweet orange dressing takes the place of the gelatin. It’s absolutely delicious!
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I’ve been slowly working my way through old family recipes, making them plant based and healthier.
So far, I’ve reinvented and shared with you Mushroom Pepper Steak, Polish Mushroom Soup, Shortcut Polish Tomato Soup, Classic Vegan Toffee Bars, and Gluten Free Date Bread.
Next up is my paternal Grandma’s Carrot Pineapple Gelatin Salad.
Does anyone else remember eating this as a kid? It’s super retro and was a love it or hate it kind of dish.
Me – I loved it! It was at every family gathering, from special holidays to backyard picnics.
My Carrot Pineapple Salad is a like a grown up version of the gelatin salad…and definitely healthier!
I think it’s pretty obvious that I, the creator of Veggie Inspired, adore fresh produce. I love walking up and down the produce aisles or visiting farmers markets to see what looks fresh and delicious.
My maternal Grandma brought me over a fresh pineapple last week. As soon as I opened the fridge and saw the package of carrots I had just recently bought, I knew immediately what I would be making.
Sweet, juicy, crunchy, yummy, Carrot Pineapple Salad.
If you love sweet and savory together, you’ll love this Pineapple Avocado Salsa, too!
I wanted to find out the origins of this retro salad so I hit up Google. I didn’t actually find the answer, but I did find that nearly every recipe for the carrot pineapple gelatin salad used lemon jello. I was surprised to learn that as my Grandma always used orange jello.
We are ditching the gelatin in this grown up Carrot Pineapple Salad.
In honor of my Grandma’s version which used orange jello, I instead made an orange dressing.
A little bit of dairy free yogurt, the juice from sweet Cara Cara oranges, and even a dash of turmeric for color and its superfood properties.
It’s creamy, tangy and sweet and pairs perfectly with the carrots and pineapples.
This yummy salad would be great for any day of the week, but it’s gorgeous enough to be part of your Easter table.
Don’t forget to add these delicious recipes to your Easter menu too!
- Curried Tofu Salad Sandwiches (just like egg salad, but BETTER!)
- Vegan Carrot Soup
- Herb Roasted Potato and Arugula Salad
- Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies (with gorgeous pastel colors made from REAL whole foods!)
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you tried it, please use the star rating system in the recipe card and leave a comment with your feedback. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For even more easy family recipes, be sure to check out my cookbook, The Meatless Monday Family Cookbook!
Carrot Pineapple Salad
Ingredients
Carrot Pineapple Salad
- 1 pound carrots peeled
- 2 cups small pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup dried cherries optional
Creamy Orange Dressing (makes about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup dairy-free plain yogurt
- juice of 1 Cara Cara orange
- juice of ½ lime
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- With your vegetable peeler, peel "ribbons" from your carrots. Hold the narrow end of the carrot in your hand while you peel away from you making long ribbons. Alternately, you can shred the carrots with the big holes of a box grater or a food processor shredder blade.
- Toss the carrot ribbons, pineapple and dried cherries together.
- Drizzle with some of the dressing (you probably won’t need all of it) and toss well.
- Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are calculated using online calculators and are estimates only. Please verify using your own data.
Lois
Excited to try this. My husband recently became lactose intolerant along with gluten free. I don’t have any oranges on hand but do have clementine purée frozen. How much would I use of the purée and also don’t have fresh lime but bottled lime juice, how much would I use. Could I also use cranraisins instead of dried cherries?
Jenn Sebestyen
You need about 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1 tablespoon of lime. The dried cranberries would work fine. Enjoy!
Eric L
Looked and sounded so good, but . . .had an off-putting taste, mainly too acidic. I added more sweetener to offset the cider vinegar and lime, and it helped a little bit.
Jenn Sebestyen
Thanks for your feedback, Eric. Always a good idea to taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Eric L
Darn! I was hoping my first comment was not yet approved. Please delete it if you can. Because . . .
One night in the fridge totally mellowed the acidity and melded the flavors. Today the salad was fantastic! Thank you
Jenn Sebestyen
Oh, this is great! Thank you for updating!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
Cara Cara oranges are so good! I love how you updated this classic salad.
Jenn S.
Ours too! So sweet!
Dianne's Vegan Kitchen
I remember that salad! Why did they insist on encasing so many foods in Jello in the 70s? This version looks SO MUCH better!!
Jenn S.
HaHa! Yes, it seems like there was a jello salad for just about every ingredient you could think of. While I did love the jello version of this, I think ditching the gelatin takes it to a level everyone will enjoy! 🙂 Thanks, Dianne!
Megan
I love this! It is so pretty! I love the combo! I never would have thought to put carrots and pineapple together in a Salad! Great idea!
Jenn S.
Thanks, Megan! It’s a great pairing and I think even better with the gelatin! 🙂
Becky Striepe
This looks so good! I used to love carrot raisin salad, and yours looks way better than the ones I had as a kid!
Jenn S.
Aw, thanks, Becky! The traditional carrot raisins salads of my childhood always had a mayo based dressing – icky! I hope you like this one!! 🙂
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
I love that you’re working your way through old family recipes- sounds like so much fun! Your salad looks so fresh and vibrant and that dressing is just bursting with flavor!
Jenn S.
Thanks, Sonali! It’s definitely flavorful.
Jessica- Nutritioulicious
This looks and sounds so delicious! I love the way you used cara cara oranges in the dressing! Yum!
Jenn S.
I’ve been obsessed with cara cara oranges lately. So sweet and delicious! Thanks, Jessica!
Jessica
Me too! I can’t get enough of them. But sadly I think the season is coming to an end 🙁
Jenn S.
Yes, probably.:(
Alisa Fleming
I love carrot pineapple salad but have never added cherries! Is that traditional, or just your own fun flavor addition?
Jenn S.
No, not traditional in the gelatin salad. But raisins are a common ingredient in carrots salads in general. I don’t like raisins, so I thought dried cherries would be a nice flavor complement and I love the how it breaks up all the bright colors too. They are totally optional, however. Thanks, Alisa!
Sarah
This looks simply delicious! Love the combination of flavors and it uses my favorite So Delicious so I need to make this for lunch this week! Pinned, thank you for sharing!
Jenn S.
Thank you, Sarah!I love So Delicious too! I hope you love this!