Apple and carrot raw salad with the Thermomix® is ready in 15 minutes and serves 4. The ratio of 350 g apples to 250 g carrots to 50 g sunflower seeds is what turns this simple salad into a balanced light meal. Around 140 kcal and 4 g of fibre per serving.
We make it regularly as a side dish or as a quick vitamin-packed snack between meals. The apple and carrot combination has been a family raw-salad classic for generations. Compared to similar-composition mixes from health food shops, it costs around 70 per cent less.
Apple and Carrot Raw Salad with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 350 g apples
- 250 g carrot
- 50 g sunflower seeds
- 20 g sunflower oil
- 10 g lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Prepare the apples.
Wash the apples, quarter them, remove the core and stalk, and place them in the mixing bowl.
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2
Peel and chop the ingredients.
Peel the carrots, cut into pieces and add to the mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the parsley and chop for 5 sec / speed 5 using the spatula. Wash the parsley and pick the leaves.
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3
Serve the salad.
Transfer the salad to a bowl, season further if needed, and serve garnished with parsley.
Tip: Instead of sunflower seeds, you can also use walnut halves or pine nuts.
Nutrition per serving
The 350:250 apple-to-carrot ratio: why more apple
Classic raw salad recipes often use a 1:1 apple-to-carrot ratio. We use more apple (350 g to 250 g) because raw carrots sit heavier in the stomach and the salad can otherwise feel too grainy. The higher proportion of apple makes the salad juicier and milder.
For a lower-carb version: 250 g carrots plus 250 g apple (1:1). For more sweetness: 400 g apple plus 200 g carrots. Both variations work, but noticeably change the character and nutritional values.
5 seconds at speed 5: not too fine
Chop all the ingredients together for 5 seconds at speed 5, using the spatula to help. A longer time or higher speed produces a puree rather than a salad. Speed 5 is the limit: above speed 5 the blade breaks down the apple pieces too finely, and below speed 5 the carrot pieces stay too chunky.
For a finer texture (for children or older people): an extra 2 seconds at speed 6. For a chunkier result (classic raw-salad style): just 4 seconds at speed 5, then finish cutting by hand.
Lemon juice: 10 g essential to prevent browning
The 10 g of lemon juice (about 1 tbsp) is not there for flavour. It stops the enzymatic browning of the apples. Polyphenol oxidase in the apple reacts with oxygen to produce brown pigments. The acid and vitamin C in the lemon juice inhibit this reaction. Without lemon, the salad turns an unappealing brown within 2 hours.
Alternatives: 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or 1 tbsp orange juice. With lemon, the salad stays bright in the fridge for 2 days. Without acid protection: 4 to 6 hours, then it browns.
Which apples? Sweet or tart varieties
Tart varieties work best for raw salad (Granny Smith, Boskoop, Cox Orange). The acidity complements the natural sweetness of the carrots and gives the salad more life. Sweet varieties (Royal Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady) make the salad one-dimensionally sweet and less interesting.
Pro tip: combine one Granny Smith with one Royal Gala. The acid-to-sweetness balance is spot on. If you only have sweet apples: add 5 g more lemon juice to compensate.
Sunflower seeds or other seeds and nuts
50 g sunflower seeds are the standard choice: affordable, neutral flavour, and high in vitamin E. Alternatives: walnuts (30 g, more omega-3), almonds (40 g, more calcium), pumpkin seeds (50 g, more zinc), pine nuts (30 g, more refined but pricier).
To cut calories: 30 g seeds instead of 50 g. For a seed-free version: 1 tbsp ground linseed as an omega-3 source. Leaving seeds out entirely is possible, but the salad loses its bite and staying power.
Four variations for more variety
With walnut oil and honey: replace the sunflower oil with 30 g walnut oil, plus 1 tbsp honey. A Cookidoo-inspired variation, slightly richer.
Red cabbage variation: replace 100 g of the carrots with 100 g finely shredded red cabbage. More colour, more crunch, more anthocyanins (antioxidants).
With nuts: replace the 50 g sunflower seeds with 30 g roughly chopped walnuts. Turns it into a classic carrot, apple and walnut raw salad.
Asian style: 1 tbsp sesame oil plus 1 tsp soy sauce instead of sunflower oil and salt. 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds instead of sunflower seeds. Plus 1 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped.
What to serve with apple and carrot raw salad
As a side dish with fried potatoes, grilled meat, burgers, or sausage dishes. As a vitamin-packed snack between meals. As a breakfast side alongside granola instead of the usual fruit. In lunchboxes for school or the office. With jacket potatoes as a vegetarian lunch.
For more raw salad recipes: our Fitness Salad with the Thermomix® is the five-component version with peppers and kohlrabi.
Apple and carrot raw salad keeps for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container
Stored in a sealed container in the fridge, the salad keeps for 2 days (with enough lemon juice). With longer storage the texture softens and the apple starts to brown. The salad is well suited to meal prep, as it looks freshly made in the morning.
Freezing does not work: the cell structures break down and the apple and carrots turn mushy after defrosting. Making it fresh is the only option.
Goes well with: Schnitzel.
