Carrot Ribbon Salad with Pepita Maple Butter Salad Dressing
My mom brought me nearly a gallon of roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) last time she came to visit. I’ve been using them in everything, but this post is all about the best salad dressing EVER. You’ll pretty much want to drink it from the jar once you’ve made it. You can serve it over any type of salad. Last night we had it over baby greens, artichoke hearts and white beans. However the carrot ribbons are cute and whimsical, plus this dish reminds me of an unusual (but tasty) salad my mom used to make when I was little: shredded carrot, mayo, sugar, raisins, salt and pepper. I like to think of this as my grown up version. Thanks mom for all the lovely pepitas!
Pepita Butter
Pepita Maple Butter Salad Dressing
- 1/4 C. pepita butter (I made the pepita butter in my blendtec: 3 C. roasted salted pepitas, processed and scraped down, over and over until smooth, this took just a couple minutes) OR you could use 1/2 C. pepitas
- 1/4 C. pure maple syrup (if desired, halve this amount for a more savory dressing)
- 2 T. bragg’s liquid aminos
- 3 T. plant milk of choice, I used soy
- 2 T. white wine vinegar
- 1 T. nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 clove minced garlic
Method: In a power blender, blend all ingredients until completely smooth. Dressing will be a bit thin, but thickens nicely in the fridge. If you don’t have a power blender, or a food processor to make the pepita butter, soak the pepitas for a few hours before blending the dressing.
For the Carrot Ribbon Salad:
- 2-3 Carrots per person, shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- Roasted and Salted Pepitas for sprinkling over salad
- Cranberries or Raisins for sprinkling over salad
- A few tablespoons of the above dressing, per person
This recipe is featured on the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck
Vedged Out 
I love carrot ribbons, so pretty. I will have to give this dressing a go for sure!
Thanks Alexander! My sister taught me how to make carrot ribbons, Now carrots aren’t nearly as pretty any other way in a salad! You’ll love the dressing, as I know you love pepitas!
Okay, did your Mom hang out with mine because we had the shredded carrot, mayo raisin salad at least once a month when I was growing up!
This one is definitely a gorgeous and healthier version. LOVE those ribbons and the dressing sounds perfectly sweet/tart. A half gallon of Pepitas? You lucky girl. They make a perfect topping for the dressing…have a few bites for me please 🙂
LOL, I HATED that salad. My Mom made that goopy mayo thing every month. Yeck!
Yea, it must have been in Good Housekeeping at some point and all the Moms made it 🙂
I think you’ll like this one a little better Sarah! Funny all our moms made it!
She must’ve! That’s so funny! I am a very lucky girl… She brought chia seeds, sesame seeds, a gallon of fresh pressed olive oil, all from nearby their home in Mexico. Wonderful!
Beautiful! and sounds so good!
Thanks Elena! 🙂
Mmm, sounds delish 🙂 x
It was really tasty and fresh 🙂
Seriously, your Mom sounds like the best! I love pepitas, I love all your amazing ideas, pepita butter sounds so so so so GOOD!
She’s pretty wonderful! Oh my goodness, the pepita butter, I LOVE it, it’s more savory than other nut and seed butters, which is fabulous!
You just made something gorgeous and highly desirable. I think you should rename this salad “Super model Salad” and be done with it! ;). Looks wonderful and that dressing is very frugal at the same time using cheaper pepitas 🙂
Super Model Salad it is! Though I don’t think super models really eat, they just smoke and eat cotton balls….
Only the new Super Models eat the cotton balls Somer, the older ones have gravitated to filter feeding 😉
Mama mia that’s a beautiful salad! Love the colors, love the cranberries and need to get my mitts on some dang pepitas ASAP!!
I was going to make it more grand, with more ingredients and toppings and put it on a bed of lettuce, then I thought, nah, I like you just the way you are! Get those pepitas babe! xx
It’s so pretty and sounds completely delicious!!!
Thanks Megan!
That is the prettiest salad I have seen in a long time, love the cranberries on top! The dressing sounds wonderful – I have written it down for a must -try 🙂
Thank you Somer!
Oh thank you Anne! It’s fun for sure! I hope you enjoy it! xx
OooooMG that looks so good! Can’t wait to try it!
Hahaha! Do it Barb!!! xx
Pepita Butter? Oh hello……
I know, right?!? And I thought I could only make nut/seed butters in the food processor… Pshaw. I just needed to do more scraping down, LOTS more scraping down, but it’s still 8 minutes faster than in the cuisinart!
What a gorgeous salad – I’m so impressed, Somer!
Why thank you very much Nick! I really enjoyed it! 🙂
Beautiful salad. I am so in love with the orange color of carrots! I love pepita dressings, too! This photo rivals Annie’s prize cupcake photo.
Your carrot strips remind me of a meal we had with carrots recently. Hopefully I will get the post up soon. I don’t always get the photo the first time around. 😉
All right, now don’t get me all confused… Annie’s prized cupcake photo was the shiz. This is a carrot salad for crying out loud 😉 Thanks for the compliments babe! xx
Mmmmm! This salad looks amazing! Love the carrot ribbons!
Carrot ribbons are so pretty and so much fancier than shreds! 🙂
Looks beautiful! Will definitely give this a try.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
My mom makes a similar carrot/raisin salad, ha ha! I love your grown up version, carrots ribbons are very fancy! The dressing sounds wonderful, love how it seems anything can be made into “butter”. Yum.
Carrot ribbons look so pretty! Are they hard to make??
Excited to try this dressing – I’m always in the market for a good dressing.
Haha! Nope, so simple. I do recommend bigger carrots so that you have more surface area to work with. You also won’t be able to turn the whole carrot into ribbons, so I typically dice the remainders and put them in a container in the fridge to use in soups or to sprinkle over other salads. The dressing is killer, hope you enjoy it 🙂
Nice! This sounds so nutty and delicious! Lucky you that your mom brought so many of them for you.
So lucky! She brought all this stuff up from Mexico a store near their beach home in Mexico, including a quart of chia seeds, she said they maybe cost her a couple dollars. The fresh pressed olive oil she brought was insane. I’ve never tasted anything like it, It made my premium olive oil taste like toxic sludge in comparison. Sigh.
Yum!!
Thanks Lisa!
This looks amazing Somer! I almost made it last night but I am thinking tonight is THE night. I love pumpkin seeds and just found a big container hanging out in the cupboard. Typical bloggy recipe fate. XO!
Yay!!! I’d love to know what you think if you get around to it!!! Pumpkin seeds are definitely on my favorites list at the moment! xx
Loving the carrot ribbons! 🙂
Why thank you!! 🙂
This is so lovely…I dunno if I want to eat it, or paint a canvas of it!
Just drink it and you’ll be fine!
Your food is beautiful!!!! 🙂
Thanks Lady! 🙂
If anyone has influenced my tastes in food lately it’s been you! I think often about your blog posts and the recipes when I cook and figure out menus. It’s just different, better than the other veggie-centric recipes in cookbooks, blogs and cooking shows.
You sweetheart! I admit I don’t use cookbooks often because I’m often disappointed with the results. But I do prepare lots of things from friends blogs, almost never steers me wrong, I think it’s partly finding sites where the author shares your food taste. I’m glad you share mine! Super flattering 🙂
Well I sure like your flavor combinations and it’s always right up my alley, the way you combine things and ingredients you use. 🙂
This salad is so pretty and the dressing sounds simply divine! Lucky you having a mom who gifted you such a lovely ingredient 🙂
Wow the dressing sounds like I could put it on a WHOLE mess of things. Sounds great – thanks!
love those lacey carrot ribbons and the dressing sounds palatable…..cant wait to give it a try ASAP…..