Daikon Carrot Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

Healthy, delicious Daikon Radish and Carrot Salad recipe with a delicious Sesame Ginger dressing.

Forget lettuce, and add a wonderful crunch to your dinner with this vegan side salad! The tasty, healthy ribbons of daikon radish and carrots will have you reaching for seconds.

Daikon salad

This Carrot and Daikon Salad is an awesome salad for when you're tired of all the traditional leafy lettuce side salads. This salad has a really nice crunch thanks to the hearty root vegetables carrots and daikon radish. 

It also has a GREAT light-tasting salad dressing with lots of flavor. It is made with toasted sesame oil, garlic, and ginger... super tasty!

A little dressing goes a long way, making this a light side salad a healthy option for dinner.

More light and healthy salad ideas: Cucumber Salad with Tzatziki Dressing

Shaved vegetable salad

I hope the phrase "shaved vegetables" doesn't put the thought of hairy vegetables in your head. Get that awful visual out of your brain!

Shaved vegetable salad is simply a salad made with thin ribbons of vegetables instead of chopped salad or regular leafy lettuce salad. These thin vegetable ribbons are made by using a vegetable peeler to "shave" the vegetables.

The best vegetables for making a ribbon shaved vegetable salads are carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, and of course - daikon radish.

All of these vegetables make really nice thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler. This vegetable peeler from OXO is my absolute favorite one. I've been using it for over a decade on everything from soft cucumbers to crazy-hard butternut squash. This thing holds up.  

It is by far the easiest way to make thin vegetable ribbons - you don't need any fancy-pants equipment other than this vegetable peeler. Get it here.

What is daikon radish?

Daikon radish is a root vegetable that has a shape similar to carrots - though it often grows much bigger! It has a very neutral taste unlike many other radishes. The neutral taste makes it a perfect addition to many recipes because it goes with every flavor. 

Daikon radishes are not as hard as carrots. Daikon radishes stay nice and crunchy when combined with dressing - unlike zucchini or cucumbers which get a little mushy. This makes daikon radishes perfect for salads. 

Where to find daikon radish

You can find daikon radishes in the produce section of most large supermarkets near the other root vegetables - typically next to the carrots, radishes, beets, etc. If your grocery store doesn't carry it, try an Asian grocery store or any other smaller specialty produce store that carries ethnic produce and groceries.

If you can't find Daikon radish, then just grab a zucchini or yellow squash for this recipe - it will still taste just as good but will be slightly less crunchy.

Sesame ginger dressing

As I said above, daikon radish goes great with most flavors and salad dressings. For this carrot daikon radish, I made an easy sesame ginger dressing by mixing freshly grated ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl.

I always use a microplane zester to grate ginger - it is by far the easiest way to get really small pieces of ginger. You definitely don't want large chunks of ginger for this salad dressing. A zester is also a great way to grate garlic, while you're at it.

This is the zester I have.  

If you don't have rice vinegar on hand, you can use apple cider vinegar or lime juice in its place to add some acidity. Just go light on the lime juice or apple cider vinegar at first. They are stronger than rice vinegar. Rice vinegar has a nice mild slightly-sweet vinegar flavor. Get it here.

And don't skip the sesame oil - that is what really gives this salad dressing lots of flavor! This is the one I use. 

I top the salad with sesame seeds just for a little crunch and a pop of color.

Looking for other vegetable salads?

• Spiralized carrot zucchini salad with sesame ginger dressing
• Spiralized carrot zucchini salad with feta and a lemon garlic dressing
• Chickpea and pea shoot salad

Looking for other fun veggie recipes?

• Yellow squash tots
• Cauliflower tots
• Cauliflower fritters
• Corn fritters

If you end up making this carrot daikon salad, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

Print Recipe

4.91 from 21 votes

Daikon Carrot Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

Healthy, delicious Shaved Carrot and Daikon Salad recipe with a delicious Sesame Ginger dressing. Forget lettuce, and add a wonderful crunch to your dinner! The tasty, healthy ribbons of daikon radish and carrots will have you reaching for seconds.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time0 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American, Asian

Servings: 4

Author: Kate

  Cook Mode: Prevent your screen from going dark

Cost: $1 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots
• 1 daikon radish - (use about a 1:1 ratio of carrot to daikon)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar - (see notes)
• 1 large garlic clove - grated or minced
• 1 1 inch piece of ginger - peeled and grated
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

• Prep the veggies: Clean and peel the daikon radishes and carrots. Using a vegetable peeler, 'shave' slices of the radish and the carrots. This is easiest to do by pressing the vegetable against a cutting board and using the peeler to slice away from your body. Place these in a large bowl. 
  
• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, vinegar, minced garlic clove, and grated ginger. Add some salt (¼ - ½ teaspoon) and pepper to taste. Combine the dressing with the sliced daikon and carrots, add the sesame seeds, and mix well. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. 
  

Notes

• You should use the same size daikon radishes and carrots - the ratio of the two should be about the same in this salad. Daikon radishes are typically bigger than carrots
• If you don't have rice vinegar, try substituting with freshly squeezed lime juice or apple cider vinegar. Start with ½ tablespoon and add more if needed, since lime juice and apple cider vinegar have a stronger taste than rice vinegar

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcal (4%) | Carbohydrates: 3g (1%) | Protein: 1g (2%) | Fat: 4g (6%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (5%) | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 1g (1%) | Calcium: 19mg (2%) | Iron: 0.3mg (2%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.

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