Carrot Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

I received two jars of Planters Creamy Peanut Butter through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program in partnership with the National Peanut Board. I can’t eat a lot of peanut butter in one sitting as my gallstones don’t like it too much. But I have found that I can handle a little bit at a time.



As soon as I received the peanut butter, I realized that I hadn’t made a peanut sauce in a long time. I didn’t simply want to repeat an old recipe, and I thought shredded carrots would go nicely with an Asian-inspired peanut dressing.



Carrot Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

• 7 carrots, shredded
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon less sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon gochujang (Korean red pepper paste; if you don’t have gochujang, you could try using your favorite hot sauce)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions

Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and gochujang until blended. Add the sesame seeds. Mix with the shredded carrots and let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Servings: 2 - 3
Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus 30 minutes to let marinade)



This is a super quick salad. It has a nice balance of sweetness from the carrots and the peanut butter, acidity from the vinegar, and spiciness from the gochujang. It’s not overly “peanut buttery.” If you like a strong peanut flavor, you should probably add a bit more peanut butter. I’ll definitely make it again.

Questions: Do you like peanut butter? What’s your favorite way to eat it? What’s your favorite way to use it in a recipe?
 
Be well,
Andrea