This aptly-named salad is more delicious than the sum of its parts. The sweet carrots, salty olives, and crunchy shoestring potatoes combine with tuna and a creamy dressing to make a perfect lunchtime or potluck salad.

Shoestring salad: A CHEAP and easy salad recipe with carrots, tuna, and shoestring potatoes. Click through for recipe.

Let me introduce you to one of my all-time favorite salad recipes: Shoestring salad.

It’s not named shoestring because it’s cheap. It’s named shoestring because it calls for shoestring potatoes. But either way – the cost and the ingredients – make this a perfectly named salad for those of us on a shoestring budget!

About The Recipe: Shoestring Salad

Here’s what you need to know:

  • It’s cheap: This salad is extremely budget-friendly. The base is carrots and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. This is the perfect low-cost dish to bring to a summer picnic or potluck.
  • It’s healthy: If you’re trying to eat more vegetables or cut back on carbs, try this salad. You can certainly omit or cut back on the French fried potato sticks if you’re following a low carb or paleo diet.

Shoestring carrot salad: Made with carrots, tuna, and shoestring potatoes. CHEAP and easy!

We’ve always called it shoestring salad, but you may know it as shredded carrot and tuna salad – or carrot tuna salad.

No matter what you call it, it’s an underrated salad that deserves a major comeback!

Ingredients For Shoestring Salad

Shoestring salad is a mix of the following:

  • Shredded carrots
  • Canned tuna
  • Green olives
  • Mayonnaise
  • French fried potato sticks, on top

It sounds simple – and it is. But something about this mix of ingredients is just SO delicious. I can’t stop eating it.

More Cheap And Easy Salad Recipes

Shoestring salad: A CHEAP and easy salad recipe with carrots, tuna, and shoestring potatoes. Click through for recipe.

Shoestring Carrot Salad

Yield: 5 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Although you can used pre-shredded bagged carrots from the grocery store, I recommend shredding your own using a food processor or grater. The store-bought carrots are cut thicker, which works but isn't ideal for this salad.

Ingredients

  • 5 large carrots
  • 5-ounce can tuna, drained
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sliced green olives
  • 5-ounce can French fried potato sticks
  • 1 green onion, chopped

Instructions

  1. Using a grater or food processor with grater attachment, grate carrots. Mix in tuna and mayonnaise.
  2. Stir in most of the green olives and potato sticks. Use the rest to put on top of the salad. Top with green onions.

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