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Copper Penny Carrot Salad is an old-time favorite for many people. When I take this salad to a gathering, I’m always amazed at the positive reaction by people who love it. But I shouldn’t be, because I love it, too! Tender crisp carrots, green bell peppers, and onion in a sweet tomato dressing. It’s quite easy to make, and it will keep in your refrigerator for up to 6 weeks!
When researching this recipe, I found the cookbook my grandma used, which had her notes on it.
My grandma loved community cookbooks, full of wonderful old-time recipes. And she had many of them, a tableful at least! I always enjoy browsing through them, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t do it enough, relying instead on the internet.
Most of the community cookbooks that I searched through had at least one recipe for Copper Penny Salad. As mentioned above, it was a favorite recipe back in the day. And all of the recipes differed from each other in one aspect or another.
I tweaked my Grandma’s recipe just a bit by including Louisiana Hot Sauce and Chopped Pimentos. Other than that, it’s the way she made it.
Tools for This Recipe
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Cuisinart 14 Cup Food Processor
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Instructions For Making This Recipes
Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Vegetables
To slice the carrots, I opted to use my Cuisinart Food Processor for more uniform slices. I currently own an 11-cup food processor, but the 14-cup version is on my Christmas wish list! A food processor makes the job of slicing two pounds of carrots easy and quick.
Place the sliced carrots in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until carrots are crisp-tender.
While the carrots are simmering, chop the green bell pepper and sweet onion with a knife and cutting board. Drain cooked carrots in a colander and allow to cool. Then place the carrots in a large bowl, along with the chopped bell peppers and sweet onion.
Heat the Tomato Dressing Marinade
Next, prepare the tomato dressing marinade by combining in a medium saucepan, the condensed tomato soup, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, chopped pimentos, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Louisiana hot sauce. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well to combine.
When shopping for condensed tomato soup, look for sales on Campbell’s soup, and stock up when you find them. But feel free to use a less expensive brand, which I often do to save money on groceries. See this recipe for French Dressing, which also uses condensed tomato soup.
Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Assemble and Refrigerate the Salad
Pour tomato dressing over the prepared vegetables and stir well to combine.
Transfer salad to a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours to allow the ingredients to marinate.
When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and serve in large serving bowl with a slotted spoon, or in small individual serving cups, such as the above dishes from Pfaltzgraff – Villa della Luna pattern.
This recipe will serve 18-20 people. You may store leftovers in a covered container for up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator. A wide-mouth quart jar works well for this.
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Copper Penny Carrot Salad
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots (peeled and sliced)
- 1 large green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium sweet onion (chopped)
Tomato Dressing Marinade
- 10 oz condensed tomato soup
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped pimentos
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Vegetables
- To slice the carrots, I opted to use my Cuisinart Food Processor for more uniform slices. If you don't own a food processor, you may slice the carrots using a cutting board and sharp Chef's or Santoku knife.
- Place the sliced carrots in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until carrots are crisp-tender.
- While the carrots are simmering, chop the green bell pepper and sweet onion with a knife and cutting board.
- Drain cooked carrots in a colander and allow to cool. Then place the carrots in a large bowl, along with the chopped bell peppers and sweet onion.
Heat the Tomato Dressing Marinade
- Next, prepare the tomato dressing marinade by combining in a medium saucepan, the condensed tomato soup, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, chopped pimentos, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Louisiana hot sauce. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Assemble and Refrigerate the Salad
- Pour tomato dressing over the prepared vegetables and stir well to combine.
- Transfer salad to a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours to allow the ingredients to marinate. Serves 18-20.
I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as our family does!