Moroccan-Spiced Carrot & Chickpea Salad
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Spice up your mealtime with this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad—a satisfying, no-fuss dish that offers a deliciously unique twist on the classic carrot-raisin salad.
Packed with fragrant spices, vibrant colors, and a perfect mix of sweet and savory flavors, this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad is a feast for the senses. It puts a unique spin on the classic carrot-raisin salad. And the best part? You don’t need any hard-to-find ingredients to make it. Everything that makes it special is probably already on hand in your kitchen.
Pair the salad with my grilled Moroccan chicken, grilled Moroccan meatballs, or perhaps with my butternut squash and sweet potato soup for a lighter meal. It’s also perfectly satisfying on its own—just right for a pack-and-go lunch or those quiet nights when you’re dining solo and don’t want to fuss with a whole meal.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Moroccan-Spiced Carrot & Chickpea Salad
The list of ingredients looks long but, as you can see, it’s mostly just a lot of spices. If you have a food processor, this is a good time to use it. If not, you can shred the carrots by hand or buy them already shredded and bagged from the supermarket.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), combine all of the ingredients for the dressing.
Whisk to combine.
Next, toast the almonds. Simply place them on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up and bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Keep a close eye on them; they go from perfectly golden to burnt very quickly!
Next, add all of the salad ingredients to the bowl with the dressing.
Toss well, then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, but preferably several hours. The salad tastes infinitely better cold, especially once the flavors have had a chance to marry.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then serve cold. Enjoy!
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Moroccan Carrot & Chickpea Salad
Spice up your mealtime with this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad—a satisfying, no-fuss dish that offers a deliciously unique twist on the classic carrot-raisin salad.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, from one large lemon
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, from one large orange
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Salad
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
- ⅓ cup currants
- ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted (see note below)
- ½ cup chopped fresh mint or cilantro (or a combination), plus more for serving
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallots, from one large shallot
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
- In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
- To the dressing, add all of the ingredients for the salad and toss well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (you might need more salt, lemon or honey, depending on the sweetness of the carrots). Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh chopped herbs. Serve cold.
- Note: To toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the almonds are golden.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 312
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Sugar: 19g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 8g
- Sodium: 522mg
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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I love the salad! What with the freshness of the citrus and mint, and the tang of cayenne, it’s one that I eat often! So colourful, so fresh!
This looks like a really delicious recipe, but I would call it ‘Moroccan inspired’. I’m Moroccan, and there is no such salad in Morocco. We have a grated carrot salad with orange juice and cinnamon. There is another carrot salad recipe in which the carrots are steamed and seasoned with cumin, lemon and garlic. This is not to undermine this salad, which truly looks delicious, but it’s just not a Moroccan recipe.
Hi Lina, Thanks for your feedback — I’m going to tweak the name. 🙂
Jenn
This is a Moroccan recipe. I had this salad at one of the finest restaurants in Marrakech. We loved it so much we had 3 orders! Your recipe tastes just like it, and I’m so happy that I can make it at home. Your recipe is tweaked even to a higher octave. Absolutely delicious. I love your recipes!
💓
I love cooking with chickpeas and this salad delivers! The dressing is delicious!
Wow! Just delicious. As a vegetarian, I didn’t need to add anything. I omitted the garlic ‘cos I can’t read apparently, but that’s fine as I’m not a huge fan of garlic. Embarrassingly I couldn’t stop eating this lovely salad.
Absolutely delicious. Made this last night for a dinner party with friends and everyone loved it. This will become a new staple for me. I used red and orange carrots and it was so beautiful,
This is the most delicious salad ever! I’ve made a twice for company, and have been asked for the recipe both times. It’s definitely a staple in our household now.
This is the best carrot salad ever and I don’t care for cilantro or chickpeas. Cilantro is so right for this salad and completes the complexity of the spices. It’s both exotic and homey at the same time. I made it yesterday and made it again today.
This is the best carrot salad I have eaten and it’s so easy to make! I added a little extra cayenne and subbed Craisins for currants. Thank you, Jenn!
This was very delicious. My wife had 3 servings. It’s a keeper. I could not find black currants so used some dark raisins we had.
All the recipes I’ve tried I get great feedback.
Happy New Year
This was fabulous! We loved the complex-yet-bright flavors. This will go into my regular rotation. So yummy, thank you for sharing!