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Moroccan-Inspired Carrot & Chickpea Salad

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With fragrant spices, bright colors and savory flavors, this exotic twist on the carrot-raisin salad is a feast for the senses.

Plate of Moroccan-inspired carrot and chickpea salad.

Fragrant spices, bright colors, sweet and savory flavors — this Moroccan salad is a feast for the senses. It’s essentially an exotic twist on the classic carrot-raisin salad, yet you don’t need any exotic ingredients to make it. The magic is made with spices you likely already have in your spice cabinet.

You can serve it with my Grilled Moroccan Chicken, Grilled Moroccan Meatballs or, for a lighter meal, my autumn-spiced Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup. I even like it all by itself, especially on those nights when I’m just cooking for myself and don’t need to worry about a protein and two sides, or who will eat what (picky eaters, you know who you are!).

What you’ll need to make Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad

Salad ingredients including currants, honey, and lemon.

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.

How to make Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad

Grated carrots in a food processor.

Begin by making the dressing. You’ll need the zest and juice of one large lemon. Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice it, otherwise, it will be impossible.

Pile of lemon zest next to a grater and a lemon.

You’ll also need the juice from one orange. You don’t need a citrus juicer like this one — you can just squeeze the juice out with your hands — but it does make the job a little easier.

Citrus fruits with a juicer.

Whisk the lemon zest and citrus juice with the olive oil, honey and spices.

Whisk in a bowl of vinaigrette.

Set the dressing aside. 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.

Almonds on a lined baking sheet.

Keep a close eye on them; they go from perfectly golden to burnt very quickly!

Toasted almonds on a lined baking sheet.

Next, add all of the salad ingredients to the bowl with the dressing.

Unmixed salad ingredients in a bowl.

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.

Bowl of Moroccan-inspired carrot and chickpea salad.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then serve cold. Enjoy!

Plate of Moroccan-inspired carrot and chickpea salad.

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Moroccan Carrot & Chickpea Salad

With fragrant spices, bright colors and savory flavors, this exotic twist on the carrot-raisin salad is a feast for the senses.

Servings: 6 (as a side dish)

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

  1. In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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

  • This is SO good. I’m made it to serve with a Moroccan chicken dish and served both with couscous. This salad is so well balanced. It’s sweet, salty, spicy, tangy. It’s super easy and is just absolutely delicious. I will make it again!

    • — Liz on March 16, 2024
    • Reply
  • Fantastic recipe, I’ve made it several times with different adaptions depending on what I have in the house, and it’s always delicious.

    • — Elyssa on December 8, 2023
    • Reply
  • Our entire family loves loves this salad even the kids. It is my go to salad for family dinners.

    • — Sharon markham on October 2, 2023
    • Reply
  • Delicious. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

    • — Jo on August 21, 2023
    • Reply
  • Excellent! Wonderful flavors and a pretty presentation.

    • — Jdomeyer on August 6, 2023
    • Reply
  • Love this recipe! One of my go-to salads. Great do ahead salad bbq dinner or picnic with friends. Always get complements and asked for the recipe!

    • — Dara on February 4, 2023
    • Reply
  • Delicious. Fragrant! I will, however, pre-cook the carrots before adding next time as they were a bit too crunchy for our liking.

    • — Kathy B on January 24, 2023
    • Reply
  • Absolutely delicious!
    I had no currents, substituted chopped dates.
    Added hand full of dried cranberries for festive look.
    Thank you, This is a keeper
    Pauline P
    Vancouver Island BC.

    • — Pauline on December 24, 2022
    • Reply
  • Can I make this the day before?

    • — Rachel on December 17, 2022
    • Reply
    • Sure – enjoy!

      • — Jenn on December 17, 2022
      • Reply
  • I just made this salad last night to complement the Chicken Tagine recipe. I did not have an orange and added raisins instead of currants, but it turned out great. I love the spice combination, particularly mint and cinnamon!

    • — Esther Carrasco on December 12, 2022
    • Reply
  • one of our favourite recipes! awesome, – thank you Jenn

    • — Jonathan on October 6, 2022
    • Reply
  • Delicious! Made it for my Mum’s bday and she loved it. Will definitely make again 🙂

    • — Gabrielle on July 10, 2022
    • Reply
  • Our grandkids enjoyed this salad too. It is also a tasty way for us to eat more carrots. Another great recipe from Jenn!

    • — Sarah on June 29, 2022
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  • This looks delicious. I’m thinking of making it for my son to take to work for his lunch – he won’t take sandwiches in his lunch box. I usually make things that will last a couple of meals for him. Will this keep for a couple of days?

    • — Colleen on June 22, 2022
    • Reply
    • Yes, it will last nice for a few days. Hope your son enjoys!

      • — Jenn on June 23, 2022
      • Reply
  • Just found your website & there are sooo many, but I LOVE when I find the Great ones like yours!!! I have tried something similar to this, but this is much better. I substituted garbanzo beans & cran-raisins because I was too lazy to run to the store. I was still GREAT!

    • — Lynn on June 16, 2022
    • Reply

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