Chilled Moroccan Carrot Salad
This Moroccan carrot salad is a quick chilled side dish you can make in 10 minutes! Full of spicy shredded harissa carrots and creamy feta.
When you need a quick side dish for dinner, this carrot salad recipe is the perfect solution. It takes just 10 minutes to put together, and it’s packed with flavor! Like this African salad with chickpeas and carrots, this Moroccan carrot salad is served cold.
A word of caution: This is a spicy salad, mostly because of the fiery Moroccan harissa that’s tossed in. If you aren’t a fan of harissa carrots, it’s an easy fix; just use less chili paste.
Moroccan carrot salad
Cuisine: North African
Chilled salads are the norm here, but in North Africa and the Middle East, that isn’t typically the case. More often, what you’ll find are dishes like warm Moroccan carrots with yogurt dressing. If you like warm salads, try my Mediterranean barley salad or this fregola salad with grilled halloumi cheese. So good!
Finding new and exciting ways to flavor and serve foods is one of things I enjoy most about creating Silk Road recipes!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Carrots – Full size carrots are best for this recipe, as baby carrots are difficult to shred.
- Spices – For a bit of earthy, warm flavor, I include some ground coriander and caraway seed. Ground coriander has a wonderful floral aroma as well.
- Harissa chili paste – If you’ve never tried Moroccan harissa, it’s a spicy chili paste. The flavor of harissa carrots is the highlight of this Moroccan carrot salad!
Are you a fan of spicy foods? Make some harissa chicken; it will make your taste buds tingle!
Easy ways to shred carrots
There are a couple of simple solutions for shredding carrots. Of course, the most obvious is to buy them pre-shredded, but that’s a lot more expensive than shredding them yourself.
Box grater – Using a box grater is a fantastic option, because it’s quicker than cutting matchstick slices with a knife. Plus, a box grater is a budget friendly kitchen gadget that kids love to use!
You can use the large holes to shred them, or if you prefer a grated carrot salad, use the smaller holes.
Food processor – If you have a food processor with a slicing/grating attachment, it’ll make quick work of this task!
Mandolin – I love my mandolin slicer but not everyone is comfortable using one. If you use this option, please use the food guard so you don’t lose any finger tips (it’s happened to me before)!
Carrot salad recipe notes
- Chill the Moroccan carrot salad for 30 minutes before serving. It isn’t a marinated salad, but the flavors are better if it’s served cold.
- Refrigerate leftovers – Keep any leftover carrot salad in an airtight container in your fridge, and use it within 5 to 6 days. If you leave it undressed, it should keep for 7-10 days.
I hope you enjoy this spicy carrot salad!
Moroccan Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots peeled
Dressing
- 1 lemon juiced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp harissa paste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/8 tsp salt
For Plating
- 2 cups arugula leaves
Garnish
- 4 oz feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Trim and discard ends of carrots. Use a box grater or mandolin slicer to shred, or use a knife to cut carrots into matchstick size pieces.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons lemon juice, olive oil, harissa paste, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds and salt.
- Add the carrots to the bowl and toss with dressing. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Divide arugula on plates, top with chilled carrot salad, and garnish with crumbled feta cheese.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hi Kevin,
Do you have a recipe for the carrots they serve at AL FASSIA in Marrakech? There are large chunks boiled with spices and then marinated ? Delicious ! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes, so well explained, great photos … and great taste.
Researching it now. If I find it I’ll be sure to share it here Chantall!
I loved the grated carrot orange juice salad in Morocco, so refreshing.
I hope you enjoy this one as well Kathy!
Hi Kevin : Could you please send me your 5 Secrets to Tex-Mex Cooking please
Bernard, you’ll have to go to the site and sign up there!