30 Minute Moroccan-Inspired Carrot & Chickpea Salad
Mar 2, 2020 (Last updated Oct 17, 2023) by Hannah Sunderani
30 Minute Moroccan-Inspired Carrot & Chickpea Salad
This tossed green salad with grated carrot, chickpeas and quinoa takes just 30 minutes to make. It’s packed with fresh, flavourful and whole-food ingredients and is a terrific vegan chickpea salad for lunch, or serve it as a side dish. Finish with a drizzle of homemade moroccan-inspired dressing, and enjoy!
You guys…I am so excited to share this very easy and delicious Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad. It’s vegan, gluten-free, so easy to make, and healthy!
In this recipe you’ll find grated carrots, chickpeas, quinoa, arugula, fresh herbs, roasted almonds and sweet dates. Certainly, this moroccan salad is far from boring and bland!
Better yet, this Moroccan carrot salad can be prepared in advanced, and will last up to 3 days in the fridge! (It actually gets BETTER with time!).
I love a good vegan chickpea salad that you can rely on for healthy mid-week lunches and quick dinners.
Now, let me tell you exactly how to make this Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad, so that you can get crunching and munching immediately!
Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad
The ingredients
If you know my blog then you know that salads are my jam! Ya’ll are often asking for vegan salad suggestions and top of that list is this vegan chickpea salad!
After my vegan caesar salad was such a hit, I wanted to bring another vegan chickpea salad variation that offered a totally different flavour profile. Cue this Moroccan salad!
The ingredients for this recipe are simple and straight forward. Which is why I have given it my Newbie Cook stamp of approval. Everyone can make this recipe, and likely you already have the ingredients to do so.
For this recipe, you will need:
- quinoa
- almonds
- shallots
- carrots
- chickpeas
- arugula
- fresh mint
- dates
What I love most about this recipe is the simplicity of these ingredients. They are simple whole foods; but when combined it’s flavour rich and delicious!
To be more specific; the quinoa, chickpeas and toasted almonds add protein and heartiness to the dish, to keep you fuller for longer. While the carrot and toasted almonds adds beautiful crunch. Fresh mint gives more fresh flavour, dates add sweetness. Certainly, this is a healthy recipe that’s full of flavour.
Make this recipe with me!
Make this recipe with me on my YouTube Channel! On this episode I share 4 Vegan Protein-Packed Salads including this delicious Moroccan Chickpea Salad!
Moroccan Salad Dressing
But it’s the moroccan salad dressing that really takes the flavour profile to the next level. Made by mixing a tangy citrus fruits (orange and lemon) with spices like cinnamon, ginger, cumin and coriander.
All-in-all this dressing recipe is premium! You will love it in this salad, and other salads and buddha bowls. Feel free to make it whenever you want more flavour to your healthy salads.
How to make Moroccan Salad
This recipe is very simple and straight forward. Simply toss the ingredients to combine and serve. But there’s a couple tips to making sure your moroccan salad is perfect as can be.
Make sure your quinoa is fully cooled before adding the veg, otherwise it will cause your greens to wilt.
To cool quinoa faster: transfer the cooked quinoa to a shallow bowl and spread it out. This will remove the steam much faster for a quicker cool down.
Recipe FAQs
Both canned or dried chickpeas can be used in salad. Canned chickpeas can be strained, rinsed, and used right away. Dried chickpeas have to be soaked 12 hours in advanced and then cooked in simmering water for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Not necessarily. As long as you wash and scrub carrots well to remove any dirt then they are safe to eat. However, peeling carrots before using them in salad ensures the dirty exterior is removed, and the majority of people prefer eating them this way.
Yes, this moroccan salad recipe can be prepared in advance, and will keep in your fridge for up to 3 days. Making it a great recipe for meal prep. Enjoy for mid-week lunches or for an easy dinner.
This salad recipe will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
Substitutes for this Moroccan Carrot Salad:
Nuts: If you don’t have almonds you can substitute with toasted walnuts or pecans. Or, make it nut-free by substituting with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
Dried fruit: This recipe uses chopped dates, which offers beautiful flavour. However, if you don’t have dates on hand you can substitute with currants/raisins or chopped apricots.
Chickpeas: This recipe uses canned chickpeas, but if you don’t have on hand you can substitute with another white bean like navy beans or cannellini beans.
Other recipes you might like:
If you’re digging this delicious salad recipe, you might also like:
You might also enjoy The Two Spoons Cookbook that boasts a whole chapter dedicated to soups and salads like this one!
So there we have it, a very simple and delicious Moroccan carrot salad with chickpeas that you can enjoy with your loved ones. Be it for dinner or next day lunches.
This recipe is healthy, vegan, gluten-free and most importantly – flavour rich! Who says healthy salads need to be boring? Prepare in advance to enjoy through the week, or make a big batch to share. (It’s great for bbq’s and potlucks). I’m sure you’re going to love this recipe as much as we do.
And, if you do make this recipe please let me know in the comments below what you think! I love hearing from you. And of course, tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #twospoons. Nothing makes me happier than to see your recreations.
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30 Minute Moroccan-Inspired Carrot & Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup almonds chopped
- 1 shallot small
- 1 cup carrots grated (about 1 large carrot)
- 1 can chickpeas (14 fl oz/400 ml)
- 2.5 oz arugula (70 g/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup mint tightly packed and chopped
- 4 Medjool dates pitted and chopped
Moroccan Salad Dressing
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- pinch chili flakes
Instructions
- In a saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook quinoa for 12-15 minutes. Fluff with a spoon and cover with tea towel. Let cool.
- Toast almonds in a skillet on medium heat, stirring often until fragrant and golden browned (approx. 8-10 mins). Remove from heat.
- Prepare dressing in a small bowl by whisking together oil, lemon juice, orange juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, coriander, sea salt and red pepper flakes.
- In a large mixing bowl combine quinoa, chopped shallot, grated carrot, chickpeas, arugula, chopped mint and dates and toasted almonds. Pour over dressing and toss to combine
Watch The Video
Notes
Approvals
Nutrition
See more step-by-step instructions by visiting the recipe story here!
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Spectacular salad. Took to a large family bbq and also for a new mom as it keeps beautifully for days even dressed. Also wonderful if you like to salads for lunch at work. Even people who don’t like quinoa like it!
I’m so glad you loved this salad Bonnie! And I love it for that same reason – it lasts even after being dressed! I made this a lot on my mat-leave too for this reason. Congrats on becoming a new mom! And thanks for the kind comment. 🙂
A great salad but the dressing wasn’t Moroccon. Ginger shouldn’t have been there, I used double the cumin plus harissa for more spice.
I made this this morning to have with two friends who were coming for lunch. It was delicious! I didn’t have any orange juice so used lemon juice and grapefruit juice. And I didn’t have any coriander so left it out. So good! I will make it again.
Amazing salad! 5 stars for sure! I added green apple slices and green grapes to make it next level. If you let sit in the fridge with all the ingredients except the arugula it will last up to a week. Just mix in the greens as you go!
So happy that you enjoyed this recipe! What a great addition with the grapes and apple! Yum!
Looks fabulous and healthy. My question about it keeping for 3 days…won’t the arugula wilt and become soggy? It barely can stand to have more than a drop of dressing on it in most salads. Thank you!
Hi Bonnie! Thanks so much for the kind words about this recipe. In my experience, this salad holds up well after 3 days. There’s lot of other ingredients absorbing that dressing – quinoa, carrots and more. I’ve made this recipe loads of times and it’s still delish on Day 3. Hope this helps! Hannah
This is just perfection. All the ingredients blend so well together and the dressing is amazing – the perfect sweet tangy with a hint of heat. An absolute favourite of mine!
Thank you Shabibi! I’m so thrilled that you loved this salad as much as I do! Thanks for the sweet comment. 🙂
Hi Hannah. This salad looks delicious! I would like to take it to a potluck and make it the day before. Do you recommend adding the dressing when I make it or just before serving?
Hi Lishcia! I’d recommend preparing the salad in advance and adding the toasted almonds and dressing just before serving! Then toss it all together. 🙂
I made this salad tonight. It’s delicious! Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I’m so happy to hear that Angela! We love this recipe too and often have it on rotation in our house. Enjoy the leftovers!
Oh it’s so delicious Hannah 😋 the dates and almonds and mint and cinnamon; oh my. So so good! Thank you
Thrilled that you liked this salad so much Kortneii! I’m such a fan of this flavour combo too. 🙂
LOVE this salad. I had it for dinner tonight and will gladly have it for lunch tomorrow. I added some roasted chickpeas with lime 😉 I had to use up for even more deliciousness. Definitely keeping this in my rotation….thanks Hannah!
Delicious, even my husband, who’s not much of a salad guy, enjoyed it.
So thrilled that you both enjoyed it! My husband loves this one too!
Delicious recipe with an star for the Moroccan spices. I’m a big fan of these spice combos ….but the dates and orange flavor kick it up another notch. Love that it is full of veggies as a side dish but also stands alone as a meal. First recipe I’ve used from this site but will be looking for more.
Hi Bev! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe! I do hope you come back for more. 🙂 Thanks for the very sweet note.
The dressing was just the right flavour balance even for a very large salad. I added cucmber, red cabbage and skipped the arugula and dates. It was a great side dish with salmon
I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe Alanna! And love the additional ingredients to make it your own. 🙂
This salad is amazing
I added warm chicken for more
This is the perfect salad for summer!! So light and refreshing yet filling. Comes together so fast and looks like something you could get at a restaurant.
So glad you liked this salad Erin! It’s one of my faves too! Thanks for the sweet comment.