This Moroccan lentil carrot salad with mint, raisins, nuts, and warmly spiced dressing is the perfect side salad or light lunch paired with pita and hummus.
I love a filling, colourful, and flavourful salad- something that can stand alone as a meal if need be, but works equally well as a side dish when served alongside a protein. This Moroccan Lentil Carrot Salad is a perennial favourite. I hope you love it as much as we do!
In this recipe, shredded carrots are combined with lentils, red onion, celery, mint, raisins, and walnuts or sunflower seeds. Then, everything is tossed in a dressing spiced with turmeric, cinnamon, smoked paprika, and cumin. All in all, this salad makes a satisfying lunch with a side of pita and hummus. It would also be a great side salad to serve at dinner next to, say, baked or pan-fried tofu or tempeh, scrambled eggs, or even fancy avocado toast!
If you’re looking for more carrot recipes, check out Carrot Cake Protein Bars, Carrot Oatmeal Breakfast Bars, and Smoky Roasted Carrot White Bean Hummus as well.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- FOR THE SALAD: Cooked lentils, grated carrots, red onion, celery, fresh mint, raisins or currants, and walnuts or sunflower seeds.
- FOR THE DRESSING: Extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, turmeric, cinnamon, smoked paprika, cumin, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, dijon mustard, maple syrup, and garlic.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine the cooked lentils, grated carrots, red onion, celery, mint, raisins, and nuts or seeds in a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jar and whisk or secure the lid and shake to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
- Serve! Salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.
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Moroccan Lentil Carrot Salad (Vegan)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Moroccan lentil carrot salad with mint, raisins, nuts, and warmly spiced dressing is the perfect side salad or light lunch paired with pita and hummus.
Ingredients
SALAD
- 3 cups cooked French green lentils (from 1 cup dry lentils)*
- 4 cups peeled and grated carrots (from 8 medium carrots, OR use 2 cups grated carrots and 2 cups shredded kale)**
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- ½ a medium red onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped***
- ½ cup raisins or currants
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds****
- ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced (optional, but highly recommended for a salty punch)
- A large handful of chopped kale (optional)
DRESSING
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp chili flakes (optional)
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
- Combine the cooked lentils, shredded carrots, red onion, celery, mint, raisins, nuts or seeds, olives, and kale (if using) in a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jar and whisk or secure the lid and shake to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Taste and add more lemon juice, if desired. I usually add a tablespoon more.
- Serve! I love serving pita and hummus on the side. Leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. The flavour of the salad tends to mellow quite a bit the longer the dressing is on it, so I always add a bit more lemon juice right before enjoying the leftovers to enliven the flavours again.
Notes
*To cook lentils, rinse lentils through a fine mesh sieve and drain. Place in a pot and add a few inches of water to cover. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed, until lentils are tender but not falling apart, about 25 minutes. If you can’t find French green lentils, brown lentils or regular green lentils will work, but they fall apart more easily.
**If you have a food processor, the grater attachment makes short work of grating carrots.
***If you don’t like mint, use parsley, cilantro, or basil instead.
****Freshly toasted nuts and seeds are tastiest and healthiest. To toast walnuts or sunflower seeds, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place nuts or seeds on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 567
- Sugar: 25.1 g
- Sodium: 710 mg
- Fat: 26.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 71.8 g
- Fiber: 20.7 g
- Protein: 19.4 g
Jana says
I have made this many many times and It is a favorite for meal prep lunches. I have made it with extra kale, no kale and everything in between. I love kale, so I prefer it with the extra kale. I also replace the currants with pomegranate when they are in season. I know this is an old recipe for you, but I felt I just had to share my appreciation 🙂
Allison says
Hi Jana! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! I’m glad that you enjoy this salad so much; it means a lot to get positive feedback like this! 🙂
Theresa says
This is such a perfect recipe. I am obsessed with your flavor combinations in this. Thank you for the share
Allison says
Hi Theresa, thank you so much for the review! I’m glad you enjoyed this salad!
LW says
Absolutely fabtastic recipe!! I’m eating this every day from now on 🙂
Allison says
Thanks so much! Glad to hear you love it!
Jeanie says
The idea is interesting but I would edit a little more. A few too many things going on at once for me. Mint and cinnamon combo feels like a mistake for one…keeping it though to experiment with later because the base has promise
Allison says
Sorry to hear that you didn’t love it, Jeanie! Thanks for trying it!
Debra says
Yum. I used parsley instead of mint and used toasted walnuts, and added the olives too. It is so tasty. The spices add so much to the dressing. I needed a salad to take to our trail club picnic and it made a large serving so I reserved some for our dinner and still had a nice bowl to take. Thank you for such a flavorful healthy salad.
Allison says
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Debra! Thanks for your comment!
Jen says
What a wonderful salad, and a great starting point for experimentation! I didn’t have any turmeric so I just skipped. I also added some fresh, cooked crowder peas that I got from our CSA, and I added some diced cucumber I needed to use up. I was also going to add some shredded golden beets to the mix, but by then the bowl was overflowing so I decided against it. Next time, because I’m sure it would have been delicious! We ate it with dinner, and I plan to take this salad for my work lunch all week. Thanks!
Allison says
Hi Jen! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment! I’m so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this salad. Your additions sound great!
Denny says
This salad is amazing. I had just harvested some carrots from the garden, so I used fresh carrot tops and spinach (didn’t have kale in the house). I was nearly out of raisins, so I supplemented with real currants…tartness of the works beautifully. I will end up making this often. After reading the reviews, I did decide to double the dressing and glad that I did. Can’t stop eating it!!!
Allison says
Hi Denny, thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this salad.
Jen says
This recipe is so good! I didn’t have currants or raisins, but I did add the kale and kalamata olives. I will definitely make this one again! Thank you!
Allison says
Hi Jen, that’s great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Shirley Lafave says
Thank you this is delicious! Easy and perfect for a light nutritious lunch.
I halved the recipe, used quinoa as well.
My new favorite!
Allison says
Hi Shirley, that’s great to hear! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Tony says
Looks like kale in the photo, but not in the recipe.
Allison says
Hi Tony, thank you for catching that. I used to have a note on the recipe card saying that kale is an optional addition, but it seems to no longer be there. I will fix that right away!