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Home » Winter recipes » Farmers Market Moroccan Carrot Salad

Published: Dec 13, 2016 · Modified: Feb 12, 2025 by Veronica T

Farmers Market Moroccan Carrot Salad

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Winter sees a lot of hearty dishes with roasted vegetables, soups, and stews. This recipe deviates from that norm, bringing a spring-like freshness to your dinner.

This uses fresh raw carrots and a bright lime dressing, taking cues from the flavors of Morocco (which is influences from Mediterranean, Arabic, and North African cooking).

Recipe

Moroccan carrot salad with dates

Farmer's Market Moroccan Carrot Salad (Winter)

Veronica T
Print Pin it
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Calories386
Servings4 servings
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Ingredients
  

Salad

  • 4 cups grated carrots
  • ½ cup dried garbanzo beans*
  • 8 dates pitted
  • 4 green onions
  • ½ cup toasted pistachios
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro

Dressing

  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 limes zest and juice
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Instructions

IN THE MORNING

  • Soak the chickpeas overnight or in the morning. ½ cup of dried garbanzo beans= 1 ½ cup soaked/cooked.

PREP

  • Shred the carrots (a food processor makes fast work of this). Chop the dates into large chunks. Slice the white and light green parts of the green onion. Chop nuts.

MAKE THE DRESSING

  • Whisk together olive oil and lime juice. Add in spices & whisk again.

COMBINE & SERVE

  • Combine the carrots, onions, dates and beans, toss with dressing. Top with cilantro and pistachios. Serve.

Notes

*½ cup dried garbanzo beans = 1 ½ cup cooked or canned. For this salad the dried ones do taste better and have a slightly crunchier texture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 386kcal | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Sodium: 273mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 21g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Additional Nutrition

I like to share extra information in case you want to customize the recipe based on your nutritional needs. To accomplish this, below is a breakdown of calories and sugar for each ingredient (per serving), so you can make adjustments as necessary.

For example, this recipe is high in sugar, but you'll see only half of it is from dates, and the rest is naturally occurs in the carrots and other ingredients.

CaloriesSugar
Carrots526g
Garbanzo beans912.7g
Dates4710.5g
Green onions50.3g
Pistachios871.2g
Olive oil90
Lime juice100.6g
Cilantro1

This recipe also has a lot of micro nutrients:

  • Vitamin A - 439% of your daily value (DV), slows age-related decline for your sight
  • Vitamin K - 76% DV, helps prevent osteoporosis
  • Folate - 48% DV, used is red blood cell production and usually recommended for prenatal care
  • Manganese - 53% DV, helps process nutrients in the body
Rainbow Carrots

Recipe notes

  • How to pick fresh carrots: Look for carrots with the greens attached, because it's much easier to tell how fresh they are by looking at the greens (rather than the carrot root). If the tops are already cut off, look for the most vibrant colored carrots, since their color fades over time. When you get home, if you are not using the carrots right away, cut the tops off so they don't pull moisture from the roots. Store in the fridge.
  • Garbanzo beans / Chickpeas: Dried ones do taste better in this recipe. After you soak them, they don't need to be cooked, but you can cook them if you want. Cooked ones will be a bit softer.
  • Save time with garbanzo snack beans: you could replace the dried garbanzo beans in this recipe with ones meant for snacking. They aren't cheap, though. I really enjoy the ones from Saffron Road.
  • Nuts: Pistachios are great, but hazelnuts would also work well in this salad.
  • Oil: You can also use a nice nut oil in place of olive oil for the dressing

Notes from readers

  • Swap out the cumin for ginger and add 1 teaspoon honey to the dressing (thanks Pam!)

What to eat with the Carrot Salad:

Make it into a stand alone meal by doubling the amount of garbanzo beans for added protein.

You could also pair the carrot salad with a parsnip-pear soup or another type of earthy option. It also goes well with roasted pork rubbed with the same spices used in the dressing - cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Inspiration for the Moroccan Carrot Salad:

The original recipe, "Marrakesh Carrots," is from the Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon cookbook, which features healthy and produce-centric recipes. As with most recipes, I tailored it over time to what I prefer.

In this case, I removed the ¾ cup chopped red onion in the original recipe (feel free to add that back in). The author, Sara Forte, also suggests a couple of optional addins to the recipe: feta cheese and pomegranate seeds for garnishes.

While I can normally be found putting cheese on everything, I prefer this salad without it. The pomegranate seeds add a nice flavor to this salad, so I encourage you to try it.

I have over 20 recipes from this book that I want to make soon. A few at the top of my list are a Citrus Beet Salad with Walnut Puree for winter, a Strawberry Tabbouleh for summer, and Lemon Creams with Blueberries and Gingersnaps for dessert.

Also, be sure to stop by and check out the Sprouted Kitchen blog for even more recipes - like if you want to get back to roasting vegetables, try these Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Chimichurri.

More recipes & resources

Love using carrots and dates together?? I have another recipe for you to try - a layered carrot cake that replaces raisins with dates for a richer, caramel flavor.

Layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (easy!)
Carrot cake layered with cream cheese frosting. The recipe is easy, even for beginners and doesn't require special equipment.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
Carrot cake layered with cream cheese frosting

If you're wondering what else is currently in season, check out my calendars to see what produce is in season each month (and coming up soon).

Seasonal calendars
Get a full list of fruits & vegetables in season for each month.
See what's in season
January produce in season on a table
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    A practical produce guide, May 2025
  • Kabobs over the grill with text, "produce & recipe guide for June"
    The practical produce guide - June 2025
  • The practical produce guide: July 2025
  • Produce & recipe guide for what's in season in August, with figs
    The practical produce guide for August, 2025
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Delaina Pearson says

    May 28, 2024 at 1:04 am

    5 stars
    I made this for a large group. It was a big hit. Probably best served the same day it’s made so the carrots are still nice and crunchy.

    Reply
    • Veronica T says

      May 28, 2024 at 11:23 pm

      So glad everyone liked it, and thanks for the note about serving it fresh. I agree - crunchy carrots are key in this salad. I will update the post with your tip!

      Reply
  2. Laura says

    March 10, 2020 at 4:29 am

    5 stars
    This is so good, will definitely make again.

    Reply
    • Vee says

      March 13, 2020 at 12:05 am

      Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Pam Bird says

    December 11, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious. Not a cumin fan- omitted, but added a touch of grated ginger and a tsp of honey. My husband and I ate the whole recipe. Dates, and lime,really accent the carrots!!

    Reply
    • Vee says

      December 15, 2018 at 4:26 am

      Grated ginger and honey sound wonderful. I'll add this to the post as an alternate option. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  4. Rebecca E says

    May 22, 2018 at 3:50 am

    5 stars
    This salad was delicious. Who knew carrots and lime got on so well?

    Reply
4.88 from 8 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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About the Food Geek

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