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    Home » Recipes » Vegetables & Salads

    Apr 3, 2022 · Modified: Apr 12, 2022 by Harriet

    Spicy Carrot Salad

    Jump to recipe card

    This easy spicy carrot salad recipe is a warm salad with Mediterranean flavors. It is quick to make and healthy too, and one that you should add to your list of vegetable side dishes.

    Image of spicy carrot salad garnished with eggs and olives on a white plate.
    Jump to:
    • 👛 Cost To Make
    • 🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:
    • 🥘 Ingredients In This Recipe
    • 🍳 Step By Step Instructions
    • 💭 Recipe Tips
    • 📖 Variations
    • 👪 Serving Size
    • 🍬 Calories Per Serve
    • 🥗 Serving Suggestions
    • 🌡️ Storage
    • 🌽 More Veggie Recipes
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • 💬 Comments

    Spicy carrot salad is a great side dish that is quick to make. It's great for serving at family gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas and taking to barbecues.

    👛 Cost To Make

    Estimated cost = $2.75 or $0.45 per serve (includes garnishes)

    🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe:

    • This is an easy side dish that can be prepared in advance making it good for meal prepping.
    • This middle eastern carrot salad is a great summer or fall dish that you can take to pot lucks, picnics and barbecues.
    • It's vegetarian and vegan friendly and gluten-free too.

    🥘 Ingredients In This Recipe

    The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

    Ingredients image for spicy carrot salad.

    Carrots - Pick fresh-looking carrots for the best flavor. Avoid using carrots that are too old and limp and with black spots. 

    Can't get fresh carrots? Use frozen carrots such as diced, baby whole carrots, or slices. 

    Parsley - use fresh curly or flat-leaf parsley to give the salad a peppery taste with a touch of earthiness. 

    Cumin powder - is a common spice used in Mediterranean cooking and adds a warm, rich and hearty flavor to dishes.

    Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Red wine vinegar - are the base for the salad dressing. We have used an equal amount of olive oil and vinegar for the salad dressing. But if you don't like vinegar reduce the amount or, replace it to taste with either fresh lemon or orange juice.

    Garlic - if you don't like garlic, leave it out and if fresh garlic does not agree with you, use garlic powder and add it to taste.

    Harissa powder - is a spice blend made often used in Moroccan cooking, you can buy it from most supermarkets and specialty stores, but if you can't get it, you can make Harrisa seasoning at home.

    Salt and ground black pepper (optional) 

    🍳 Step By Step Instructions

    Sliced carrots.
    1. Prepare the carrots.

    Step 1 - Peel and slice the carrots.

    Sliced carrots in a pot of water.
    2. Carrot slices in a pot of water.

    Step 2 -  In a medium-size saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the sliced carrots and a little salt to the water and cook until tender. Remove the carrots from the heat and drain. Rinse the carrots under cold water and drain well and allow the carrots to cool slightly. 

    Image of salad dressing being prepared.
    3. Make the salad dressing.

    Step 3 - While the carrots are cooking, place the chopped parsley, cumin, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic into a large bowl. Mix well and season to taste with the harissa and salt and pepper.

    Cooked drained carrots being added to bowl.
    4. Add cooked carrots to the salad dressing.

    Step 4 - Add the warm and drained carrots to the salad dressing in the bowl, toss well. 

    Carrot salad on a white serving dish garnished with eggs and olives.
    5. Serve salad garnished with hard boiled eggs and black olives.

    Step 5 - You can serve the salad warm or cold, and when ready to serve, transfer the carrot salad to a serving dish and garnish it with olives and sliced hard-boiled eggs.

    💭 Recipe Tips

    Cutting the carrots - For this spicy carrot salad, we cut the carrots into thin rounds for quicker cooking. However, you could make them larger and chunkier in size or cut them into thick batons or cubes. 

    Regardless of what shape you cut the carrots into, they should all be about the same size to ensure even cooking,

    Don't overcook the carrots - Cook the carrots until they are just tender and still slightly firm. If you overcook the carrots, they will break up when tossed with the dressing.

    Top down view of carrot salad on a white serving platter garnished with black olives and hard boiled eggs.

    📖 Variations

    Use this spicy carrot salad as a base and mix it up for variety with any of the following ingredients:

    Add raisins or other dried fruit like sultanas or craisins for mouth full of sweetness.

    To Rehydrate ¼ cup of raisins in 2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh orange or lemon juice for about 10 - 20 minutes before adding to the salad.

    Add cumin seeds - You could add about ¼ - ½ teaspoon of toasted cumin seeds. Cumins seeds have a slightly sweet, nutty, and warm flavor and make a great addition to this Moroccan carrot salad.

    To toast cumin seeds: place them into a dry frying pan and over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. They are ready when they smell fragrant and are slightly darker in color. 

    As soon as they are toasted, remove them from the hot pan and into a small plate or bowl because if you leave them in the hot frying pan, they will continue to cook and burn, making them bitter. 

    Add other herbs - for variety, use finely chopped fresh mint or fresh coriander (cilantro) instead of parsley. You could even use a combination of these herbs.

    Add feta cheese - Before serving the salad, garnish it with crumbled Greek feta cheese.

    👪 Serving Size

    This recipe makes 6, 83 gram (2.92 ounce) servings.

    🍬 Calories Per Serve

    Each serving is about 154 calories.

    🥗 Serving Suggestions

    This salad carrot salad goes well with grilled, barbecued, or baked meats and fish.

    🌡️ Storage

    This spicy carrot salad can be made in advance and will keep well in the fridge for up to five days.

    To store in the fridge, place the salad in an air-tight container or tightly cover the bowl in plastic

    🌽 More Veggie Recipes

    • Black bean corn and avocado salsa
    • Greek tomato and cucumber salad
    • Broccoli cauliflower salad
    • Spicy Korean coleslaw
    • Spicy Asian carrot salad
    Salad on a spoon.

    I do hope you try this spicy carrot salad recipe. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to know how you went.


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    📋 Recipe Card

    Carrot salad on a serving spoon in a serving dish.

    Spicy Carrot Salad

    An easy carrot salad is served warm or at room temperature. Tossed in an olive oil and red wine vinegar, cumin, garlic, and harissa dressing, this is healthy and quick to make.
    Print Recipe
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    Prep Time : 10 mins
    Cook Time : 10 mins
    Cuisine: : Mediterranean
    Course : Sides
    Servings : 6
    Calories : 154 : kcal
    Estimated Cost (AUD) : $2.75 or $0.45 per serve (includes garnishes)

    INGREDIENTS

    • 500 grams (17.65 ounces) carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
    • 20 grams (0.7 ounces / ¾ cup) flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
    • 1 level teaspoon cumin powder level
    • 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) red wine vinegar, or to taste
    • 2 garlic cloves crushed or minced
    • ½ teaspoon harissa powder or to taste
    • Salt and ground black pepper to taste

    Optional Garnish

    • 12 black olives pitted
    • 2 eggs hard-boiled, peeled, and cut into quarters
    Tap button to prevent your screen from going dark while cooking.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • In a medium-size saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the sliced carrots and a little salt to the water and cook until tender.
    • Remove the carrots from the heat and drain. Rinse under cold water and drain well.
    • While the carrots are cooking, place the chopped parsley, cumin, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic into a large bowl. Mix well and season to taste with the harissa and salt and pepper.
    • Add the warm and drained carrots to the salad dressing in the bowl, toss well.
    • You can serve the salad warm or cold, and when ready to serve, transfer the carrot salad to a serving dish and garnish it with olives and sliced hard-boiled eggs.
    Nutrition Facts
    Spicy Carrot Salad
    Serving Size
     
    1 serving of 6
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    154
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    12
    g
    18
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    13
    %
    Trans Fat
     
    1
    g
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    1
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    8
    g
    Cholesterol
     
    55
    mg
    18
    %
    Sodium
     
    206
    mg
    9
    %
    Potassium
     
    320
    mg
    9
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    9
    g
    3
    %
    Fiber
     
    3
    g
    13
    %
    Sugar
     
    4
    g
    4
    %
    Protein
     
    3
    g
    6
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    14315
    IU
    286
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    10
    mg
    12
    %
    Calcium
     
    49
    mg
    5
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Nutrition Disclosure

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Barb. says

      April 12, 2022 at 2:40 pm

      5 stars
      I love these, I can't stop eating them.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Harriet! The face and photographer behind Recipe Pocket. I am a mother of two who is a cook by day and blogger by night.

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