Moroccan-Inspired Shredded Carrot Salad with Raisins

This Moroccan-inspired raw carrot slaw is crunchy, juicy, and refreshing. It’s punctuated with sweet raisins, salty olives, and earthy parsley.

This bright, shredded carrot salad is inspired by one my dad has been making lately, which he calls “Moroccan”. Previously an omelets-only kinda guy, my immigrant dad learned to cook during the pandemic and has since been cooking up a storm with all kinds of ingredients – beyond the Russian/Ukrainian stuff typical for their household. Which I think he’s quite proud of, and frankly, so am I.

I always have several servings of his carrot salad when I’m there, and here’s the version I’ve long wanted to recreate at home. (His has feta, by the way, which I’ve replaced with olives – they have a similar briny flavor and meaty texture.)

Now, how authentically Moroccan is this exactly? From my limited research, not very. Apparently the classic is just carrots and dressing. This version – with red onion, raisins, parsley, olives, and coriander – is a bit more involved, although these ingredients are common in the cuisine. (If you’re familiar with Moroccan food, please share your thoughts in the comments!)

This carrot slaw is crunchy, juicy, and refreshing, and has a great balance of sweet, salty, and pungent.

Key Ingredients + Substitutions

• Carrots: If possible, choose the alarmingly enormous kind of carrots here – like, the ones that are as big as an eggplant. They create beautiful long shreds ideal for this salad. If you can’t find them, any carrots [except baby] will do. In a pinch, you can use store-bought shredded carrots, but they’ll likely be a bit dry.
• Red Onion: Can be subbed with sweet Spanish onion.
• Olives: Use pitted kalamata, castelvetrano, or niçoise olives here.
• Raisins: Golden or black raisins will work. Dried cranberries will do, too.
• Parsley: Can be subbed with cilantro.
• Ground Coriander: Adds a nutty, earthy note to the salad. Can be subbed with cumin or ras el hanout, or skipped altogether.

How to Make Shredded Carrot Salad

Find complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Soak the Onion

Place thinly sliced red onion in a bowl of cold water and set aside while you prep the rest of the salad (at least 10 minutes). This will tone down its pungency.

Step 2: Shred the Carrots

A julienne Y-peeler is the best tool for this job; it’ll give you long, crunchy pieces of carrot ideal for slaw. You can also use your food processor fitted with the shredding attachment or the large holes of a box grater; your salad will be less crunchy but still very good.

Step 3: Make the Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, coriander, salt, and pepper.

Step 4: Assemble the Salad

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, drained onions, raisins, olives, parsley, and dressing. Toss to combine, taste, and adjust the seasonings, if needed.

What to Serve with Moroccan Carrot Salad

This spiced carrot salad is perfect for picnics, barbecues, and potlucks. Turn it into a complete feast with baked falafel or lentil patties, mujadara, or Georgian lobio. It would also be great with cassoulet or Ukrainian golubtsi.

Make-Ahead Tips

Raw carrot salad is best eaten the same day as it’s made. After that, it gets pretty watery and all the different elements lose their integrity. If you want to get a head start on prep, place the carrots, onions, parsley, raisins, and olives in a bowl – and mix up the vinaigrette – and keep the elements separate in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Then toss together before serving.

Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with @thenewbaguette on Instagram.