Roasted carrot salad with peanut butter lemon dressing (video)

Have you already tried oven-roasted carrots? Roasting brings out the best in them. They‘re delicious, tender, very sweet, and have caramelized, crispy edges. In this salad, I combined them with crunchy, sweet and sour pomegranate seeds, peppery arugula, salty feta, and peanut butter lemon dressing. Peanut butter goes incredibly well with carrots and pomegranate. This roasted carrot salad is very simple, yet packed with flavor and looks beautiful on the plate too!

This salad can be served as a side dish, but it‘s also great for lunch, as it‘s really filling.

If you like similar flavors, check out this carrot coconut soup with peanut butter sauce or banana peanut butter and pomegranate oatmeal recipe.

Ingredient substitutions:

• Carrots – you can use butternut squash or sweet potatoes instead. Bake them for about 20 minutes or until they are soft and golden.
• Spices – you can add another, your favorite spices, a touch of cinnamon would be lovely. You can also use store-bought spice mixes like ras-el-hanout spice mix.
• Arugula/rocket – you can use your favorite salad greens blend, I like it most with arugula blend. I served these roasted carrots on a bed of lettuce, but you could also serve them with couscous or quinoa.
• Pomegranate – dried cranberries would be a good substitute.
• Instead of peanut butter for the dressing, you could use tahini (sesame paste). This green tahini sauce would also be good here.

How to cut a pomegranate:

This is my favorite method: remove the top of the pomegranate, make shallow cuts along the ridges of the pomegranate down toward the bottom of the fruit (from blossom end to stem end). Break the pomegranate apart and separate into sections. De-seed the segments.

I have a separate post with detailed instructions on how to cut and de-seed a pomegranate, along with a video. Click here to see it: how to cut a pomegranate.

Step-by-step instructions:

This is a complete recipe. Scroll down for printable recipe card and ingredients list.

STEP 1: Roast the carrots: 

Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C / Gas Mark 6 (no fan). Wash, peel and cut 2 lbs (1kg) carrots into smaller pieces. First, cut the carrots in half crosswise, then into two parts lengthwise (thin carrots) or into 3-4 parts (thicker carrots). You should have ½-inch thick (1.5 cm) ‚fries‘. Place the carrots on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Mix the spices (2/3 teaspoon each: dried coriander, cumin, and turmeric) with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Pour the spice mix over the carrots, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss until coated. Bake for about 30 minutes, until tender and caramelized (browned) at the bottom.

STEP 2: Make the dressing: Add all the ingredients for the dressing (2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste) into a small jar, close the lid and shake well several times, until the ingredients are combined and the sauce is creamy and thick.

STEP 3: Assemble the salad: Wash 2 handfuls arugula salad blend and dry it, preferably in a salad spinner.

Arrange the salad and roasted carrots in bowls.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, crumble 3 tablespoons of feta cheese on top, and drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

Storage/how to make it ahead:

You can prepare all the ingredients for this roasted carrot salad ahead and store them separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Assemble just before serving.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how you liked it and give it a star rating in the comments below! You can also add a photo of your creation!