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Harissa Carrot Dip

This Harissa Carrot Dip is a fantastic, flavor-packed alternative to hummus! It's made with spiced, slow-roasted carrots, that get blended into a creamy dip with lentils, almonds, spicy harissa paste, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil! It's insanely flavorful, super healthy, and perfect for dipping or adding to bowls!

Course Appetizer, Dip, Snack
Keyword carrot dip, carrot hummus, harissa carrot dip, paleo carrot hummus, roasted carrot dip, smoky carrot dip, spicy carrot dip, vegan appetizer, vegan paleo appetizers, vegetarian appetizer, veggie dip recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 3 cups
Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

For the slow-roasted carrots

  • 8 medium-large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4'' thick
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the dip

  • 1/2 cup cooked lentils*
  • 1/3 cup raw almonds
  • 1 tablespoon harissa paste*
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup packed cilantro
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup ice water
  • veggies, pita chips, pita bread, and/or crackers for dipping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Add carrots, olive oil, smoked paprika, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper to the baking sheet and toss to coat. Bake for 50 minutes, or until carrots are soft and slightly shriveled, tossing once or twice during baking. Let cool.

  2. Once carrots have cooled, add to a food processor along with the lentils, almonds, harissa, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. With the processor running, slowly stream in the ice water and blend until dip is even creamier. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve with dippers of choice!

Recipe Notes

*For a time-saving hack, sometimes I like to buy the pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's! Otherwise, I just boil black lentils with salted water and a bay leaf for 18-20 minutes or until they're tender, and drain!
*Harissa paste can vary greatly in spice level. I most often use the harissa from Trader Joe's, and it's spicy. 1 tablespoon in this recipe is still relatively spicy, so if you don't like spice, maybe use half. With other brands of milder harissa, you might have to use up to 2 tablespoons. To be safe, I'd start with 1/2-1 tablespoon!