Harissa Honey Roasted Carrots, Chickpeas and Halloumi
on Mar 04, 2025
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Get out your sheet pan and make harissa honey roasted carrots, chickpeas and halloumi. This recipe takes carrots from side dish to easy weeknight vegetarian dinner recipe. I marinate the carrots and chickpeas with a mix of harissa paste, honey, garlic, cumin and smoked paprika. That’s how they get their heat and a touch of sweetness. While they’re in the oven, I make lemon scallion couscous to serve with it all.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It is a fantastic combination of spicy, sweet and salty flavors. You can quickly whisk together the marinade with harissa, honey and a mix of spices. It delivers big on flavor. Carrots are a vegetable that work wonderfully with sweet and savory ingredients.
This is a simple vegetarian sheet pan recipe. Carrots deserve top billing—it can’t always be sweet potatoes, their rival orange vegetable. The carrots roast until they are tender while the chickpeas crisp up next to them on the baking sheet. There is so much good texture in each bite.
Couscous is a quick and easy side. You have more than enough time to make it while everything else is in the oven. Stirring in lemon zest & juice, scallions and parsley gives it a fresh, herby and light oniony taste.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Carrots: Look for carrots that feel firm and not limp. Peel them before dicing them. You can use either rainbow carrots or all orange ones.
- Chickpeas: Pour a can of chickpeas into a colander and rinse them with cold water. Then pat them off with a towel to remove excess moisture and pull off any loose skins.
- Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese made from goat’s milk or sheep’s milk or both. It has a high melting point, so you can roast it, pan fry it or grill it.
- Harissa is a spicy red chili paste from North Africa. It’s made with chile peppers, garlic, olive oil and spices. You can find it with the Middle Eastern food in the international aisle at the grocery. Some brands are available in mild or hot.
- Garlic: It is important to finely mince the garlic cloves into a paste. You can do this with a microplane or the fine holes of a box grater or with a chef’s knife.
- Honey gives the carrots and chickpeas some sweetness. It balances with the savory and spicy ingredients.
- Dried spices: I season the marinade with cumin, smoked paprika, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Couscous may look like a grain, but actually it is tiny pasta made from semolina flour. If you need a gluten-free option, substitute with quinoa.
- Lemon: You will use both the juice and zest for the couscous.
- Scallions add light green onion flavor to the couscous.
- Parsley: Besides lemon zest and scallions, I round out the couscous with chopped fresh herbs.
How To Make Harissa Honey Roasted Carrots, Chickpeas and Halloumi
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
1. Make the marinade. Whisk the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic, honey, harissa paste and olive oil in a large bowl.
2. Stir the carrots and chickpeas into the honey-harissa marinade. You want to make sure that everything is evenly dressed in the mixture.
3. Spread the carrots and chickpeas across the baking sheet. They should be in a single layer and not overlapping.
4. Roast the carrots and chickpeas for 15 minutes and then add the halloumi. Toss everything together. This way the halloumi will get some of the marinade too.
5. Continue roasting until the halloumi is light golden brown, the carrots are tender and the chickpeas are crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Make the couscous. Combine the couscous grains, boiling water and lemon juice in a large bowl. Cover it and let sit for 5 minutes. Then take a fork and comb through the couscous to break up any clumps. Stir in the lemon zest, scallions and parsley.
Serving
You can serve the honey roasted carrots, chickpeas and halloumi on top of the couscous or plate them side-by-side. Pair it with a salad like this lemon arugula salad, napa cabbage salad or this savoy cabbage apple salad.
Storage & Leftovers
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. It is fine if the carrots and halloumi and couscous are together. The easiest way to warm them up is in the microwave. You can also toss them with leafy greens like baby spinach or arugula and enjoy them cold like a salad.
Recipe Tips
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. If you browse recipes on Last Ingredient, you will see I often skip lining because I like when the veggies make direct contact with the pan to maximize browning. Here with the honey-harissa marinade I am more concerned that it potentially could burn on the pan. Parchment also makes cleanup easier.
Keep an eye on everything as it roasts, but resist the urge to open the oven. The more you make sheet pan recipes the more familiar you get with the hot spots in your oven. For instance, I know in my kitchen that anything in the center of the pan doesn’t cook as quickly as it does closer to the sides. I take advantage of the step when I add the halloumi to the pan and move certain carrots and chickpeas around if they are roasting too slowly or too quickly.
More Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes
Roasted Broccoli Tofu Bowls with Peanut Noodles
Chipotle Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Beans & Tofu
Baked Smashed Chickpea Tacos
Sheet Pan Veggie Fajitas
Sesame Tofu Asparagus
Sheet Pan Vegetable Fajita Bowls
Harissa Honey Roasted Carrots, Chickpeas and Halloumi
Ingredients
For carrots, chickpeas and halloumi
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced into a paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste (mild or hot)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch long pieces
- 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 pound halloumi, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
For couscous
- 1 cup couscous
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley plus more for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic, honey, harissa paste and olive oil.
- Stir the carrots and chickpeas into the honey-harissa marinade, so they are fully coated in the mixture.
- Transfer the carrots and chickpeas to the prepared sheet pan, spreading them in a single layer.
- Roast the carrots and chickpeas for 15 minutes. Add the halloumi to the pan, tossing it with the carrots and chickpeas, arranging everything in a single layer. Continue roasting for 10-15 minutes until the halloumi is lightly golden, the carrots are tender and the chickpeas are crispy.
- For the couscous, combine the couscous grains, boiling water and lemon juice in a large bowl. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a fork to comb through the couscous, breaking up any clumps. Stir in the lemon zest, scallions and parsley.
- Serve the carrots, chickpeas and halloumi with the couscous garnishing with more chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
