This one-pot vegetable tagine combines tender potatoes, carrots, chickpeas, and sweet apricots with warm Moroccan spices for a hearty vegan dinner in about 55 minutes.
A Moroccan Vegetable Tagine Made in a Dutch Oven
Tagine refers both to the slow-simmered North African stew and the clay or ceramic vessel traditionally used to cook it. The pot has a broad base and a distinctive cone-shaped lid that helps circulate moisture as the ingredients cook.
For this easy Moroccan vegetable tagine, I use my Dutch oven instead. It gives the vegetables plenty of room to cook with the onions, tomatoes, broth, and spices, and it makes this classic-style dish easy to prepare in any kitchen.
Potatoes, carrots, and sweet potato make the stew hearty, while chickpeas add substance. Dried apricots bring a subtle sweetness to balance the tomatoes and warm spices, and a squeeze of lemon at the end wakes everything up. The recipe serves six and is gluten-free as written.
Ingredients for Vegetable Tagine
This vegetable tagine begins with familiar vegetables and pantry ingredients, but the spice blend gives it its distinctly Moroccan character.
- Lemon juice and parsley: Add both at the end for a fresh, bright finish.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Use a good olive oil to sauté the vegetables and finish each bowl. I like our Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil here for its rich, peppery flavor.
- Onion and garlic: These aromatics create the savory base for the stew.
- Carrots, russet potatoes, and sweet potato: The mix of vegetables gives this tagine its satisfying texture. As they simmer, they soak up the spices and tomato broth.
- Harissa spice blend: This recipe uses a dry harissa spice blend, not harissa paste. Made with chili, sumac, caraway, fennel, and other warm spices, Harissa Spice Blend is the main flavor-maker here. You can use ras el hanout instead.
- Coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric: A little ground coriander adds citrusy warmth, while cinnamon and turmeric round out the spice profile.
- Whole peeled tomatoes and vegetable broth: These create the savory cooking liquid for the vegetables. Use low-sodium broth so you can adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Dried apricots: Chopped apricots lend a gentle sweetness that plays well with the earthy spices and tangy tomatoes.
- Cooked chickpeas: Stirred in near the end, chickpeas make this vegetable tagine more substantial without changing its vegetable-forward character.
How to Make Vegetable Tagine
This is a straightforward one-pot recipe. Have the vegetables chopped before you begin, then follow the recipe card below for the exact ingredient amounts.
- Finish with lemon and parsley. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or harissa spice blend if you like. Serve hot with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Sauté the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing regularly.
- Add the vegetables and spices. Stir in the garlic, carrots, russet potatoes, and sweet potato. Season with salt, harissa spice blend, coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric, then toss well so the vegetables are evenly coated.
- Build the flavor. Cook the vegetables over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. This gives the spices time to bloom and brings out the sweetness of the vegetables before the broth goes in.
- Simmer until tender. Add the whole peeled tomatoes, chopped apricots, and broth. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Stir in the chickpeas. Add the cooked chickpeas and let them warm through over low heat for another 5 minutes.
Tips for This Easy Vegetable Tagine
- Use a Dutch oven or another heavy pot with a lid. You do not need a traditional tagine pot for this recipe; I use a Dutch oven here.
- Give the vegetables time to become tender. The potatoes, carrots, and sweet potato should all be easily pierced before you add the chickpeas.
- Save the lemon for the end. Adding it after simmering keeps its flavor bright and gives the warm, savory stew a welcome lift.
- Taste before serving. The recipe is designed for you to adjust the salt and harissa spice blend to your preference after the vegetables and chickpeas have finished cooking.
What to Serve with Moroccan Vegetable Tagine
Serve this vegetable tagine in shallow bowls with couscous, rice, or warm bread to make the most of its flavorful broth. Homemade pita bread is especially good for scooping up the vegetables and chickpeas.
For a larger Moroccan-inspired spread, add a bright Moroccan-style carrot salad or a platter of five-ingredient yogurt flatbread. If you are planning a meal with both vegetarian and meat options, pair it with my Moroccan lamb stew or one-pot Moroccan chicken.
Can You Freeze Vegetable Tagine?
Yes. The Mediterranean Dish team has confirmed that leftover vegetable tagine freezes well.
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
- 8 to 10 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon Harissa spice blend, or 1 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, heaping
- 1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth or broth of your choice
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Handful fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Sauté the onions. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the onions, increase the heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes, tossing regularly.
- Cook the vegetables. Add the garlic, carrots, russet potatoes, and sweet potato. Season with salt, harissa spice blend, coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric, then toss to combine. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon.
- Add the tomatoes, apricots, and broth. Season with a small dash of salt.
- Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Keep the heat at medium-high and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Warm the chickpeas. Stir in the chickpeas and cook over low heat for another 5 minutes.
- Finish and serve. Stir in the lemon juice and fresh parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or harissa spice blend to your liking. Transfer to serving bowls, drizzle generously with Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil, and serve hot with bread, couscous, or rice.
Video
Notes
- This recipe was developed for a Dutch oven or another large, heavy pot with a lid. We have not tested it in a traditional tagine pot.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop for Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil, Harissa Spice Blend, ras el hanout, ground coriander, turmeric, and more Mediterranean pantry essentials.
Nutrition
Try Our Authentic Italian Olive Oil
Hand-picked and cold-extracted Extra Virgin Olive Oil from 100% Nocellara del Belice Sicilian olives.
hi there, made this a few times and it is an all time fave . i cannot get to a store this time for apricots, can i sub apricot jam ? If i can then how much would you recommend. Thanks for a super recipe
Hi, Skye. Sure, that may work. I have never tried personally, so it’s hard to recommend the right amount. Maybe start will a tablespoon or two and adjust from there.
I used chutney instead of apricots and was very happy with the turnout 😁
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, Collz!
So great and easy – wonderful flavours – delicious!!
Thank you so much, Kellie!
My whole family loved this dish, even my husband who hates vegetables 🙄 it is now going to a regular go-to dish over the cold months ahead.
Awesome!! Thank, Angela!
Delicious recipe. I used a lot less oil and it tasted great.
Very tasty, but I found that the vegetable broth was too much …I end up cooking for a much longer time to look like in your picture. Otherwise will be like soup. Also veggie had a taste of their own didn’t incorporate all together… how can I improve?
Hmmm… Not being there in person to see your process, I’m not sure I can be of much help. I’m so glad you still found the recipe to be tasty!
Greetings from Norway.
Just made the tangine. It was fantastic! Next time I will make double. A perfect dish on a cold winter evening, but works totaly well in April also
This was delicious! I only added about 2/3 of the broth because I didn’t want the dish to be too soupy, as I was serving it over couscous. Additionally, I had to add more of the spices to enhance the flavor and I felt that diced tomatoes were better than whole tomatoes. Overall, it came out really nice. My husband even asked that we add this recipe to our regular rotation!
Your videos are amazing Suzy and I love your presentation style. I have a large ceramic tagine and want to be able to use it to cook a vegetarian tagine dish in the oven, could you please give me a recipe to make it in the oven in a traditional ceramic tagine dish please? Thank You so much.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Apparana! Unfortunately, I have never tried this recipe in an actual tagine, so I’m afraid I can’t advise you there. If you decide to give it a try, please stop back and let us know how it turned out.
I am living in Morocco with Moroccan husband. No Greek olives. Morocco has its own olive groves everywhere. No canned tomatoes. Almost everything is made from fresh produce. Vegetables must be stacked in the Tagine in the right order for everything to get done at the same time. Sweet potatoes are best added at the end, or they will be very mushy. Red or yellow peppers will greatly enhance the flavors.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Agree. This is not a Moroccan dish. Maybe « Moroccan-inspired » at best.
Delicious !!!!!
The recipe we add to our list. 🙂
Thank you
A great recipe. So easy, and amazingly delicious. The tagine can stand alone or be an amazing side. Don’t hesitate to try it.
I made this last night and the flavor was so good, I didn’t cut up the tomatoes so they took a long time to cook in the pot, almost an hour. Next time I will cut them up or use diced tomatoes. I don’t normally like sweet with my savory but this meal exceeded expectations and was extremely delicious. Will definitely be making it again.
Wonderful! Thanks, Stacy Ann!
Hi Suzy…
Love your videos and recipes.
Could you share a recipe for a lamb (or chicken) tagine please?
Many thanks.
I don’t have a recipe at the moment, but will look into it, for sure!
Hi there, it was delicious but I have a lot left over as it was quite filling. I was wondering if the tagine is able to be frozen? And if so, how long for? Many thanks 🙂
Hi, Teresa! Sure! You can freeze the leftovers for around 3 months.
Hi Suzy, I just made this exactly as per the recipe. My friend, husband and I love it! Tomorrow my friend will take some to work for her lunch. I make lunch for her every weekday and love making your recipes.
Always a winner in my circle of friends. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious. I made it in my instant pot, so I think there was extra liquid that didn’t cook off, but it was yummy with couscous. Cooked on high for 3 minutes after sautéing the veggies. Didn’t have harissa so I used chili powder. Didn’t have apricots, so I used dates. Didn’t have sweet potato, but the dates made it sweet. Will absolutely make again, thank you! BTW, I found this searching with my browser. Every time I try to pin it, none of the pictures are available for some reason. I had to search thru Pinterest.
Thank you for sharing, Michelle!