This vegetable tagine is one of my favourite healthy comfort foods. It's full of rich Moroccan spices and plenty of vegetables to help keep you healthy and comforted all winter long!
As we all know I am allll about the comfort food but I'm also feeling a little overindulged from this festive season so my number one requirement for dinners in the new year is that they're comforting AND pretty healthy.
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Tagines are such good comfort food because they're full of warming spices and a rich sauce. Often tagines are made with meat but I love this vegetarian version just as much.
Becoming partly vegetarian has given me the chance to really work on some delicious vegetarian versions of my favourite comfort foods like this rich vegetable stew or skillet vegetable pie.
And now this vegetable tagine. I added all my favourite vegetables to this and it's so great for using up any old veg you've got hanging around the kitchen.
It's even fancy enough to serve at a dinner party plus it's suitable for vegans!
What is a tagine?
Tagine refers to both the spicy stew like dish and also the pot traditionally used to cook it in. The pot is a shallow base with a conical lid which allows the condensation to drip down back into the dish ensuring it stays moist. Unfortunately I don't have a tagine (it's on my list for buying though!) so I used a large cooking pot.
Moroccan Tagine
I love all the different flavours in Moroccan recipes like this. The cinnamon, the harissa, the cumin. They're such wonderfully warming ingredients and they make the tomato sauce for this recipe so delicious.
I love it served with couscous and sprinkled with plenty of coriander (cilantro).
It also makes great leftovers and the flavours get more intense when it's had a few hours to sit in the fridge so I highly recommend keeping some back for your next day's lunch.
Vegetable Tagine Ingredients:
- Red Onion, Ginger & Garlic: To kick off all that delicious flavour
- Chilli: I like to add a little heat so include a whole chilli but you can use as much or as little chilli as you like
- Veggies: Sweet potato, carrot, aubergine, courgette and yellow pepper all went in to this tagine but chuck in whatever you fancy
- Harissa Paste: This is one of my favourite ingredients and it's absolutely essential for a tagine. Use up any leftover in this harissa chicken recipe
- Spices: Cumin, coriander and cinnamon for that warming flavour
- Liquids: I like to add a tin of chopped tomatoes and plenty of vegetable stock
- Chickpeas: I'm never organised enough to soak dried ones so I always keep a couple of tins in stock
- Olives and Lemon Juice: Perfect for finishing off the tagine and adding a bit of saltiness and zingyness. Extra olives can be added to this fish stew
Vegetable Tagine with Chickpeas Instructions:
- Start by frying: Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the red onion followed by the ginger, garlic and chilli.
- Add the vegetables and spices: Add the sweet potato, aubergine and carrots then cook for 10 minutes then add the courgette, yellow pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and harissa paste and stir thoroughly.
- Simmer: Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock then simmer for 15 minutes then add the chickpeas, lemon juice and olives. Serve with couscous.
Vegetable Tagine with Chickpeas Variations:
- Different Vegetables: The great thing about a dish like this is that you can really make it your own with the vegetables you use. Butternut squash would work great in here or any other vegetables you like
- Add protein: If you're missing the meat then you could easily add some chicken or lamb to this recipe and it would be delicious
- Add fruit: Tagine recipes often have dried fruit added to them. I'm not a huge fan of fruit in savoury dishes so I haven't included it but some dried apricots would work well if you like
How to store vegetable tagine?
Simply leave to cool to room temperature then portion out into sealed containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively you can freeze the tagine (see below for instructions).
Can you freeze vegetable tagine?
This recipe freezes great so I definitely recommend throwing together a big batch and freezing for an easy weeknight dinner. Portion out into sealed containers and freeze until ready to use. When you want to eat it defrost thoroughly and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
What to serve with vegetable tagine?
I like it served with couscous and plenty of herbs but it could be eaten on its own if you're avoiding carbs. Pitta bread would also be great for dunking or just a simple salad would also work.
Want more? Try these other vegan recipes!
- Asian Noodle Bowl with Yellow Curry Sauce
- Winter Broccoli & Wild Rice Salad with Chickpeas
- Healthy Tomato Basil Soup
- Pressure Cooker Smoky Lentil Stew
- Roasted Vegetable Lentil Salad
- Vegan Pressure Cooker Coconut Curry with Sweet Potato
Or how about these other chickpea recipes?
Recipe
Vegetable Tagine with Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Red Onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon Ginger grated
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 Red Chilli chopped
- 2 Sweet Potatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 Carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 Aubergine chopped
- 1 Courgette chopped
- 1 Yellow Pepper sliced
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Harissa Paste
- 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1 400g tin Chopped Tomatoes
- 750 ml Vegetable Stock
- 1 400g tin Chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 100 g Green Olives
- Fresh Coriander chopped, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the red onion and cook for a couple of minutes then add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for another minute.
- Add the aubergine, carrot and sweet potato and cook for 10 minutes until starting to soften. Add the courgette, yellow pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and harissa paste and stir to coat everything in the spices.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked then add the chickpeas, lemon juice and olives. Serve with couscous and fresh coriander.
Notes
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kim says
So tasty and flavorful! My whole family loved this!
Julia says
Good to know that you can easily make a large batch of this and freeze it for later!
Cathy says
This recipe looks so delicious Amy! Definitely saving this one! Think I will make it just like yours and maybe another time with white rice, excellent!
Tayler says
I love that this recipe is so versatile. I think I'll use my own veggie stock and serve it over rice to make it gluten-free but otherwise, it sounds so amazing!
David says
I love the tagine style dishes like this! My wife and I would be happy to go with the veg version but I think the option of adding chicken would be more likely to entice our teenage boy to eat it.
Claudia Lamascolo says
this is the perfect way to kick off a new year with healthy foods love this dish looks great!
Stef says
I love finding tasty vegetarian recipes! I'm going to have to come back for more. The spices in this sounds wonderful!