Vegetarian Tagine is a super healthy, hearty and delicious vegetarian meal that’s easy to make. Perfect for a weeknight family meal!
Even though I aspire to eat meals comprised mostly of vegetables, leafy greens, beans, and whole grains, I’ll always be a carnivore at heart. Growing up, the dinner that was put in front of me every night almost always had meat, chicken or fish on it along with a vegetable, a starch and a side salad. But when it comes to this Vegetarian Tagine the fact that it’s meatless never crosses my mind. It’s so filling and satisfying that you may not even realize that it’s vegetarian.
Our life experiences — even the briefest ones — can have a profound affect on us. They can shape and help define who we become or form the foundation of what inspires us. While modeling in my late teens and 20s I had the opportunity to visit Morocco a dozen or so times. Each time I was there we would eat the most incredible meal served in a deep covered clay dish… a tagine, a slow cooked stew, both made and served in a traditional pot.
If the sight of that casserole type dish with a cone shaped top wasn’t exotic enough for me, the aroma released upon the lid being removed would send me into another world. The hypnotic scents from an abundance of fragrant spices like cinnamon, cumin, and ginger, emerging from a tomato based sauce blanketing an array of fork tender vegetables and chickpeas is just about the most mouthwatering and intoxicating smell I can think of.
So where was the meat? While many tagines are indeed made with fish or chicken, the vegetarian version of this dish was offered to me more often than not on my visits. Still, I found that this was one of the rare dishes whose flavors and textures were so bold that I never missed the meat (or wanted for it for that matter). Whenever I returned home to the U.S. I would try my own hand at making a tagine and years later I got to share that same homemade version with my family.
I still have the tagine pot that I carried home with me years ago from one of my last Morocco trips, but I’ve made this recipe time and again on top of the stove in a regular soup pot to almost identical results — no trip across the Atlantic or special cooking equipment necessary!
Vegetarian Tagine
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 carrot, cut in 1/4 in coins
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets (1 small head)
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
- 1/4 cup raisins or currants
- 3 cups cooked couscous
- Optional accompaniments: slivered or sliced almonds, diced green or black olives
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the carrots, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, ginger and salt. Cook an additional 5 minutes, until the veggies are soft and the spices are fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower, and vegetable broth, and stir to combine.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the chickpeas and raisins and cook an additional 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
- Serve over couscous
Easy, fragrant, delish! I’m vegan now and this did not make me miss the lamb! Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
I made this recipe last night, and I have to agree that it’s so hearty, you don’t miss the meat. I just wished I noticed the optional olives! I think we would really enjoy including that next time.
Fed this to my 17 month old for dinner last night. I wasn’t sure if he would like the spices but he gobbled it up. He kept handing me the spoon to give him more.
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Catherine, you’ve done it again, this recipe is awesome. I made it for my vegan husband for our anniversary and he was so happy. It is so delicious!
I could eat this every day of the week and never get sick of it. Can’t wait to make it all summer long with all the fresh garden veggies!
Btw couscous is whole grain if it says %100 whole wheat on the package (it does exist but likely not at all grocery stores). Would also be good with barley, freekeh or farro…
Oh this looks perfect! Going to the store tonight so I can make it tomorrow! I try to avoid cous cous because its not whole grain, is that correct? What else (other grain) should I put this on top of? We’re kind of tired of rice..
I love these types of recipes. SO PERFECT and so healthy! Yum.
Just finished making this and all I can say is wow! My husband went crazy for the flavors and hopefully my toddlers will try it tomorrow. Had everything on hand except for the ginger and it still turned out great!
I chose “Print” and pressed “Cancel” so that I would get the recipe as a full page instead of a small card-size, and it printed out your whole blog about it as well as the recipe! I’m planning to make this for some friends coming to visit us on Wednesday. Sounds wonderful!
That will taste a bit different, but it should work out just fine!
This looks phenomenal. However, I have a winter squash allergy since having kids, would I be able to sub sweet potatoes for the butternut squash without sacrificing flavor?
I can hardly wait to make this! Thanks Catherine!
Totally making this for my family this summer!