This Moroccan butternut squash and sweet potato tagine makes for a nutritious meatless meal! Make it any night of the week for a vegetarian staple!
This hearty vegetarian (and vegan) dish is jam packed with warm flavors! It is gluten-free, dairy-free, full of plant-based protein, and is pleasing for the whole family!
Have you ever cooked a meal in a Tagine? It was new to me until recently, too!
What is a Tagine?:
Tagine is both a style of food and a cooking tool that originates from North Africa. Moroccan and Tunisian cuisine is tagine-centric. The dish, was named after the instrument in which the food is prepared.
A tagine comprises a sauté pan with a wonderfully shaped hat, traditionally used to slow cook meat and vegetable dishes at low temperatures.
You can put the tagine in the oven or use it on the stove top. It’s wildly cool; beautiful billows of steam form while your food cooks and the hat used to cover the pan creates a sort of spa for your food.
This vegan dinner recipe is comprised of butternut squash, sweet potato, onion, chickpeas, and an array of warm spices. This aromatic dish makes your home smell amazing during the cooking process!
Once the vegetables and spices are stewed together, the result is a hearty, rich meal that is filling, comforting, and pleasing to the belly.
Can I Use a Skillet?:
While I am exuberant about the tagine as a cooking implement, you do not need one in order to make this dish – A large sauté pan or wok with a cover will work too.
I adapted this recipe from Katherine Martinelli’s blog and thought I would end up changing a lot more of the recipe than I did.
Specifically, I was worried about the cinnamon and the dried apricots but they truly add a nice warmth without being super distinguishable. I was very happy with the recipe, that Katherine did a great job! Moroccan Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Tagine will forever be one of my favorites!
More Healthy Vegetarian Dinner Recipes:
- Moroccan Spiced Beet Veggie Burgers
- Jamaican Chickpea Stew
- Quick and Easy Chana Saag
- 30-Minute Thai Green Curry with Avocado
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Moroccan Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Tagine
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato chopped into 1/2” cubes (2 cups)
- ½ medium butternut squash peeled and chopped into ½” cubes (3 cups)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¾ cup vegetable broth separated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup dried apricots chopped
- 1 can garbanzo beans drained
- 1 cup brown rice uncooked
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup chopped cilantro optional
Instructions
- Start by preparing your rice, as it takes longer than the vegetables. Follow instructions on the package of rice.
- Add oil to a tagine or skillet and heat to medium-high.
- Sauté onion and sweet potato for 3 minutes. Add butternut squash, stir.
- Add ¼ cup vegetable broth, all the spices and salt, stir, cover tagine and cook 5 minutes
- Remove the cover, add remaining vegetable broth, garbanzo beans, lemon juice and dried apricots.
- Continue to cook 5 to 8 minutes until butternut squash and sweet potato are soft but not mushy.
Notes
Nutrition
Amy
Saturday 25th of November 2023
Do you think this can be made in a slow cooker?
Julia
Monday 27th of November 2023
Hi Amy! I think so! I would try 1 to 2 hours on high heat and see where that lands me. I would chop the vegetables into larger chunks so they don't get too overcooked or mushy. Hope you enjoy!
Susan
Saturday 11th of November 2023
I’m going to try this tonight. I know this would take away from the Tagine affect, but I am wonder how this would be roasted (sheet pan style)
Julia
Monday 13th of November 2023
Hi Susan! You could definitely try roasting! I would toss everything but the apricots and rice together in a large bowl, omitting the water. I would also add another 2 tablespoons of avocado oil or olive oil (for a total of 1/4 cup, up to 1/3 cup). I'd roast at 400 degrees F on two sheet pans for 25 to 30 minutes or until everything is cooked through. Once everything is roasted, then you can toss in the dried apricots and serve with rice. My one cautionary note would be that the vegetables will turn out similarly to standard roasted vegetables and will be dry versus moist. If you're fine with that, I'd say go for it!
#johnsknitscreations
Friday 29th of September 2023
Made this today…. Didn’t have dried apricots but added a couple of tablespoons of apricot jam….. utterly yummy! The two of us ate the four portions!
Julia
Saturday 30th of September 2023
I love the idea of using apricot jam! Thanks so much for sharing :)
Zed
Saturday 13th of May 2023
Thanks, Good recipe, pretty easy, but not as quick as advertised !
Ingredient-wise, next time I will use fresh ginger, I will use the suggested tsp of salt (which I reduced first time), and I will add ground pepper.
I just wonder, really, 10 minute prep time??? Can someone please tell me how to peel and cube a b-nut squash, peel & chop an onion, clean & cube a good sized sweet potato, chop a cup of dried apricots, rinse rice 'til clear and get it started (babysitting the pot for boiling water twice), find and measure out 8 spices, clean, spin, trim, and chop 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, all in only 10 minutes??
For me, the b-nut squash alone took 10 full minutes. The whole prep was easily more like 40 minutes, and so total time was over an hour.
Jean P
Thursday 29th of July 2021
Delicious! Made this for Meatless Monday with a large amount left over. Second day I browned 1# of ground turkey, seasoned with 1/2 of the amount of seasonings for original recipe and added 1qt of vegetable broth along with the leftover vegetable bean mixture. My husband RAVED! It was a winner “leftovers” night.
Julia
Saturday 31st of July 2021
I'm so thrilled to hear you guys enjoyed it! I love the idea of incorporating ground turkey too...sounds amazing!