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This Moroccan Vegetable Tagine is the perfect stew for the colder months, loaded with warm spices and hearty veggies. Served over a bed of couscous or with warm bread, this flavorful vegan meal is bound to warm up the entire family!

a vegetable tagine fresh out of the oven

This Moroccan vegetable tagine recipe is a delicious, hearty stew. It’s made with sliced Yukon gold potatoes, carrot, eggplant, zucchini, and chickpeas. Serve it with couscous or warm bread for a nourishing Moroccan-style meal!

Tagines are a cooking staple in Morocco, known all around the world for the rich flavors developed using the unique cooking vessel.

Like many authentic Moroccan recipes, this tagine uses ginger, turmeric, cilantro, parsley, harissa, and preserved lemons.

The result is a stew that’s packed with bold flavor and a sauce that’s perfect for serving with bread or couscous.

Many tagines are known for including meat (like beef tagine, lamb tagine and chicken tagine), but this one is completely vegan. This recipe gets it’s flavor from a plethora of veggies and a blend of signature Moroccan seasonings.

bowls of harissa, oil, saffron, chickpeas, veggies and more

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this vegetable tagine:

  • olive oil
  • yellow onion
  • garlic, minced
  • tomatoes, diced
  • parsley, minced
  • cilantro, minced 
  • preserved lemon, minced
  • ground ginger
  • turmeric
  • salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • harissa 
  • saffron bloomed in warm water (can also just use plain water)
  • yukon gold potatoes
  • eggplant
  • carrots
  • zucchini
  • couscous or bread to serve with (optional) 

See recipe card for exact quantities.

plates of chopped eggplant, carrots, zucchini and more

Step by Step Instructions

a hand slicing potatoes with a knife
Prep the veggies. Peel the potatoes, eggplant and carrots.
two hands peeling a carrot
Dice the onion, tomatoes, and eggplant and cut the potatoes into circular pieces.
two hands slicing zucchini
Cut the carrots and zucchini into thick matchstick shaped pieces. Mince the garlic, cilantro, parsley, and preserved lemon. 
a Moroccan marinade in a bowl
Make the sauce. In a small bowl combine half of the olive oil, minced parsley, cilantro, preserved lemon, spices, harissa, and water with saffron. Mix well and set aside.
onions sautéing in the base of a tagine
Sauté onions & garlic. Add the remaining olive oil over medium heat in the base of your tagine or pot on the stovetop. Once the oil is hot, add in onion and sauté until translucent.
onions, tomatoes, garlic, and eggplant in a tagine
Toss in minced garlic, tomatoes, and eggplant and sauté for another few minutes before turning off the heat.
a vegetable tagine before going into the oven
Assemble the tagine. Preheat oven to 400. In the base of the tagine, start arranging the sliced potatoes, carrots and zucchini over the onions and garlic in a circular design. Add the drained chickpeas, if using. Drizzle the sauce mixture over top. 
a vegetable tagine before going into the oven
Bake. Cover the tagine and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Serve over a bed of couscous or with a warm piece of bread. 

Cooking in Your Tagine vs. Dutch Oven

I will start by saying as a Moroccan, I am a huge fan of using my tagine. The design and conical shape of the lid is unbeatable at creating luscious sauce and soft, perfectly cooked veggies and meat.

That said, I don’t think it’s necessary to run and buy one if you already own a dutch oven. Dutch ovens are an investment and wonderful cooking vessel that create epic flavor in their own right.

So feel free to use what you have and make this vegetable tagine in whichever of the two you have.

a vegetable tagine fresh out of the oven

How to Serve Your Tagine

Tagines are known for their rich, flavorful sauces. For this reason, you’ll want to plan a side that will soak it all up.

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Over couscous – most tagines are perfect served over a bed of couscous to soak up all the sauce.
  • With fresh bread – I grew up eating 99% of tagines with freshly baked Moroccan bread (khobz). We dip it directly into the tagine and use it as a utensil to soak up the sauce and grab the veggies/meat. You can use whatever kind of bread you like.
  • With a spoon – if you’re feeling like keeping things simple, a bowl and a spoon will do the trick too!
vegetable tagine with couscous in a bowl

Picking the Right Tagine

Cooking equipment can have a big impact on how your tagine turns out. It probably comes as no surprise that my favorite tagines (like the one I’m using today) are from Morocco. They are handmade, impeccable quality and inexpensive.

Plus, you’re usually supporting a local vendor when you buy directly from Morocco.

That said, I’m aware of how lucky I am to have been gifted many tagines from my dad on his trips to visit family.

I have tested out a few mainstream brands that are a bit more accessible if you aren’t heading to Morocco any time soon.

Here’s a few I would recommend:

Tagine vs. Tajine

One of the fun things about sharing culture through food is you discover all the different ways to spell foreign words!

In this case, both tagine and tajine are acceptable ‘American spellings’ for the word.

a spoon full of couscous and vegetable tagine

Storing Leftovers

Tagines make excellent leftovers. Like most stews, the flavor is almost always better the next day. Store any leftovers in an airtight container separately from the couscous and enjoy for up to 4 days after making.

Bismillah,

Salima written in cursive
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a vegetable tagine fresh out of the oven

Moroccan-Style Potato & Vegetable Tajine

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  • Author: Salima Benkhalti
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: main dish, entree
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: Moroccan, Mediterranean
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This Moroccan vegetable tagine recipe is a delicious, hearty stew. It’s made with sliced Yukon gold potatoes, carrot, eggplant, zucchini, and chickpeas. Serve it with couscous or warm bread for a nourishing Moroccan-style meal!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 tbsp parsley, minced
  • 1 tbsp cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 preserved lemon, minced
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp harissa
  • 3 strands of saffron bloomed in 1/2 cup warm water (can also just use 1/4 cup water)
  • 4 small yukon gold potatoes
  • 1–2 carrots
  • 1 eggplant
  • 1–2 zucchini
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained (optional)
  • couscous or bread to serve with (optional)

Instructions

  1. Prep the veggies. Peel the potatoes, eggplant and carrots. Dice the onion, tomatoes, and eggplant and cut the potatoes into circular pieces. Cut the carrots and zucchini into thick matchstick shaped pieces. Mince the garlic, cilantro, parsley, and preserved lemon. 
  2. Make the sauce. In a small bowl combine half of the olive oil, minced parsley, cilantro, preserved lemon, spices, harissa, and water with saffron. Mix well and set aside.
  3. Sauté onions & garlic. Add remaining olive oil over medium heat in the base of your tagine or pot on the stovetop. Once the oil is hot, add in onion and sauté until translucent. Toss in minced garlic, tomatoes, and eggplant and sauté for another few minutes before turning off the heat.
  4. Assemble the tagine. Preheat oven to 400. In the base of the tagine, start arranging the sliced potatoes, carrots, and zucchini over the onions and garlic in a circular design. Add the drained chickpeas, if using. Drizzle the sauce mixture over top. 
  5. Bake. Cover the tagine and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Serve over a bed of couscous or with a warm piece of bread. 

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