Nothing beats a warming, fragrant stew, and this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine is the perfect dish to cosy up with. Inspired by traditional North African tagines, this recipe is packed with sweet, savoury, and spicy notes, creating a dish that’s as comforting as it is flavourful. It uses a blend of warming spices, slow-simmered chickpeas, and caramelised butternut squash, bringing a rich depth of flavour with every bite.
This tagine is as versatile as it is delicious. Serve it over fluffy couscous, aromatic rice, or with crusty bread for a hearty meal. Whether you’re an experienced home cook or trying a tagine for the first time, this recipe is simple to follow and rewards you with an irresistible dish.
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Breakdown
- The History and Influence of Tagine Cooking
- The Role of Spices in a Tagine
- The Benefits of Roasting Butternut Squash
- Choosing the Right Harissa
- Perfect for Meal Prep
- Pairing Your Vegan Tagine
- Looking for More Plant-Based Recipes?
Ingredient Breakdown
- Butternut squash: Naturally sweet and creamy when roasted, adding depth to the dish.
- Olive oil: Enhances flavour and helps roast and sauté ingredients.
- Onion: Forms the base of the tagine, adding a mild sweetness.
- Garlic: Brings warmth and aroma to the dish.
- Rose harissa paste: A vibrant, spiced condiment that provides heat and complexity.
- Chopped plum tomatoes: The rich, tangy backbone of the sauce.
- Vegetable stock: Adds umami and brings everything together.
- Chickpeas: A protein-rich addition that absorbs flavours beautifully.
- Prunes: Sweet and slightly tangy, balancing the spices.
- Fresh coriander: Lends freshness and a burst of colour.
- Ground cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, nutmeg: A warming spice blend.
- Chilli flakes: Optional but great for a subtle heat.
- Saffron threads: Adds a floral, slightly earthy undertone.
- Green cardamom pods: Infuses the dish with its aromatic sweetness.
The History and Influence of Tagine Cooking
Tagine cooking has deep roots in North African cuisine, particularly in Morocco. This slow-cooked stew is named after the conical clay pot it’s traditionally prepared in. This clay pot allows flavours to develop gradually, resulting in a rich and aromatic dish. The method was historically favoured by Berber tribes, who cooked meals over open fires. Over centuries, it absorbed influences from Arabic, Ottoman, and even French cuisines.
A traditional tagine often includes a mix of sweet and savoury elements. This is why prunes, dates, or apricots frequently appear in these dishes. While classic Moroccan tagines tend to feature lamb or chicken, plant-based variations have grown in popularity. This Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine takes inspiration from these traditional flavours while adapting it for a meat-free lifestyle, ensuring it’s packed with spices and wholesome ingredients.
The Role of Spices in a Tagine
Spices are the heart of any tagine, creating layers of flavour that make it so distinctive. In this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine, the combination of cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and nutmeg provides warmth, depth, and complexity. These spices work together to build an aromatic foundation, transforming the simple ingredients into something extraordinary.
Saffron and cardamom add an extra dimension. Saffron, known for its luxurious floral notes, infuses the dish with a subtle earthiness. Meanwhile cardamom lends a sweet, slightly citrusy aroma. The optional chilli flakes bring gentle heat, balancing the sweetness of the squash and prunes. To get the most out of these spices, they are briefly toasted in oil, which enhances their flavours and releases their essential oils, ensuring that every spoonful of the tagine is deeply fragrant and satisfying.
The Benefits of Roasting Butternut Squash
Roasting butternut squash is more than just a cooking method. It’s a technique that enhances the vegetable’s natural sweetness and depth of flavour. When roasted at a high temperature, the squash caramelises, bringing out a rich, nutty sweetness that becomes the perfect base for any dish, especially in a hearty tagine. Roasting also allows the squash to maintain its structure, unlike boiling or steaming, which can make it mushy.
For this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine, the caramelisation process adds complexity to the dish and a contrasting texture when combined with the soft chickpeas and tender prunes. Additionally, roasting the squash separately means you can control its doneness precisely. This ensures it doesn’t become overcooked or soggy. This step is key in creating a tagine that has both tender vegetables and vibrant flavours in every bite, elevating the dish to a whole new level of enjoyment.
Choosing the Right Harissa
Harissa is one of the star ingredients of this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine, but not all harissas are the same. Different brands and regions offer unique variations, ranging from spicy and smoky to mild and floral. Understanding these differences helps you select the right one for your taste preference.
- Rose Harissa: This variety includes dried rose petals, which soften the heat and add a subtle floral sweetness. It’s perfect for those who enjoy a well-balanced spice level with hints of complexity.
- Traditional Harissa: Made from dried red chillies, garlic, coriander, and caraway, this version leans towards intense heat and deep smokiness. It’s ideal for those who love bold, fiery flavours.
- Mild Harissa: Some store-bought harissas are blended with tomatoes or roasted peppers, which tone down the spice while maintaining a rich, aromatic depth.
Perfect for Meal Prep
Tagines improve in flavour over time, making them an excellent option for meal prep. The slow-cooked spices and tomatoes meld beautifully overnight, resulting in an even richer dish the next day. This Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine is perfect for batch cooking, as it stores well in the fridge and freezes beautifully.
Since the ingredients are sturdy, they hold their texture even after reheating. Chickpeas maintain their firmness, while the butternut squash remains tender without turning mushy. The sauce thickens over time, intensifying the overall depth of flavour. Whether you’re making it for a weeknight dinner or preparing lunches for the week, this tagine delivers delicious, nourishing meals with minimal effort once cooked.
Pairing Your Vegan Tagine
A great tagine is enhanced by the right sides, and this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine is no exception. To complement the dish’s rich and vibrant flavours, serve it with sides that add freshness and texture. Rice or couscous are traditional pairings that can soak up the aromatic sauce, making each bite even more satisfying.
If you’re looking for something lighter, a simple green salad with lemon and olive oil dressing adds a refreshing contrast to the warmth of the tagine. Crusty bread is another excellent choice, perfect for dipping into the sauce and soaking up the delicious spices. For a more substantial meal, you can serve it alongside roasted vegetables or even a tangy yogurt dip to balance out the heat from the harissa. These sides will not only elevate the dish but also offer different textures and flavours that complement the tagine’s richness.
Looking for More Plant-Based Recipes?
If you’ve enjoyed making this Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine and are on the hunt for more vegan recipes, look no further!
- Hoisin Tofu Stir Fry: This dish is a burst of flavours, combining crispy, golden tofu with a sticky, tangy hoisin glaze that’s as satisfying as it is delicious. Perfect for weeknight dinners or when you want to impress your friends with a plant-based dish.
- Chipotle Tofu Tacos: Tofu tacos don’t have to be boring, and these Sticky Chipotle Tofu Tacos are a perfect example. They’re packed with flavour and texture – crispy tofu, sticky chipotle glaze, and a bright pineapple slaw that cuts through the richness.
- Aubergine Katsu Burger (Eggplant): The golden, crispy aubergine katsu is the star of this burger, nestled in a soft brioche bun with a zingy, crunchy cabbage slaw. Finished with rich tonkatsu sauce and creamy kewpie mayo, every bite delivers a perfect balance of zing, crunch, and umami.
If you’d like to see how I make all these recipes and more, head on over to my Instagram!
Vegan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine
This warmly spiced vegan tagine is bursting with flavour! It’s wholesome, delicious and easy to make. It uses a combination of traditional and non-traditional spices – cumin, ginger, harissa and cardamom, to name a few. It likely won’t taste like tagines you’ve tried before, but I have no doubt you’ll love it!
Please don’t be put off by the long ingredients list – many are pantry/fridge staples and those that aren’t will be a great addition. Thankfully, this recipe is versatile and can be changed up depending on what you have on hand. You can replace the butternut squash with sweet potato, pumpkin and/or carrot, the chickpeas by tinned beans or lentils, and the prunes by apricots, figs or dates (though I’d half the amount if using the latter). Serve with rice, couscous or some crusty bread.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 3-cm chunks
- olive oil
For the dry spices:
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tbsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp chilli flakes, optional
- 1 pinch of saffron threads
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp rose harissa paste
- 2 x 400 g tin finely chopped or crushed plum tomatoes
- 500 ml good-quality vegetable stock
- 1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 150 g drained tinned prunes
- 1 handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 230℃ / fan 210℃. Place the diced butternut squash in a large roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil, season generously with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and toss to coat.
- Roast for 30 minutes, or until almost cooked through and beginning to caramelise on the outside. Roasting the butternut squash separately lets you control its doneness and adds depth of flavour to the final dish.
- Meanwhile, place the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, around 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the rose harissa paste and spices and cook for a further 30 seconds. The short cooking time will ensure that you don’t burn the spices, which would make them, and thus the whole dish, bitter.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, chickpeas and prunes. Season generously with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the roasted butternut squash and stir to combine. Simmer on low for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the fresh coriander. Adjust the salt level, to your liking, then serve with your favourite side and enjoy!
2 responses
Made this recipe how it was written except I didn’t add any prunes since I didn’t have any on hand. I can only imagine how it’ll add another level of yumminess! It was so soooo good! I ate it with salmon one night and the next, with tortilla chips hehe. So much flavor all in one pot. It was even better the next day! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂