This vegan lentil sweet potato tagine evokes the voluptuous flavors of Morocco, with a tantalizing interplay of sweet, spicy, salty, tangy and savory. Serve it over a bed of couscous or quinoa for a cozy, nutrient-rich meal!
Table of Contents
What is a tagine?
The word "tagine" (pronounced tuh-jean) refers both to a Moroccan clay cooking dish with a conical lid and the stew that's cooked in it. A tagine is simple to make but complexly flavored, with sweet, spicy, salty, tangy and savory all doing a delicious tango with your tastebuds. This cozy stew is also a great hunger satisfier.
I have shared with you at least two vegan tagine recipes before, including chickpea tagine and jackfruit "lamb" tagine. This lentil sweet potato tagine checks is just as yummy. It has so much rich, slow-cooked flavor (without the long time needed to actually slow-cook) from the spices, garlic and onions. The sweet potatoes are silky, the lentils are perfectly tender and hearty, and the sauce is thick and creamy.
Tagines are traditionally slow cooked, but this tagine needs just about 15 minutes to simmer after all the ingredients are in the pot -- as long as it takes for the sweet potatoes to become tender. The flavors continue to develop as the tagine stands, so this dish tastes even better the next day!
This lentil and sweet potato tagine is soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free, and you can easily make the recipe oil-free (see section on special diets below for instructions). Serve it on a bed of couscous or bulgur for a memorable dinner!
If you enjoy richly flavored lentil dishes, be sure to try out this vegan lentil curry. It is loaded with 32 grams of protein in each serving!
The combination of ingredients piqued my interest; I was not disappointed with the result! My sweetie and I enjoyed every mouthful.
-Violette
Recipe card
Vegan Lentil Sweet Potato Tagine
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried brown lentils (or one 14-oz can of brown lentils)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium red onions (thinly sliced)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 medium tomatoes (diced)
- 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- 1 large sweet potato (cut in â…“-inch cubes)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- If using dried lentils, place lentils in a saucepan, cover with two inches of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and let the lentils cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Strain the lentils before using, but reserve the cooking water.
- Place the onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven. Add a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Saute over medium heat until onions soften, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the spices to the pot: ground cumin, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, ground cardamom and ground allspice. Mix and saute for another minute or until the spices are very aromatic.
- Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Add the sweet potatoes and drained, cooked or canned lentils to the pot along with 1 ½ cups of the lentil cooking liquid or vegetable broth or water.
- Mix and bring the tagine to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot, turn heat down, and let the tagine simmer until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes.
- Check for salt and add more if needed. Sprinkle parsley over the tagine. Serve hot or warm.
Nutrition Information
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How to make lentil sweet potato tagine
Place the onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven. Add a pinch of salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Saute over medium heat until onions soften, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the spices to the pot: ground cumin, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, ground cardamom and ground allspice. Mix and saute for another minute or until the spices are very aromatic.
Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste.
Add the sweet potatoes and drained, cooked or canned lentils to the pot along with 1 ½ cups of the lentil cooking liquid or vegetable broth or water.
Mix and bring the tagine to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot, turn heat down, and let the tagine simmer until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes.
Check for salt and add more if needed. Sprinkle parsley over the tagine. Serve hot or warm.
My top tips
- Adjust the spices up or down to suit your tastebuds. A teaspoon of cayenne could be too hot for some people and not hot enough for others, so tweak the amount to the level you are comfortable with.
- Use the lentil cooking water, if you cooked the lentils from scratch, instead of water or vegetable stock.
- Use green lentils or chickpeas instead of brown lentils. You will have just-as-great results.
- Use a spice mix instead of individual spices. If you have a jar of the aromatic Moroccan spice mix ras el hanout on hand, skip the other spices and use two teaspoons of the ras el hanout. Add more if you want more flavor.
Tweaks for special diets
- Oil-free: Saute the onions and garlic in ¼ cup vegetable stock until soft.
- Low-carb: Swap out the sweet potatoes with bell peppers or zucchini.
Serving suggestions
- Over a bed of basmati rice, quinoa or couscous (try this Moroccan couscous salad)
- With a wedge of Moroccan bread or a chunk of crusty French bread or Italian bread.
- Serve with pita or naan bread. Add a fresh side salad, like this kachumber salad made with tomatoes, onions and cucumber or zucchini.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: The vegan tagine can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Freeze: Freeze the tagine in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave until heated through.
karine says
easy, very healthy, delicious (right proportion and type of spices. Made it for a big crowd, with several Indian guests, and they fell in love with it and asked for the recipe. Had no leftovers 🙂
Hunnie says
Making this now and I can not wait to eat it! I'm going to put a little non fat Greek yogurt on mine just to cool it down a tiny bit.. plus I just love it on this kind of food. My husband and I are trying to eat a lot healthier and your recipes are amazing!
Violette Brown says
The combination of ingredients piqued my interest; I was not disappointed with the result! My sweetie and I enjoyed every mouthful.
I was briefly daunted when I found no instruction as to preparation of the large sweet potato - so I sliced it thinly and then chopped the slices into quarters.
Thank you for our latest favourite tagine!
Vaishali says
Hi Violette, so happy you loved the tagine. Sorry about missing the instructions for the sweet potato--you need to cube it, so how you handled it sounds perfect. 🙂
Carmen says
I made the mise en place for this tagine to make tomorrow. It does seem simple enough. I measured out all the spices and after the prep of getting things ready for the real work ahead (tho it seems not so much work in this recipe), I read the rest of the article. I could have used ras al hanout to make it even simpler. Next time. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thank you. Good article.
Vaishali says
Hi Carmen, I would still recommend that you use the individual spices in this recipe instead if you have them, because they add a really unique flavor combo. Ras el hanout is just an option I offered for those who may not have the separate spices, but it's not the first choice.