Sweet Potato Tagine With Dates and Almonds

Sweet potato tagine, a recipe gets a supporting hand from almonds, dates, sumac, dried mint and harissa for a real vegan flavour sensation!

This Moroccan-influenced tagine is incredibly easy to make: chop some veggies, mix a sauce, stick it all in the tagine and let it cook for 45 minutes!

Vegan Veggie Tagine

North African influenced dishes have become a regular feature on my weekly menu in recent years.

Dishes like duck tagine have obvious links to North African cuisine. But dishes beef hotpot and my roasted carrot soup, both plunder North African and Persian flavours.

This Moroccan-influenced sweet potato tagine is another dish to add to that list. It is also a vegetarian and vegan option.

It is a dish that doubles down on the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and amplifies that with dates and slowly cooked onions.

A hint of spice is added thanks to some rose harissa, and sumac offers sourness to the dish.

This means the whole dish rocks a hot, sweet and sour vibe. Something that features in a lot of my recipes!

If you want a dish that is altogether more savoury, then check out my chicken tagine and fish tagine recipes. If you want to stick with a vegetarian option, how about my mixed vegetable tagine or chickpea tagine?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use a tagine?

No, you can use a pan with a tight-fitting lid. You want something of a similar size, around 20-22cm (for two people) and not too deep. A small skillet with a lid would be ideal.

What is Zaatar?

Zaatar is correctly spelt as za'atar. It is both a herb and a spice blend; I refer to it here as the spice blend.

It contains toasted sesame seeds, dried thyme, oregano or marjoram and salt. On occasions, it will also contain sumac and other bits.

The herb is called hyssop in English and can also appear in the spice mix.

What is Sumac?

Sumac is a ground spice from the dried berry of a flowering plant. It has a glorious and unique sour flavour and beautiful red colour.

It can be used as both an ingredient and a "raw" seasoning.

Can I use regular harissa in place of rose harissa?

Yes! Harissa comes in many guises, and all of them would work wonderfully well in this recipe.

Is all harissa vegan?

As with all store-bought packaged ingredients, the contents often contain things that you would not expect. As a result, you should definitely read the jar!

I use Belazu rose harissa, which is reportedly vegan.

Serving Suggestions

I almost always serve this sweet potato tagine as either a vegan or vegetarian main course.

It is usually served with either buttered couscous or some simply cooked herby bulgur wheat.

If you are in a bread-making mood, you could also serve it with Moroccan Msemen flatbread, a wonderful and little-known Moroccan flatbread.

However, this recipe also rocks as a side dish. It is perfect with grilled or roasted meats, particularly if it has a Persian or North African slant.

It is a wonderful compliment to dishes like harissa lamb chops, harissa pork chops or zaatar chicken legs.

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/stovetop.
• 20-22cm 8-9" tagine or a similarly sized skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Mine is made by Staub.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Vegetable peeler.
• A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.

Sweet Potato Tagine Recipe

4.91 from 11 votes

This stupidly simple sweet potato tagine gets a big hit of flavour from rose harissa and ticks both the vegan and vegetarian options, and it is just as good as a main course as it is as a side dish.

Main Course, Side Dish

North African

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 2 Servings

Calories 548kcal

Author Brian Jones

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Ingredients

• 1 Medium Onion 150g
• 300 g Sweet Potato 2-2½ Cups (prepared volume)
• 50 g Blanched Almonds ⅓-½ Cup
• 50 g Pitted Dates 6-7
• 1 tablespoon Rose Harissa
• 125 ml Vegetable Stock ½ Cup
• 1 teaspoon Sumac
• ½ teaspoon Dried Mint
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ teaspoon Brown Sugar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Zaatar plus extra for serving

Instructions

• Top and tail, then peel and cut the onion into 8 wedges and break them into individual "petals".
• Peel the sweet potato and cut it into thick rounds about 25mm (1") thick, then cut each of these rounds into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on the thickness of your sweet potato.
• Tear the pitted dates into strips.
• Combine the vegetable stock with the rose harissa, sumac, dried mint and salt.
• Place the onions in the base of the tagine (20-22cm or 8-9"), followed by the wedges of sweet potato and arrange them into a flat layer.
• Add the almonds and dates, making sure they are evenly distributed.
• Pour over the sauce that we made, followed by the olive oil.
• Sprinkle over the zaatar and brown sugar.
• Finally, add the tagine lid and makes sure it sits well, then turn the heat to low-medium and cook for 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.

NOTES

This recipe uses a 20-22cm 8-9" tagine pot.

Serving: 1 | Calories: 548kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 24g | Sodium: 1102mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 32g