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Moroccan Stew with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

4.78
/5
55 minutes mins
4 Comments
Jump to Recipe Video
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 10/16/2020Updated: 01/23/2023

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Colorful stew served with couscous and yogurt, text overlay reads "moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas - rachelcooks.com"
Colorful stew served with couscous and yogurt, text overlay reads "vegetarian moroccan stew - rachelcooks.com"
Colorful stew served with couscous and yogurt, text overlay reads "moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas - rachelcooks.com"
Moroccan stew with chickpeas and squash, served with couscous and yogurt.

Vegetarian Moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas sings with a medley of vegetables, raisins, and spices. Serve it with whole wheat couscous and a spoonful of Greek yogurt for a filling meatless main dish. 

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: It’s extremely healthy and FULL of flavor!

How long it takes: 55 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: a cutting board, a knife, and a large pot (a Dutch oven works great!)
Servings: 6

Overhead view of moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas in a white bowl. It is served with yogurt and couscous.


 
Table of Contents
close
  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 About this recipe
  • 3 Cooking Tip
  • 4 How to Serve It
  • 5 Make It Your Own
  • 6 Storage & Reheating Tips
  • 7 More great vegetarian recipes
  • 8 Get the Recipe: Moroccan Stew with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

Made in one pan, Moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas is flavorful, filling, and easy to make. Gently spiced with warm curry and cinnamon, with a bright citrus note, and just a little spicy heat, this stew is memorable. The spices complement a medley of squash, chickpeas, kale, golden raisins, and tomatoes simmered to perfection.

I love the warm flavors of Moroccan dishes, like Moroccan Freekeh Pilaf with Golden Raisins and Apricots, Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken Thighs, or Moroccan Carrot Noodle Salad with Chickpeas and Walnuts. So good! One of my new favorites is this one pan dinner, Moroccan Meatballs with Roasted Tomatoes.

Maybe someday we’ll all be able to travel to Morocco and try traditional Moroccan dishes. Just for a sneak preview, enjoy a quick tour of Moroccan dishes from Local Adventurer. Their list of 21 Moroccan Foods You Must Try in Morocco is so interesting with fascinating pictures taken on location. I think I’ll skip the steamed sheep head though. Maybe it’s better than it sounds.

This Moroccan stew with squash and chickpeas will satisfy vegetarians and vegans and most meat lovers will enjoy it as well. It’s loaded with everything that’s good for you! Fill your home with delicious aromas and have everyone running to the kitchen for dinner. 

Table setting with two bowls of vegetarian stew, two glasses of water, a linen and some garnishes.

About this recipe

You won’t need special equipment for this easy stew, just a nice big heavy pot or Dutch oven. Get your cutting board and sharp knife out to prepare the vegetables: butternut squash, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and a big bunch of kale. 

Looking for a shortcut? You can buy already prepped squash in the produce department of the grocery store, especially if you know you’ll be a little short on time.

Cooking Tip

If you’d like to learn how to prep your own squash, and trust me, it’s not difficult, I have a helpful guide for preparing squash that shows how to peel, cut, and cook butternut squash.

Okay, the squash is peeled and cubed. Don’t put away your cutting board and knife yet! Chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic because they’re next in the pot.

Sauté the veggies until they’re starting to get soft.

Vegetables in a dutch oven.

Next, add garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything around for a minute or so. Why? Briefly frying spices activates the essential oils in the spices, giving them a brighter taste and aroma.

Spices on top of vegetables.

Now add a bunch of chopped kale. Make sure to remove the tough stems first. Just hold the kale leaf by the bottom of the stem and run your hand up the stem, pulling the leafy part off. Once you’ve accomplished that, roughly chop the kale leaves, making sure you don’t leave really large pieces or strips.

Kale in a large pot.

Stir and continue cooking until the kale has wilted.

Wilted kale and vegetables in a large pot.

When it’s wilted, add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, chickpeas, and golden raisins. Simmer the stew for twenty minutes or so.

Broth being added to stew.

In the meantime, prepare whole wheat couscous or rice, juice an orange, and chop some fresh cilantro to garnish the stew.

Before you serve Moroccan stew, add a squeeze of fresh orange juice, and check the seasonings. Add more salt and pepper if needed. It’s smart to cook with a bit less salt than may be needed. You can always add more salt at the end of the cooking time which is safer than getting too much salt in right away. It’s easy to add salt if necessary but really hard to get it out if your dish turns out too salty.

One Pan icon

How to Serve It

Serve this warm, flavorful Moroccan stew with couscous or quinoa, garnished with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.
You could also add an orange wedge for an extra squeeze of freshness. Enjoy!

Close up overhead view of moroccan stew made with butternut squash, chickpeas and more. Served with couscous.

Make It Your Own

  • Serving carnivores? Stir in cooked chicken, beef, lamb, or sausage.
  • Don’t have golden raisins? Substitute regular raisins, chopped dried apricots, or currants.
  • Olive fan? Try adding green olives to this stew.
  • Instead of couscous, serve Moroccan stew with brown or white rice, or quinoa. 
  • Make it in your slow cooker. Add all the ingredients (except the couscous) to a slow cooker. Stir together to combine, then cover and cook for 4 hours on high, or 7 hours on low. 
  • If this recipe just isn’t doing it for you, take a look at my butternut squash curry. It’s another vegetarian squash-based curry but with different spices and vegetables.
Overhead view of squash stew with chickpeas and moroccan spices.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Moroccan stew is really very good leftover. You’ll find yourself looking forward to eating leftovers the next day. I wish I had some in the fridge right now! If you want, you can go ahead and stir leftover couscous right into the leftover stew and store it all in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat for 1 to 2 minutes in the microwave or over medium-low heat on the stove until warmed.

Two large white bowls with vegetarian moroccan squash stew with a small bowl of yogurt and fresh cilantro also pictured.

More great vegetarian recipes

Whether you always eat vegetarian, or enjoy a meatless meal occasionally, these recipes will satisfy. Try:

  • One Pot Vegetarian Orzo with Sundried Tomatoes
  • Vegetarian Curry with Cauliflower & Chickpeas
  • Cauliflower Tacos with Chickpeas
  • Southwestern  Stuffed Peppers
  • Vegetarian Nachos with Creamy Cilantro Lime Drizzle
  • Quinoa Chili with Black Beans
  • Vegetarian Lasagna Soup
  • Southwestern Farro Salad with Poblanos
  • Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
Two bowls of hearty vegetarian stew served over couscous and garnished with greek yogurt.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Close up overhead view of moroccan stew made with butternut squash, chickpeas and more. Served with couscous.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Moroccan Stew with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

4.78 from 18 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 40 minutes mins
Total Time: 55 minutes mins
6 servings
Print Rate Recipe
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Vegetarian Moroccan stew with butternut squash and chickpeas sings with a medley of vegetables, raisins, and spices. Serve it with whole wheat couscous and a spoonful of Greek yogurt for a filling meatless main dish. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cups cubed butternut squash (½ inch cubes)
  • 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
  • 1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 carrots)
  • ¾ cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 4 cups chopped kale (tough ribs removed)
  • 1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1 ½ cups)
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Cooked couscous or rice
  • Fresh chopped cilantro and plain Greek yogurt, for serving

Instructions

  • In a Dutch oven, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add squash, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and vegetables are softening. 
  • Add garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, one minute longer.
  • Add kale, cook and stir until wilted slightly, about 3 minutes.
  • Add diced tomatoes, broth, chickpeas and raisins. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat up and bring mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pan, and simmer at low heat for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove pot from heat, stir in orange juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add additional salt, pepper, or orange juice if desired.
  • Serve with couscous or rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

Notes

  • Nutrition information does not include couscous or garnishes.
  • Option: Stir in cooked chicken, beef, lamb, or sausage.
  • Substitute regular raisins, chopped dried apricots, or currants for the golden raisins. Green olives are good, too.
  • Instead of couscous, serve Moroccan stew with brown or white rice, or quinoa. 
  • Make it in your slow cooker. Add all the ingredients (not couscous) to a slow cooker. Stir together to combine, then cover and cook for 4 hours on high, or 7 hours on low. 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 177kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 811mg, Potassium: 851mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 15892IU, Vitamin C: 81mg, Calcium: 155mg, Iron: 2mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
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  1. Tom Coffman says

    October 24, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    This recipe was fantastic! I made the vegetarian version, and left out the kale, orange juice, and added one 10 ounce jar of green olives to the recipe. My family loved it. I am not a very good cook, so I’m very grateful for your recipes Rachel became they are amateur cook friendly.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      October 25, 2020 at 8:13 pm

      Oh I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

      Reply
  2. denise says

    October 17, 2020 at 12:38 am

    looks wonderful

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      October 18, 2020 at 9:41 pm

      Thanks Denise!

      Reply

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