Harira: Moroccan Vegetable Soup-Stew

Moroccan Harira is a thick soup made with chickpeas, brown rice, red lentils, and vegetables. Scented with aromatic spices, it makes an easy and tasty vegan weeknight dinner.

If you ever crave a filling, comforting plant-based dish that doesn’t completely weigh you down, then this one is for you.

There are many versions of harira—mine happens to be vegetarian, originally adapted from two different recipes, and tweaked over the years to my taste.

Harira is hearty, packed with delicious vegetables, nutritious legumes and warm spices.

Also, it’s an easy, dump-and-go one-pot meal, that doesn’t require any babysitting. 

Ingredients for this Harira Recipe

Harira ingredients are simple and easy to find. You’ll need:

• Onion, carrots, celery, and diced tomatoes, which create the vegetarian flavor base for this stew. Much like a French mirepoix or a Creole trinity, these are the essential ingredients for a flavorful North African dish. 
• Red lentils and cooked chickpeas double the filling properties of this dish. Lentils and chickpeas are powerhouses of plant-based protein, making this quite the satiating dish. 
• Brown rice adds another layer of hardiness to harira. It’s a healthy whole grain that keeps you full without any refined starches. 

Black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, dried ginger, and salt are the all-important flavor agents in this fragrant stew.

If it’s not already obvious, this recipe is far from bland!

How to Make Harira in One Pot

To make harira, all you need is one big pot.

1. First, soften up diced onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil. Next, stir in all of the spices.
2. Add diced tomatoes, cooked chickpeas, red lentils, brown rice, and stock. Simmer away and 50 minutes later, dinner is served.

How do you Serve Harira Soup?

Muslims eat harira during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the holy month of fasting. It’s a hearty, filling and nutrient-rich meal to look forward to after a long day of fasting. 

To serve the dish at your own table, whether you’re fasting or not, harira is perfect as is. However, I love to go back to my Central European roots, and add tangy sauerkraut and a dollop of creamy crème fraîche.

You can also stir in a tablespoon of Harissa, a spicy Moroccan paste, to give it an extra kick.

Some cooks serve it with hard-boiled eggs, and sprinkled with dried fruit such as figs and dates.

Can I Freeze Harira? 

BONUS: this is a fantastic, vegetarian meal prep recipe. You can make a big batch of the soup and store it for up to 3 days in the fridge. Simply warm it up and add your favorite toppings before digging in. 

You can also freeze harira. After you make it, let the stew come to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. (Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove, or in the microwave).

More Flavor-Packed One-Pot Dinners

Do you love to throw everything in one pot and let it cook? Try these easy one-pot meals after you finish your Hariara Soup:

1. Vegan Heirloom-Bean Chili
2. Kitcheri, a traditional ayurvedic meal that’s just as filling and comforting as harira
3. Chickpea Tomato Curry
4. Sweet and Sour One-Pot Green Lentils, another healthy plant-based dinner
5. Vegan Raw Buckwheat Groats, because breakfast should be a one-pot meal too!

And for all of my best vegan recipes, see the complete collection. 

Now you.

Have you been to Morocco? Did you make this harira recipe? What’s your fave stew?

Tell me in the comments.

Harira: North African Vegetable Soup-Stew

• Author: Michal Martinek
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
• Cuisine: Moroccan

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Description

North African soup-stew made with chickpeas, brown rice, red lentils and vegetables. Scented with aromatic spices. Great vegan weeknight dinner.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 cup (120 g) finely chopped, peeled yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
• ½ cup (55 g) finely chopped, trimmed celery (about 1 large celery stalk)
• ½ cup (68 g) finely chopped, peeled carrot (about 2 small carrots)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 15-ounce can (411 g) diced tomatoes with their juices
• 2 cups (335 g) cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can cooked chickpeas
• ½ cup (85 g) dried red lentils, rinsed
• ½ cup (98 g) brown rice, rinsed
• 3 (750 ml) cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup finely chopped, fresh parsley
• White yogurt to serve (optional)
• Fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut to serve (optional)

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Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the turmeric, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas, lentils, rice, and vegetable stock. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, keep covered, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soft and thickened, about 50 minutes.
5. Turn the heat off and stir in the parsley. Taste and add more salt and/or black pepper to taste.
6. Serve with the yogurt and fermented vegetables.
7. Store the harira in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

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Keywords: Harira