This super easy Moroccan vegetable stew is vegan, dairy free, and made in the slow cooker for a super easy and healthy weeknight dinner option! Try it with some quinoa or couscous on top for some added protein and nutrition.
Want to Read Later?
In an effort to try to maintain some kind of cognitive ability in this world where we don't have to memorize anything anymore, if a word comes up as misspelled when I'm writing I don't right click to see the correct spelling. Instead, I backspace and type the word again until it's spelled right.
Except for Moroccan. I tried three times and just failed.
So, the point is that I suck at spelling but I try and that's half the battle?
Cognitive failures aside, this vegan Moroccan vegetable stew is a WINNER. It's healthy, easy, and full of flavor. I love meals like this that are light but still somehow cozy at this time when the seasons are still changing but there are definitely still some cold mornings and nights BUT we start to realize that a whole winter of comfort food means JUST SAY NO TO BATHING SUITS so we really need to eat our veggies. And this is a happy medium! Ridiculously healthy but not straight up raw veggies.
Ingredients
You need all the veggies your little heart can handle, basically. Onion, garlic, fennel, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, chick peas, canned tomatoes, veggie stock, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, flour, and raisins.
Step By Step Instructions
So, just like any crock pot meal the biggest task is chopping up all the veggies. Cut everything into large bite-sized chunks - they'll cook down a lot so don't worry about the veggies being too big.
Layer all the vegetables in the crock pot.
Then, lightly drain the chick peas and add them to the pot with the tomatoes and all of their juices.
Then sprinkle the spices right over top...
....and give a little glug of stock to keep things saucy. You'll actually use less stock than you'd find in some crock pot recipes because the veggies will release a lot of liquid as they cook.
Give everything a stir, then sprinkle the dish with just a little bit of salt.
Meal Prep Tip: For meal prep, chop up everything in advance! The morning you'd like to eat, just dump everything in the slow cooker with the tomatoes and stock, start the slow cooker, and go about your day!
Then in the morning you just press the button and wander off! ย 4 hours on high, 8 hours on low, give or take.
30 minutes to an hour before you'd like to eat, start the final round of preparations. If you'd like to serve this with anything like quinoa or rice, get it started now! Then, add the raisins to the dish. ย They'll need a few minutes to plump up. ย
Finally, mix a tiny bit more stock with some cornstarch - since there is so much liquid from the Moroccan vegetables we want to thicken the sauce a little bit.
In this last 30 minute stretch, the raisins will get plump and juicy and the stew will thicken from the cornstarch, making everything luscious and not too watery.
Often at this point in slow cooker soup recipes we'd use flour instead of cornstarch to thicken our Moroccan veggies. However, I wanted this recipe to remain gluten free, and cornstarch is a great gluten free thickener.
Let the veggies cook on high for 30 minutes more to thicken the sauce a little bit. THE SMELL HERE, friends. The warm spices with the chick peas and tomatoes are just ~chef's kiss.~
Serving Ideas
Then we eat! ย I serve this with quinoa, but it is delicious plain, with bread or rice - anything you can think of! ย
The veggies are very soft in this dish, but the chick peas hold up really well and have great texture. Then we have the spices and sweet raisins and it's just GOOD, guys. Healthy whole food that is easy to make and super tasty. Done and done.
Enjoy these vegan Moroccan vegetables! They're wonderful for chilly days but are flavorful and light enough for year round.
Recipe
Crock Pot Vegan Moroccan Vegetables
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 2 carrots
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1 onion
- ยฝ bulb fennel
- 6 cloves peeled garlic
- 15 ounces canned chick peas lightly drained
- 28 ounces diced canned tomatoes in their juices
- ยฝ teaspoon cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 ยฝ cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ยฝ cup raisins
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut all the veggies to large bite-sized pieces that are similar in size. Leave the garlic cloves whole.
- Layer the veggies, chick peas, tomatoes, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, and 1 cup of the stock in a slow cooker. Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours.
- When the veggies are very soft, stir the remaining stock and cornstarch together. Add to the slow cooker with the raisins and cook on high for another 30 minutes to 1 hour until the mixture has thickened slightly. Taste, and add salt to your preference.
- Serve plain or with quinoa, rice, or bread. Enjoy!
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