Fragrant and delicious, this soul-warming, oil-free Moroccan Harira is easy to make and a delightful nod to the Moroccan cuisine. Zesty onions, earthy garlic, rich tomatoes, hearty chickpeas and split red lentils, nourishing spinach, and tender pasta are bathed in a deliciously spiced broth that will tickle your taste buds.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, and no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
As most of our Readers already know, I love Moroccan food. Well, let’s be honest, I just love food. End of story. But Moroccan and Middle Eastern food are at the top of my list of most beloved foods.
All those delicious warming spices are heavenly. Middle Easterners take pride in how their food is prepared and presented. It is typically done with great care and attention to detail.
Spices
Moroccans are known for their love of spices. Even though I have never been to Morocco, I have tried authentic Moroccan cuisine in the past, and I can attest to their impressive use of spices. So much YUMMMM!!!
Best of Both Worlds
I love pasta, that’s no secret. We have quite a few pasta dishes on our blog; I am Italian after all. Hee Hee. Add pasta to a Moroccan dish seemed like a great idea when I was doing research on Moroccan Harira dishes.
Onions and More Onions
You might be thinking “hmmmm, yellow onions and pearl onions?” The yellow onions work perfectly to flavor the base of this dish, then the pearl onions (frozen Bird’s Eye Pearl Onions), add this sweet and savory element to the dish that we think is quite tasty!
If you can’t locate frozen pearl onions, it’s OK to leave them out. The flavor will change ever so slightly but will be perfectly fine and still very delicious.
We loved this dish, I’ll let Mom tell you more!
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Hi! Robin here.
Pasta and Moroccan flavors; need I say more? Nah, not really. The dish speaks for itself and the flavor is divine.
We would love for you to give this recipe a try! We just know you are going to love it.
If you try this flavorful dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
More Delicious Moroccan Dishes:
- Moroccan Mushroom Tagine
- Moroccan Skillet Beans
- Spicy Moroccan Tacos
- Moroccan Soy Curl Stew
- Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce
- No Oil Moroccan Carrot Quinoa Salad
- Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Stew
- Moroccan Red Lentil Tomato Stew
Products Used:
- Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, nonstick deep skillet, or similar large stock pot with a tight-fitting lid
Moroccan Harira
Description
Fragrant and delicious, this soul-warming, oil-free Moroccan Harira is ultra-comforting, easy to make, and a delightful nod to the Moroccan cuisine. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons garlic, finely minced
- 1 – 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups water (or broth)
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth *
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup dry split red lentils, picked through and rinsed
- 1 – 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup to ¾ cup frozen pearl onions (optional) *
- 1 Tablespoon miso *
- 3 to 4 cups fresh baby spinach *
- 5 oz. GF thin spaghetti pasta, broken into pieces *
Seasonings/Spices:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ + 1/8 teaspoon coriander
- ½ + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon *
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Other Optional Ingredients:
- Chopped Cilantro or Parsley
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the diced onions; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the dry spices (turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, sweet paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried minced onion flakes, black pepper, and sea salt), sauté to release their fragrance, about 30 seconds to one minute.
- Then add the petite diced tomatoes, veggie broth, lemon juice, and water, bring to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
- Add the split red lentils, chickpeas, miso, and frozen pearl onions. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, check the tenderness of the red lentils. Once the red lentils are tender, then add the pasta (see notes), put the lid back on and cook until the pasta is almost done (the thin pasta cooks quickly), then add the spinach. Taste test the flavors, add more spices, if necessary, to achieve the level of flavor you desire. Cook until the pasta is tender.
- Serve immediately with freshly chopped cilantro, parsley and lemon wedges, if desired.
Notes
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. If using a brand other than Pacific that has a mild/mellow flavor, you may wish to use 2 ½ cups broth and ½ cup water.
*Pasta/Ramen Noodles: We used the 10 oz. package of Lotus Foods Millet & Brown Rice Ramen, but only cooked 1 of the 4 blocks of Ramen. (The 10 oz. package has 4 blocks of Ramen Noodles.) Additionally, we recommend cooking the pasta in a separate pot until al dente’ then draining and rinsing in cold water to remove the starch before adding to the dish. This pasta tends to release a lot of starch. It can be added directly to the dish while cooking, but it will release starch into the liquid and make this beautiful stew seem “goopy”.
*Cinnamon: If you enjoy cinnamon in savory dishes, use the full amount indicated in the recipe. If you are unsure, start out with a smaller amount, then taste test toward the end.
*Spinach: Spinach is a natural spice neutralizer/balancer. As it cooks it will naturally neutralize and tone down spices. Once you add the spinach, taste test after it cooks for a few minutes to determine if additional spices are needed.
*Miso: We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also use chickpea miso for a soy free version.
*Frozen Pearl Onions: The frozen pearl onions are optional; however, they do add this delicious extra boost of flavor. We recommend keeping them in the recipe to experience the full-bodied flavor of this dish.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Makes: 4 servings
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 7 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
When is the miso added?
Hi there Angela 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. It is added in Step 4. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
One of my absolute favorites- I’ve made it many times. Thank you!
Hi there Nadia,
YAYYYY!!! We are thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for leaving us a great review; we sincerely appreciate it.
-Ameera and Robin