This Moroccan Instant Pot Vegetable Stew recipe is so good that you won’t miss the meat! The stew has the perfect combination of ingredients that gives it a rich, complex flavor that you’re going to love. Serve with a lemon and herb couscous, or quinoa.
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This Moroccan vegetable stew Instant Pot version is delicious, flavorful and so beautiful. The colors you see in the photos are real! The only thing you need to do to make this a vegan stew recipe is to omit the cream.
You’ll find that the mmmmm’s and ahhhhh’s will keep on coming when you serve this to your family or guests. And it’s so healthy that there’s no guilt in going back for seconds.
Dana says ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just wanted you to know that since I first made this last December, I’ve made it soooo many times! It’s my go-to for a healthy dinner. This and the Misir Wot. I’m going to try some more of your recipes. This food feels like warmth and love in a bowl!
My family likes meat – chicken, beef, pork – and they can be pretty picky about vegetarian recipes. So when I say they love this veggie stew recipe, that means this truly is an extra-special recipe!
This Instant Pot vegetable stew recipe has authentic ingredients, except for cream. I’ve taken the liberty of adding cream because I love the flavor it adds to this recipe.
➡ If you’re looking for more vegetarian Instant Pot recipes, try Instant Pot Ratatouille, Instant Pot Aloo Gobi (Indian Spiced Cauliflower) or Instant Pot Rigatoni Bolognese! And for some international flavor, try Instant Pot Middle Eastern Style Green Beans, Chickpea Tikka Masala, and Misir Wat (Ethiopian Lentils). Here’s my complete collection of vegetarian recipes.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Vegetable Stew Instant Pot
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
🥛 Cream: Authentic Moroccan stew doesn’t contain cream, but I add it for extra richness and flavor. It’s delicious without it, too – omit for a vegan, healthier version.
🫘 Chickpeas: I prefer Instant Pot chickpeas over canned. Cook them in the morning, drain them, and leave them in the Instant Pot until ready to use. Canned chickpeas work great, too!
🍋 Preserved Lemons: These add an incredible concentrated citrus flavor, but add them to taste! Some readers find the preserved lemons to be overpowering. Make your own or buy a jar of preserved lemons at Middle Eastern grocers or Amazon. Substitute 2 tablespoons lemon juice if you can’t find them.
🥣 Saffron: Saffron adds beautiful depth and flavor to the stew. It’s pricey, but a little goes a long way. Feel free to omit if you don’t have it.
🌶️ Harissa: Love spicy food? Try harissa in this recipe! Add 1 teaspoon at a time after cooking and taste as you go – it’s potent. Find it in the ethnic foods section of most grocery stores.
🍗 Add Meat: Make the stew heartier by sautéing 1 cup sliced spicy sausage before the onions. Chicken pieces (cut 2 inches wide) also work great. Keep the same pressure cooking time.
🍲 Broth: Substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth if desired.
❓ FAQs
Yes, you can add other veggies, but try and pick ones with similar cooking times, or add quick-cooking ones after the pressure cooking is done.
Sauté onions, etc, in a large saucepan first. Transfer to a slow cooker and add remaining ingredients. Stir together, cover, and cook on high for 3 hours (or 6 hours on low).
How to Make Instant Pot Moroccan Stew
⏲️ Instant Pot Instructions
- Heat the Instant Pot in Sauté mode and once heated, heat the oil. Stir in onions, and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. Stir in garlic and ginger.
- Add in salt, black pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir until spices are fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds. See note below about spices.
- Deglaze with a couple of tablespoons of broth. Stir to remove any brown bits. There should be nothing stuck to the bottom of the inner pot. Once deglazed, stir in the remaining broth.
- Add butternut squash, carrots, and preserved lemons or lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add tomatoes, but don’t stir. Push down with a spatula to immerse tomatoes in the broth.
✏️ SAUTÉ SPICES
If the Instant Pot becomes too hot and the ingredients are burning, turn it off to cool it down and turn back on once cooled. You don’t want to burn the spices! If you need to, add a tablespoon of broth to deglaze the inner pot if you find that the ingredients are browning too quickly.
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 6:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a quick release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
- Stir in chickpeas, saffron, and cream (omit for vegan version). Cook on Sauté mode until heated through.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve the Moroccan vegetarian stew with couscous, quinoa, or crusty French bread.
♨️ Stovetop Instructions
- Sauté onion, garlic, and ginger.
- Add spices and sauté briefly.
- Stir in broth, vegetables, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and heat briefly.
- Garnish with cilantro.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Vegetarian Instant Pot Moroccan Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups butternut squash cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
- 1 cup carrots cut into 1-inch thick rounds
- 1 preserved lemon chopped
- 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes (1 can) – 411 grams
- 2 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans) cooked, or 1 can (16 oz or 454 grams)
- pinch saffron
- ¼ cup heavy cream (omit for vegan)
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Select the Sauté function and pre-heat the Instant Pot.
- Add 2 tablespoon olive oil to the pre-heated inner pot of Instant Pot and allow it to heat up.
- Stir in 1 cup onion and sauté until soft, about 1 minute.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon garlic and 1 tablespoon ginger. Press Cancel. The spices in the next step will cook in residual heat.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, stirring until fragrant about 15 to 30 seconds. [See Note 1]
- Deglaze with a couple of tablespoons of broth. Stir to remove any brown bits. There should be nothing stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Once deglazed, stir in remaining broth.
- Add 4 cups butternut squash, 1 cup carrots, and 1 preserved lemon. Stir to combine.
- Add 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, but don’t stir; push down with a spatula to immerse in the broth.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release (QR) of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot lid.
- Stir in 2 cups chickpeas, pinch saffron, and ¼ cup heavy cream (if using); heat through on Sauté mode.
- Garnish with ½ cup cilantro.
- Serve with couscous or crunchy bread.
Stovetop
- Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Stir in onions, and sauté until soft, about 1 minute.
- Stir in garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add salt, black pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper, stirring until fragrant, about 15 to 30 seconds.
- Add the broth and stir to scrape up any brown bits.
- Stir in butternut squash, carrots, tomatoes, chickpeas, and preserved lemons.
- Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in saffron and cream and heat through.[See Note 2]
- Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Julia says
Can you make this in a Dutch oven on the stove?
Neena Panicker says
Julia, yes you can make it on the stove. Follow the same directions, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is cooked through. I hope you like it!
Irina says
Perfect as a hearty and delicious winter treat. I added kale for extra green power – worked out great!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Irina, kale is a great addition. I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe!
Lindsay says
We loved this! It was delicious as leftovers too! Our only tweak was that we used lemon juice instead of preserved lemon. The directions were very clear and easy to follow. We will definitely be looking for more of your recipes. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Lindsay, I’m glad to hear that you liked the recipe! Thanks for commenting!
Dana says
This was insanely easy and delicious. Only thing is the preserved lemon made the dish WAY too salty for my tastebuds. I’ll def make again, and instead add just a squirt of lemon juice and maybe some lemon zest instead of the preserved lemons. But yes, delicious and well received at the table tonight!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Dana, thanks for sharing. It could be that different brands have different levels of saltiness too, but I’m glad you liked it overall!
Dana says
My preserved lemons were home made last winter because our tree harvested all at once and I needed something to do with them! Maybe I need to try a different recipe this year. The recipe last year was just to cut the lemons to ALMOST quartered, and stuff them all in a jar with salt, so salt was covering all of the lemons, and then add water to just the top level of the lemons in the jar. SALTY! LOL
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Aah, understood. I wonder if you could rinse them lol?!
Dana says
Just wanted you to know that since I first made this last December, I’ve made it soooo many times! It’s my go-to for a healthy dinner. This and the Misir Wot. I’m going to try some more of your recipes. This food feels like warmth and love in a bowl!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Dana, thank you for the kind words!
Tina Barber says
This sounds great, I will be trying it soon. I am curious if you think it would be good if I added potatoes?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Tina, yes I think it would be tasty with potatoes.
kudzu says
Have made this before and know it is both delicious & versatile. Make it as written and it is wonderful! However, it’s surprisingly tolerant of substitutions. Today I didn’t have the right ingredients or much time but was in the mood for this so… Sweet potatoes stood in for butternut squash, lemon juice for preserved lemon, dried ground ginger instead of fresh, completely forgot the saffron & tossed the chickpeas in with everything else. (Because my brain is fried.) Rushed through the prep so even skipped the saute part, basically turning this into a dump & go recipe. Added coconut milk at the end instead of cream. Turned out great! Though the end result was different, the base flavor of the original is in there and I’m glad I didn’t wait until I could “do it the right way.”
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow! Thank you for sharing your substitutions and it’s great to know that the recipe allows you to change it up!
Deborah says
This was so utterly delicious!!! Loved it!! I used 2 lemon zest as I didn’t have the other lemon item on hand. Doubled the heavy cream too.
Ricardo Rivera says
Absolutely love this soup!! This will definitely become a favourite. Easy and quick to make.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Ricardo! I’m glad to hear you liked it 🙂
Laura says
Thank you so much for this delightful recipe, I can hardly wait to make it. Happy, Happy 2021, Things will be better after March 4. I have great hope. Take care of you and yours…
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Laura, Happy New Year to your too – I am hopeful for a much better year in 2021!
Kami says
Can you replace the cream with coconut cream?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Kami, you definitely could do that. There will be a different taste but I love the flavor of coconut milk so I think it’ll taste good.
Kate says
Delicious, I switched out the heavy cream for coconut milk to make it vegan And served it with farro. It was tasty, a perfect spicy, comfy dish for the colder months.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Kate, coconut milk is a great substitution. I’m thrilled to hear you loved the recipe 🙂
Glenn Paul says
The amount of ingredients seem to be too much for the Duo. Also, did I miss where the recipe differentiates between cooked or uncooked chick peas?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Glenn, it depends on what type of Duo you have. I make this in a 6-quart duo and there’s plenty of room. If you have a 3 quart, it might be a tight fit.
The recipe card states the following: 2 cups chickpeas – (garbanzo beans) cooked, or 1 (16 oz.) can garbanzo beans.
Glenn Allen says
Thanks! Making it again right now, with the full amount of ingredients, but making it twice. I just love this recipe and want to have it around all week.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Glenn – I’m happy you like the recipe! Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll keep that in mind for future edits. For now, I suggest you go to the bottom of the post where the recipe card is and you can have the ingredients and instructions all in one place.
Glenn Allen says
One request. When you talk about for example deglazing the spices, it might be more helpful to put the amounts next to the spices so we don’t have to keep scrolling up and down the page. I know he wants it all!
Sonia says
Excellent!! This was my first ever Instant Pot recipe and I think I totally nailed it;) I forgot to buy carrots and didn’t have pickled lemon, but it was really delicious. I definitely want to try this again. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sonia, thanks for letting me know you liked the recipe. How great that your first recipe was a grand success 🙂
Renuka says
Yes, thanks
Barbara Martin says
I love this recipe and make it often. A friend who does not have an Instant Pot wants to know his to convert to slow cooker.
Do you have suggestions?
Thanks so much!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Barbara, thanks for sharing the recipe! This recipe can be cooked on the stovetop in about 30 minutes on low simmer. So I think in a slow cooker it would probably cook for 3 to 4 hours on low heat.I would ask your friend to find a slow cooker recipe with quick-cooking veggies and use a similar timing.
Sue Bryan says
Made this tonight, it was delicious, used milk instead of cream & used 2 tbs lemon juice plus added spinach at the end.
Will definitely make it again.
Passed it along to friends& family
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Sue. Yum, sounds like you had a delicious soup!