I first fell in love with Moroccan Harira Soup at this small Moroccan restaurant in Frankfurt. What really fascinated me about Moroccan harira soup is that it packs such an immense amount of flavor with such simple ingredients.
So, What exactly is a
If you're in the mood for a tasty and filling soup that will transport you straight to Morocco, then you need to try Moroccan Harira Soup! This traditional dish is packed with all sorts of delicious ingredients, like lentils, chickpeas, and tomatoes, as well as a blend of aromatic spices like cumin, paprika, and ginger. You might also find ingredients like onions, celery, carrots, and either lamb or beef in the mix.
During the month of Ramadan, Moroccan families love to serve up this hearty soup with dates and bread as a main course or a starter before a larger meal. And the best part? It's enjoyed hot by people of all ages, so you can enjoy it any time you want a taste of Morocco. Whether you're breaking the fast or just looking for a tasty and satisfying soup, Moroccan Harira Soup is a perfect choice!
Harira is a tomato-based soup that is found mainly in Morocco and Algeria. There, it is often eaten for breakfast and during Ramadan to break fasting.
Traditionally Moroccan harira is made with beef sometimes lamb, chickpeas or lentils, celery, and tomatoes. Some recipes even include noodles. Spices are the real key though to this soup. Often times a combination of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, cumin, and coriander is used.
Harira is served with a wide array of garnishes. Almost always, lemon juice is added to the soup before serving or with lemon wedges so that guests can add the amount they would like. Fresh parsley or cilantro is a must. Sometimes cooked eggs are added or even dates for some sweetness.
For my interpreted and vegan version of a Moroccan Harira Soup, I added ingredients that I thought would work together the best. I also wanted a really easy recipe to make and a family friendly one. I might be biased but I think I nailed it.
My boys loved it but mainly because they'll eat anything with chickpeas. Like this, and this, and this too :D My 4 year old (turning 5 this week!) also made sure to note that without adding lemon juice at the end, it just wouldn't taste right. I love how he's turning into a little food snob!
Either way, this soup is loaded with a lot of fiber and protein thanks to all the chickpeas! We could all use some more of that ;)
Moroccan Harira Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Onions diced
- 4 cloves of Garlic minced
- 4 Carrots peeled, diced
- 3 large Celery Stalks sliced
- 2 tablespoons Ground Ginger
- 2 tablespoons Paprika
- 2 tablespoons Turmeric
- 2 tablespoons Cumin
- 10 Saffron Threads ground - Optional (See notes!)
- ¼ of a cup Tomato Paste
- 1 cup Tomato Puree
- 8 cups 2 L Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 8 Roma Tomatoes roughly diced
- 3 cups Chickpeas soaked and cooked or rinsed and drained from a can
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Parsley
Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a large stock pot and add onions, garlic, carrots and celery, Cook for roughly 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ginger, parprika, turmeric, cumin and saffron to pot and cook for one more minute.
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Stir in tomato paste and puree, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
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Add cooked chickpeas to stock pot and cook for 5 more minutes. Add fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve soup hot with fresh parsley.
Recipe Notes
1.) Saffron can be expensive and sometimes hard to find. If you have some at home, then I encourage you to use it. Never add whole saffron threads when cooking. Grind the threads with a mortar and pestle first to allow the spices to come out. If you don't have any saffron, you can make the recipe without too. The taste will vary slightly but still be very delicious!
Looking for a few other vegan soup recipes? Try any of these :)
Jo from yummyvege says
I love stews and i love morrocan food so this is perfect for me! Looks delicious
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
This is such an interesting dish, I love the sound of it! It's fun to explore foreign cuisines, they combine foods and flavors I would never think of. And your son is so cute, he's going to have quite the palate when he grows up haha :D
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O Vanessa, this is beautiful!!! Right up my ally with all the spices <3 The perfect light soup to warm you up and o so flavorful! Pinned <3
Linda @ Veganosity says
Your boys are awesome! I love that they loved this soup. And how cute that your little guy realized the importance of the lemon. :) This sounds delicious, and I'd love some for breakfast right now. Savory is the best.
Mel @ avirtualvegan.com says
This soup looks fantastic! Moroccan food is something I haven't really explored and I have always wanted to go there.
I love all the flavours packed in here and the addition of lemon juice. Delicious!
Uma @ simple sumptuous cooking says
Happy to know that like my daughter your boys also like chick peas. :) I loved your soup recipe!
Manali @ CookWithManali says
Wow the soup sounds amazing Vanessa, I have never tasted a moroccan harira soup but now I really want to!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks, Manali! It's such an easy soup to make and packs a whole lot of flavor. Hope you get a chance to try it :)
Sophia @Veggies Don't Bite says
I've never had this kind of soup but it looks really hearty and flavorful!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
i love moroccan food in general..so seeing this soup, i cant wait to try it.
Vanessa Croessmann says
I know, isn't Moroccan food the best? It has such great flavors :)
Kathy Hester says
This soup is so enticing that I'm going into the kitchen right now to make it!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Let me know how you like, Kathy!
Nicole says
I've never had this soup before, probably because I've never seen it served Vegan anywhere. Now, I'm intrigued!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks Nicole. It's such a flavorful soup and it's a shame that it's too often served with meat. I like making it in big batches and then freezing it. :)
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
Oh, this soup totally calls my name!! I love chickpeas! :-) No wonder your boys loved it! It looks amazing!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks, Sina! It really does taste amazing ;)
Wanda Lee says
Made this last night and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe.
Vanessa Croessmann says
I'm glad you liked the harira recipe, Wanda!
Nadine says
Sounds amazing and I'm looking forward to making it tonight, but want to sub canned diced tomatoes. Do you have an idea of how many 14oz cans would be equivalent to the 8 Roma tomatoes?
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Nadine, I would guess somewhere between 1 and 2 cans. Maybe start off with one and then add more if you need it.
Gin says
I've never had harira soup but it sounds delicious! The spices are right up my street!
Sasha Torkildson says
The Roma tomatoes, are they fresh or canned? I am chopping veggies for this now and realized my question. Thanks!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Sasha, I used fresh tomatoes for this. Let me know how it goes :)
Cap'n Dave says
I do believe that I'll be making this tomorrow. It sounds positively WONDERFUL!!!
AND I FOUND MY SAFFRON!! YAY!!! I thought I'd somehow lost it. I bought a big bag of it for mere pennies.
For those who are looking, get Mexican saffron. Seriously, the taste isn't that much different and you'll wind up with so much for your dollar! Tampico brand is the one you can usually find the easiest, but if you can find a bag at a bazaar or farmer's market, GET IT! Trust me, it will last you a very long time and is just as good as the stuff they sell for $20 a gram! (Seriously, saffron is the 14th most expensive thing by weight in the world!)