Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Soup with Couscous

If you’re looking for a warming and comforting vegetarian soup to spice up your lunches or dinners, then you’re sure to love this Moroccan-inspired soup. 

Spiced with Ras El Hanout and made with pantry ingredients, this unusual vegetable soup recipe includes salty Kalamata olives, tender artichoke hearts, protein-packed chickpeas, and canned tomatoes served with a scoop of couscous. All the ingredients come together to create a soup full of flavors and textures you’re sure to fall in love with. 

Is This an Authentic Moroccan Recipe? 

No. This recipe is inspired by Harira, an authentic Moroccan and Algerian tomato-based soup that is served year-round but is especially enjoyed when breaking one’s Ramadan fast. 

Traditional Harira has many variations (as most soups do), but the ingredient list can include dried chickpeas, lentils, olives, vegetables, tomatoes, smen (a preserved butter with parmesan-like notes), lots of fresh herbs, preserved lemons, and rice or pasta. All of the ingredients are then thickened with tedouira, a flour, yeast, and water mixture that ferments for several days before being added to the soup. 

Harira is a very involved recipe that is satisfying unlike any other soup we’ve had, but one that just isn’t doable for most of us! So, we created this Moroccan-inspired soup that has some of the same flavors that are also delicious in a different kind of way!   

Vegan Moroccan recipes are multi-layered and complex. Our vegan soup recipe inspired by Moroccan cuisine simplifies the ingredient list by using pantry ingredients readily available here in the United States. 

What is Ras El Hanout? 

Since this is a recipe using Ras El Hanout, we thought it only fitting to explain just what Ras El Hanout is! 

Ras El Hanout is one of the spice blends that is an important part of Middle Eastern Cuisine. Though Ras El Hanout spice blend has a strong connotation to Moroccan cuisine it is common throughout the Middle East, especially in Algeria and Tunisia. 

Translating literally to “Top of the Shop”, Ras El Hanout is a mix of the best spices that a spice shop has to offer. This means the recipe varies shop to shop. 

SpiceTopia’s Ras El Hanout recipe includes many spices associated with baking such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom; as well as more earthy spices such as turmeric and black pepper. The citrusy savory spice of coriander seed brings everything together to create a warming, savory, slightly citrusy blend! 

All of these spices harmonize perfectly with the olives, chickpeas, and artichoke hearts in this soup recipe.  

Ingredients

Seasonings.

Ras El Hanout. Ras El Hanout Spice Blend packs a punch in this recipe! The recipe calls for 2 ½ tablespoons which seems like a lot, but keep in mind that almost all the flavor in this recipe comes from this seasoning blend! And Ras El Hanout does have heat like chili powders. Instead, its flavor mostly comes from spices such as cinnamon and cloves which provide a warm feeling in one’s body. 

Onion Powder. Onion Powder makes this a true pantry recipe as sometimes a fresh onion just isn’t available. We’re always glad to have this handy powder in our spice rack for the times we let the onions sit too long and they sprout or turn brown! 

Ginger Powder. Ginger is an essential ingredient in many Moroccan recipes. In this recipe, just a little bit of Ginger Powder adds a little extra warming spiciness. 

Dried Lemon Peel. Lemon Peel adds notes of acid and a touch of bitterness to this soup providing a balance to the warming spices in the Ras El Hanout as well as the strong saltiness of the olives. 

Pacific Flake Sea Salt. Ras El Hanout has a bit of salt in it, but we’ve found that this soup does need a touch more salt added! Pacific Flake Sea Salt is a quality Pacific Sea Salt that meets European standards for organic salts (The US does not recognize organic salts). Its fresh clean flavor makes this our everyday salt! 

Find all these spices and over 100 more at SpiceTopia.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Olive oil adds flavor not only to the soup, but the couscous as well, so it is important to use a really good one! We personally love Maslina Ranch Olive Oil which is produced right here in California by a local Ventura family. 

Chickpeas. This soup recipe calls for one 14 – 16 ounce can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans). Be sure to rinse and drain your chickpeas before adding them to the soup. 

If using dried chickpeas, cook them before starting this recipe. One cup of dried chickpeas cooks up to about 3 cups of prepared chickpeas. One can of chickpeas is equivalent to about 2 cups of prepared chickpeas. Using slightly more or less than 2 cups won’t affect the recipe! 

Artichoke Hearts. Artichoke hearts are a more unusual ingredient in this recipe. They are a traditional Moroccan ingredient adding a nice texture, and flavor to this soup while also bulking up the soup with lots of nutrients and fiber. Fresh artichokes are extremely labor-intensive to prepare, so this recipe calls for a 14 – 16-ounce can of artichoke hearts. Be sure to use artichokes in brine and not a marinade. The flavors of marinated artichokes will not go well with the Ras El Hanout. 

Kalamata Olives.  Kalamata Olives, either dry cured or brined, add a salty sharpness to this soup. And the healthy fats in olives can’t be beat for nutrition! We like to have a jar of brined Kalamata Olives in our pantry for recipes just like this one. 

Canned Tomatoes. We prefer a 14 – 16 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes in tomato sauce as it gives the soup both a saucy broth and a bit of texture with the chunks of tomatoes. But any canned tomatoes (or even a few diced fresh tomatoes instead) work in this recipe. Use what you have or what you prefer! 

Couscous. Use the couscous of your choice. We love the texture of pearl couscous (sometimes called Israeli couscous), but nothing beats the ease of preparing Moroccan (or Instant) Couscous! 

How to Make Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Soup with Couscous

 

This is a dump-and-heat-up kind of soup! It’s a super easy recipe anyone can make well! 

Our tip with this recipe as with all recipes:  Have everything ready to go before you start. 

And make your couscous by following the directions on your couscous package. Add a splash of olive oil and fluff with a fork. Add a hearty scoop to the soup right before serving.  Other than that, it’s easy peasy! Let’s Get Cooking!