Quick Summary: Tender beef and sweet potatoes slow-cooked in a warmly spiced broth of cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, and ginger with chickpeas and optional dried fruit. The kind of stew that fills the house with fragrance for hours. Dutch oven method, no tagine needed. Prep: 30 min | Cook: 2 hours 15 min | Serves: 6
Jump to: RECIPE | What is Moroccan Beef Stew? | What is a Tagine | Ingredients | Step by Step | Slow Cooker Version | Chermoula Recipe | FAQ
This is probably my favorite Moroccan recipe. The combination of warm spices, tender beef, and sweet potatoes produces something deeply savory and complex.
Traditional tagines use a cone-shaped clay pot that traps steam, but a Dutch oven works just as well. The key is low and slow cooking that lets the spices meld together.
For slow carb, skip the dried fruit and serve without couscous.
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What Is Moroccan Beef Stew?
Moroccan beef stew is beef simmered slowly with onions, tomatoes, and warm spices like cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. It usually includes chickpeas, a root vegetable, and dried fruit for a sweet and savory balance.
In Morocco it is cooked in a clay pot called a tagine, and the dish takes the same name. My version uses a Dutch oven and sweet potatoes.
What Is a Tagine, and Do You Need One?
A tagine is a Berber (primarily Algerian or Moroccan) dish named after the type of earthenware pot in which it is cooked. Tagine vessels are primarily used to slow-cook savory stews and vegetable dishes.
Because the domed or cone-shaped lid of a tagine traps steam and returns the condensed liquid to the pot, a minimal amount of water is needed to cook meats and vegetables, and is therefore a practical method of cooking in areas where water supplies are limited.
The traditional method of cooking with a tagine is to place the tagine over coals, resulting from large bricks of charcoal, purchased specifically for their ability to stay hot for hours.
Moroccan Beef Stew Ingredients and Spices
Spices & Herbs:
Common spices in tagines include: ginger, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, saffron, turmeric, chili and/or paprika.
Common herbs include mint and parsley. The herbs and spices are an integral part of Moroccan tagine cooking, as the slow, lengthy cooking allows the spice combinations to fully meld together.
You end up with a sweet and savory warmth that is quite complex and robust.
The spice combination varies region to region, household to household. Some recipes suggest a pre-mixed blend called “Ras el Hanout”, which is usually a blend of the best spices a vendor has in their shop.
The specific Ras el Hanout mixture varies, but it generally includes the spices noted above, along with perhaps some dried galangal, nutmeg, aniseed, or orris root.
You can buy pre-mixed seasoning packets, such as this one that I bought from Amazon.
Fruit & Vegetables
A sweet and sour combination is common in Moroccan dishes and will often include dates, apricots or prunes.
Vegetables often include garbanzo beans and root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots or turnips.
Best Cut of Beef for Moroccan Stew
These Moroccan stews are frequently made without any meat. Â If you do want to add meat, it is common to include lamb, chicken or beef in these stews. In addition to the recipe below with beef, I love this recipe for Moroccan chicken stew.
Since the recipe below is a Moroccan beef and sweet potato tagine, I used beef, of course.
If you want the best flavor in a beef-forward stew, use a chuck roast that you have trimmed and cubed yourself rather than the stew meat sold in grocery stores.
Meat labeled “beef stew meat” is often bits and pieces of a variety of cuts that can result in different meat textures within the stew.
Avoid chunks of steak because it tends to turn stringy and dry after prolonged cooking.
Optional Additions
- Add prunes and/or dried apricots to the pot when adding sweet potatoes
- Serve with couscous (this is how it is traditionally served)
- Add harissa sauce as garnish at the end, or place on the table for people to add their own.
- Add some yogurt towards the end of cooking to enhance the creaminess.
How to Make Moroccan Beef and Sweet Potato Stew (Step by Step)
Moroccan Beef Stew in a Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
I make this stew in a Dutch oven and haven’t tested these two methods myself, so treat the times as a starting point.
Slow cooker
You could certainly adapt this recipe to a slow cooker. Just make sure and brown or sear the meat and saute the onions and spices first before adding everything to the crock pot.
- Brown the beef and cook the onions and spices in a skillet first. That step is where most of the flavor comes from.
- Move everything to the slow cooker with the tomatoes and broth. Use a little less broth than the recipe calls for, since almost nothing evaporates.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5.
- Add the sweet potatoes for the last 2 hours on low (1 hour on high) so they hold their shape. Add the chickpeas and dried fruit for the last 30 minutes.
Instant Pot
You could also make this tagine in an instant pot. To maintain the flavor of the tagine when using an instant pot, you may want to consider the following tips:
- Use the sauté setting to brown the beef in batches, then cook the onions and spices.
- Add the tomatoes and broth and scrape the bottom of the pot well, which helps prevent a burn warning.
- Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Add the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and dried fruit. Cook on high pressure for 4 more minutes and release the pressure right away.
Adding a Moroccan Chermoula
Moroccan dishes are often served with a garnish or a relish called chermoula or charmoula. It is similar to Latin American chimichurri and it works well as an enhancement to this stew. Here is a classic way of making chermoula:
Basic Chermoula Recipe:
[yield 1/2 cup]
Combine the spices and herbs:
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- a pinch of cayenne
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Chop the herbs and garlic very finely, or pulse them in a food processor. Stir in the spices, lemon juice, and salt, then the olive oil. Taste and add more lemon or salt if it needs it. Makes about ½ cup and keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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FAQ
Mostly. The beef, chickpeas, tomatoes, and spices all fit. The sweet potatoes and dried fruit don’t, so for strict slow carb leave out the fruit and swap the sweet potatoes for cauliflower added in the last 15 minutes.
No. A Dutch oven works perfectly. The tagine’s cone-shaped lid traps steam efficiently, but the covered Dutch oven achieves similar results.
Chuck roast, trimmed and cubed yourself. Avoid pre-cut “stew meat” from the grocery store, which is often mixed cuts that cook unevenly.
A North African spice blend meaning “head of the shop,” referring to a vendor’s best spices. Blends vary but typically include cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, coriander, and sometimes nutmeg or dried rose petals.
A Moroccan herb and spice relish similar to chimichurri. Made with cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, and olive oil. Drizzle over the finished stew.
Yes. Brown the meat and sauté the onions and spices first for better flavor, then transfer everything to the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
North African stews use warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger rather than the herb-based seasoning common in European stews. They often combine sweet and savory elements, adding dried fruit alongside braised meat. Traditional tagine cooking is low and slow in a cone-shaped clay pot that traps steam and concentrates flavors. A Dutch oven produces very similar results without the specialty equipment.
Skipping the sear on the beef, using lean steak instead of chuck, boiling instead of simmering, and adding the sweet potatoes too early so they turn to mush. Cooking the spices in the hot fat for a minute before the liquid goes in also makes a big difference.
Brown the meat well, cook the spices with the onions before adding liquid, and keep the simmer low and slow. Then finish with something fresh and sharp, like chermoula or a squeeze of lemon.
Yes. Use about 1 tablespoon in place of the cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and chile powder.
This is one of several warming stews I come back to through fall and winter. For more slow-simmered options, browse the full soups and stews collection
Moroccan Beef and Sweet Potato Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ Lbs beef chuck roast. trimmed and cubed
- 1 tsp cardamom ground
- ½ tsp cinnamon ground
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp ginger ground
- ½ to 1 tsp powdered harissa
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz Diced tomatoes
- 3 cups beef broth or vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 2 medium sweet potatoes Peeled and cut into 1-2" chunks
- 15 oz canned chickpeas
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 oz. dried apricots
- ¾ cups prunes pitted and chopped
- garnishes: chopped scallions
Instructions
- Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add meat and sear or brown, tossing occasionally to get sear on all sides (about 5 minutes). While meat is browning, grind and measure out the spices (cardamom through pepper mix) and place in small bowl.2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 Lbs beef chuck roast., 1 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 to 1 tsp powdered harissa
- Remove meat to platter when finished browning and add onions to the pot. Saute the onions over medium heat 3-5 minutes until translucent and then add garlic for 1 minute (don’t burn garlic). Add ground spices and stir into the onion-garlic mix. Saute spice-onion mix for 1-2 minutes.1 large yellow onion, 5 cloves garlic
- Add the meat back into the pot, along with the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Turn the pot to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.28 oz Diced tomatoes, 3 cups beef broth
- Add the sweet potatoes to the pot and simmer for another 1/2 hour or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. (if using prunes and/or apricots, add them at this point)2 medium sweet potatoes, 4 oz. dried apricots, 3/4 cups prunes
- Add garbanzo beans, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes.15 oz canned chickpeas, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
- To serve: garnish with scallions, orange zest or toasted almondsgarnishes: chopped scallions
Notes
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- a pinch of cayenne
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- You can substitute chili powder if you don’t have harissa powder
- dried apricots and prunes are not slow carb compliant
delicious!! I will definitely make this again, and soon! thank you for a very tasty full of flavor recipe that’s not a ton of work to make.
I’m so glad you found it to be good without a ton of work….that is my aim. I truly appreciate the comment and the 5-star rating…it helps bring other people to the site so I can continue working. Thanks!
I searched for a savory and sweet beef stew to pair with a Bual Madeira. It was amazing!!