Apricot, Almond & Chickpea Tagine
with Zucchini, Basmati Rice & Chermoula
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
Tagine is named for the conical clay vessel it’s traditionally cooked in. However, you don’t need one to make this dish—the entire meal comes together with the pots and pans you already have! Here, our chefs’ riff on the dish swaps the usual couscous for fluffy basmati rice, then adds hearty veggies, fragrant spices, sweet apricots, and crunchy almonds. On top, there’s two flavorful sauces: lemon cream and chermoula. The chermoula is chock-full of cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lemon, and jalapeño, which adds the perfect punch. If this all sounds complicated, it’s not! All you need is 30 minutes for this awesome dish to land on your table.
Ingredients
1 unit
Zucchini
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1 clove
Garlic
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Lemon
1 unit
Jalapeño
13.4 ounce
Chickpeas
½ cup
Basmati Rice
2 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
4 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Tunisian Spice Blend
½ ounce
Sliced Almonds
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 ounce
Dried Apricots
1 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
2 tablespoon
Olive Oil
2 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and dice onion. Mince cilantro. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Zest and halve lemon. Mince jalapeño, removing ribs and seeds for less heat. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick half-moons. Drain and rinse chickpeas.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add ¼ of the onion; cook, stirring, until just softened, 2-3 minutes. • Stir in rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4 servings), one of the stock concentrates (two for 4), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, in a small bowl, combine cilantro, 2 TBSP olive oil (3 TBSP for 4 servings), a pinch of garlic, salt, and pepper. Add lemon juice to taste and as much jalapeño as you like. Taste and add more garlic if desired. • In a separate small bowl, combine sour cream, a pinch of salt, and as much lemon zest as you like. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and remaining onion. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes (7-10 minutes for 4 servings). • Add Tunisian Spice, remaining garlic, and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
• Add 1⁄3 cup water (²⁄3 cup for 4 servings) and remaining stock concentrate to pan. • Stir in chickpeas and bring tagine to a low simmer. Cook until liquid has slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes. • Reduce heat to low; stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Season with salt and pepper. • Divide rice between plates and top with tagine, almonds, and apricots. (TIP: Toast almonds before adding if you like.) Drizzle with lemon crema and chermoula. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired. Cut any remaining lemon into wedges and serve on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many love the complex, layered flavors with sweet apricots balancing spicy and savory notes 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Some found it time-consuming with lots of chopping, but most agree the result is worth the effort.
- Suggestions: Consider roasting the zucchini and chickpeas for better texture; try adding chicken or shrimp for extra protein.
- Leftovers: Several mentioned it reheats well, with some even preferring the flavors the next day.
- Portions: A few wished for more rice or zucchini to balance the chickpeas and create a heartier meal.
Reviews from our home cooks
Oh, this is outstanding! I often tell friends and family that I'd prefer to stay home and eat because my HelloFresh recipes that I cook are better than eating at restaurants! This Tagine is wonderful! It has a lot of steps, and a lot of ingredients but it made it a lot of food, a very hearty meal! The jasmine rice with onion and veggie stock is a tasty base to this dish. The zucchini and onion and chickpea tagine with Tunisian spices and garlic, mmmmm, so aromatic! The chermoula and lemon cream (oh, happy jalapeños!), gave an already yummy dish fantastic flavor splashes! A drizzle of Cholula hot sauce, chopped dried sweet apricots, and sliced almonds (which I pan-toasted) to finish...oh, man, superb! Spicy, aromatic, salty, sweet, nutty, and sour with heat and cool! Perfect!
We can see how this is a Hall of Famer. The Apricot, Almond, and Chickpea Tagine was delicious! All the flavors blended well together. The Chermoula and Crema stood out individually and added balance to the jalapeno. Plus the apricot brought in the sweetness. We would make this again!
This recipe is so flavorful! From the fragrant onions and garlic,to the fresh and summery taste of lemon And cilantro! The jasmine rice cooked perfectly, the sauces and the chewy sweet apricots and crunchy nutty almonds with the chickpeas and zucchini are just so fantastic!
Very, very flavorful and good; easy to cook! I put have the dried apricots in the chickpea mixture to cook and soften and the other half on top as the recipe called for. Two different but similar flavors, both were delicious!
Delicious. The Tunisian Spice blend is SO good! Lots of flavor in this and the chickpeas and basmati rice go well together. The apricots add a nice sweetness and chewy texture and the combo of the Chermoula sauce and sour cream and lemon add a nice zest!
I loved this more than expected! I did make one substitution, which was couscous I had in the pantry for the rice because I was craving tagine with couscous specifically. I also cooked some of the apricots into the stew because they're often cooked in tagine. I used very little jalapeño because I'm a bit sensitive but next time I think I'll use more! The acidity and heat with the warm spices and subtle sweetness was amazing. I'm trying to learn to eat beans and chickpeas (I'm not fond of the texture) but I really enjoyed this!
Well, this was a surprise. What a tasty meal this was! I had no idea what to expect, or what tagine even was... I still don't really know. The rice was fabulous, the chickpea and zucchini mixture was fantastic. I have left overs. Yes, this was a great meal. However, I made a big mess.
Very interesting recipe. I've never eaten anything close to this kind of meal, and I'm glad I tried. Surprisingly filling considering there was no meat in it. Would love to try different version of this kind of meal in the future. Loved chickpea and different textures all in one bowl (ex. apricot, almond). Such a genius cuisine. Sauces were good too. Thanks.
The apricot, almond & chickpea tagine is one of my favorite hello fresh meals, if not actually my #1 favorite. The swapping of the rice with quinoa for this weeks recipe though was not the best move. It changed the flavor profile and the meal turned from one of my favorites to very mediocre. I'd really recommend sticking with the rice on this one instead of quinoa moving forward
Very tasty. Next time, toast chickpeas in pan, use 2nd half lemon juice in sour cream instead of water, stir apricots into rice at end of cooking to absorb any cooking liquid.
