These Roasted Sweet Potatoes topped with Harissa Chickpeas are a filling high fiber lunch or dinner. They have a delicious Middle-Eastern inspired flavor profile, with sweet and spicy flavors, topped with a creamy tahini sauce. The caramelized sweet potato halves are tender and so delicious with the spicy, savory chickpeas. I like to serve this over a bed of fresh baby spinach leaves for some added fresh greens (optional). The prep time is very minimal, and although it takes 1 hour all up, it is very simple to make and mostly hands-off. It’s a wholesome weeknight dinner and is also freezer friendly, a great choice for meal prep.
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An added bonus of this recipe is that it’s also budget-friendly, made with just a few sweet potatoes, some aromatics and a can of chickpeas. This is one of my favorite warming winter dinners, up there with my Vegan Tikka Masala, Cauliflower Dhal and Thai Chickpea Curry.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget-friendly
- Nutritious and filling with lots of veggies. It has a great balance of carbs (sweet potato), protein (chickpeas) and healthy fats (tahini sauce).
- Freezes well, perfect for meal prep
- Comforting and cozy, yet very healthy
Ingredients You’ll Need
For this recipe, the hero ingredients are sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and harissa paste. Harissa adds a spicy, smoky depth to the dish with notes of garlic, olive oil, and spices like caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds.
Here’s your shopping list for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Harissa Chickpeas:
- Sweet potatoes
- Canned chickpeas
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Harissa paste
- Olive oil
- Cumin
- Salt
- Cilantro
- Tahini
- Maple syrup
- Lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- Ground black pepper
If you can’t find harissa, you could try making your own from scratch – this is a simple homemade harissa recipe from Minimalist Baker.
Instructions
Below, you’ll find a visual tutorial detailing the process of crafting Harissa chickpeas. For precise measurements, timings, and temperatures, refer to the recipe card located at the end of this article.
Step One: Preheat your oven and halve the sweet potatoes.
Step Two: Roast the sweet potatoes until they’re soft and caramelized.
Step Three: Make the tahini sauce by combining all the ingredients until smooth.
Step Four: Cook the onions until they’re starting to brown.
Step Five: Add the chickpeas, garlic, harissa paste, cumin, and salt to the pan.
Step Six: Continue cooking until the chickpeas are well coated and heated through.
Step Seven: Garnish the tahini sauce with chopped cilantro.
Substitutions & Variations
Short on an ingredient, or need to swap something out? Here are some substitutions I can suggest:
- Harissa: I really recommend trying to find harissa paste for this recipe as it is the key ingredient and has a lovely complex flavor profile of garlic and spices. It kind of defines the dish! If you’re really in a pinch and want to make a similar style recipe, but with a different flavor profile, you could try swapping it for red curry paste instead. But, it really will be an entirely different dish at that point. Feel free to experiment though, that’s the fun part about cooking after all 🙂
- Chickpeas: I love this dish with chickpeas as they are in keeping with a Middle-Eastern inspired flavor profile but you could also swap them for cannellini, butter beans in a pinch.
- Lemon: can be swapped with lime.
- Coriander: can be replaced with fresh flat-leaf parsley.
- Kid-Friendly Variation: omit the harissa and add 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika for a non-spicy option suitable for young kids. It will be a very different dish, but still tasty.
Storage
Keep the components separately and store leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, you can freeze chickpeas and sweet potatoes separately in airtight containers for up to 2 months; however, the tahini sauce is best made fresh, I don’t recommend freezing as it may split when thawed. If you do freeze the chickpeas or sweet potato, thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.
Expert Tips
- Roasting sweet potatoes cut side down allows them to caramelize in their own juices, they get super sweet and tender. Plus, it’s easier than peeling and dicing. Win win!
- Harissa paste is very spicy and the heat level varies by brand. Start off with just 1 teaspoon and add more to suit your taste. If you love spice, you might even want to increase it right up to 1-2 tablespoons, but I’d suggest starting with less first.
FAQ
Harissa is a spicy chili paste originating from Tunisia. It has a bold, smoky flavor with savory and earthy notes of garlic, olive oil, and spices like caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds.
If you don’t have harissa, you can substitute it with spicy chili sauces like Sriracha or sambal oelek. However, note that the flavor profile may differ slightly.
Once opened, harissa paste can typically be stored in the refrigerator for up to several months. Be sure to check the label for specific storage instructions and use it before its expiry date for best quality.
Serving Suggestions and More Recipes
I love to serve this over a simple bed of baby spinach leaves for added greens. It would also be super tasty with some wilted kale and cooked quinoa.
If you’re looking for more wholesome and filling plant-based dinner ideas then you should check out my Egyptian Koshari, Supergreen Healthy Mac n Cheese, Hearty Dhal or Thai Chickpea Curry.
If you enjoy this recipe, I would be super grateful if you could leave a star rating and review—it really helps the algorithm send my recipes to more people! You can also tag me in your photos on Instagram @glowdiaries___ and I will reshare your posts to stories—I am so proud to see you make my recipes!
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Harissa Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes medium; (about 10 oz or 300g each; approx. 900g total)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (30ml) divided
- 1 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas (300g) drained
- 1 yellow onion medium; (135g) diced
- 2 cloves garlic (10g) minced
- 1-2 teaspoon harissa paste adjust to taste; (5–10g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (2g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3g)
Tahini sauce
- 5 tablespoon tahini (75ml)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (15ml)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (30ml)
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard (10ml)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (1g)
- 2-4 tablespoon water (30-60ml)
To Serve:
- cilantro to garnish chopped
- baby spinach leaves to serve, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking pan with parchment paper or foil and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the surface.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes and slice each in half lengthwise, leaving the skin on. Place cut-side down on the prepared pan and rub into the oil to coat.
- Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 25–30 minutes, or until soft and golden underneath.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together tahini, maple syrup, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. The mixture will thicken – gradually add water, a tablespoon at a time, until smooth and pourable. Set aside.
- When the sweet potatoes are nearly done, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and cook for 5–7 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Add the chickpeas, minced garlic, harissa paste, cumin, and salt. Cook for another 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chickpeas are heated through and slightly crisped.
- Flip the roasted sweet potatoes cut-side up. Spoon the harissa chickpeas over each half. Drizzle with tahini sauce, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and serve with baby spinach if desired.
Tine says
loved the gentle kick from the harissa chickpeas, and the sweet potato balanced it so well!! I will be making this again!