Moroccan spices are the perfect flavor addition for chicken thighs, roasted vegetables, and tomato-based stews. When I traveled to Morocco in college, I fell in love with the warm spices. I remember eating the most delicious tagine and Moroccan Chicken, yum!

Here’s how to make your own homemade Moroccan spice blend with 7 basic spices you probably already have!

What Makes This Seasoning Great

Any recipe is only as good a the spices in it. This Moroccan spice blend is packed with flavor and is a favorite in my kitchen for so many reasons.

• This Moroccan seasoning is savory and slightly smoky. It has wonderful hints of cumin, ginger, and turmeric. It has a delicious balance.
• It’s typically a beautiful orange in color thanks to the cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and cayenne.
• I make a batch of this blend to keep at all times because it’s an easy way to add delicious flavor to the simplest meals.

What spices are in a Moroccan spice blend?

All you need is 7 total ingredients for our homemade Moroccan spices, and you likely have all of these on hand already!

• Cumin is a warm and earthy spice.
• Turmeric pairs well with warm spices and adds gorgeous color to any meal.
• Ginger powder is a warm and spicy ground spice.
• Garlic powder is a savory and earthy spice that everyone loves.
• Chili powder is an earthy and savory spice that can sometimes make spices a little spicy, depending on the freshness of the mix.
• Cayenne powder is earthy and spicy.
• Salt enhances all of the flavors of the other spices.

How to Use Moroccan Spice Blend

I love using this spice blend to flavor simple things like simple vegetables or sauces. Below are more ways you can utilize this spice mix.

Chicken: I love making Moroccan chicken and have great recipes for Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken and a One-Pot Moroccan Chicken. These recipes call for chicken thighs, but you can easily use this blend for breasts, legs, and whole chicken. Use about 3 tablespoons of spices for 1.5 lbs. of chicken.

Other Meat: Try using a tablespoon or two with ground beef or turkey for a Moroccan twist on tacos or lettuce wraps!

Roasted Veggies: Sprinkle on a tablespoon or two over a pan of roasted veggies before you roast them for a delicious flavor boost.

Soup: This blend would be delicious in any soup or stew. I recommend using 2 tablespoons in our Sweet Potato Lentil Stew in place of the other spices it calls for.

How do I store this blend?

Store your spice blend in a glass container or jar in a cool, dark place.

Glass

Spice Jars

Organize your homemade spices with this empty glass spice jar set!

Inspiration for this Blend

This Moroccan spice blend is a simplified, pantry-friendly version of Ras el Hanout. Ras el Hanout is a traditional Moroccan spice blend.

What can I use if I don’t have Moroccan seasoning?

If you don’t have Moroccan seasoning, you can use a few teaspoons of any of the seasonings below mixed together.

• garlic powder
• turmeric powder
• cayenne pepper
• ginger powder
• onion powder
• ground cumin
• chili powder

Which spices, herbs, and condiments are most commonly used in Moroccan cooking?

Moroccan cooking uses a variety of delicious dried herbs, fresh herbs, and condiments. Some commonly used fresh herbs are mint and thyme, and dried spices may consist of garlic, cumin, turmeric, cumin, and chili powder.

Honeynut squash is a modern marvel, a vegetable that’s younger than the iPhone, YouTube, and Olivia Rodrigo. Now at farmers markets and grocery stores across the country, typically from September to December, the honeynut squash as we know it was released around 2009 as a collaboration between the Plant Breeding and Genetics department at Cornell University and chef Dan Barber’s team at the upstate New York restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Their dream was a shrunken, single-serve butternut squash that needs little more than a high-heat roast to become absurdly delicious. This recipe starts there—then adds some creamy, tangy, spicy toppings to gild the lily.

In 30 minutes, the squashes emerge from the oven tender and browned, with little cups (where the seeds used to be) waiting to be filled. The answer here—as it is with cantaloupe halves for some people, you know who you are—is cottage cheese. Now is the time to get the good stuff. Our test kitchen is devoted to Good Culture, but if you can’t find that brand or another high-quality, whole-milk version, swap in another dairy, like plain Greek yogurt.

The rest of the dish can likewise be treated as a template. If honeynut evades you, opt for any winter squash and adjust accordingly. Cottage cheese and chili crisp would be equally gleeful atop butternut quarters or delicata rings (no need to peel either; roast until tender). If seasoned rice vinegar is in your pantry, use that and skip the added salt and sugar in step 3. Whatever the specifics, it’s a special-enough side dish to also make as a vegetarian main course.

These Hickory BBQ Roasted Sheet Pan Vegetables are smoky, saucy, and super simple to make! A healthy, flavorful side dish or plant-based main that’s budget-friendly thanks to Yo Mama’s BBQ Sauce.

Not to be dramatic, but these Hickory BBQ Roasted Sheet Pan Vegetables might just be the best thing to ever happen to your weeknight dinner rotation. Saucy, smoky, and a little bit sweet, they’re the kind of veggies that convert even the pickiest eaters. Think roasted caramelized edges, tender bites, and a rich Hickory BBQ flavor that tastes like summer cookouts without ever firing up the grill.

Oh, and bonus: You can save money on my go-to sauce (Yo Mama’s Hickory BBQ) by using code HEALTHYHELPER at checkout. I highly recommend stocking up because once you taste it, you’ll want to drizzle it on everything.

Ingredients for Hickory BBQ Roasted Sheet Pan Vegetables:

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 cup Brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• ½ cup Yo Mama’s Hickory BBQ Sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
2. In a small bowl, mix Yo Mama’s Hickory BBQ Sauce with olive oil until well combined. This flavorful blend will be the secret sauce that takes your veggies to the next level!
3. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the chopped broccoli, sliced red onion, cubed sweet potatoes, sliced red pepper, halved Brussels sprouts, and grape tomatoes.
4. Drizzle the BBQ sauce and olive oil mixture over the veggies, ensuring they’re evenly coated. Use your hands or a spoon to toss everything together until every vegetable is glistening with that irresistible smoky sauce.
5. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan, making sure they’re not too crowded. This allows them to roast evenly and develop a delicious caramelized exterior.
6. Season the veggies with salt and pepper to taste, then pop the sheet pan into the preheated oven.
7. Roast the vegetables for 25-30 minutes, or until they’re tender and slightly charred around the edges. Keep an eye on them towards the end of the cooking time to prevent burning.
8. Once roasted to perfection, remove the sheet pan from the oven and let the veggies cool slightly before serving.
9. Transfer the BBQ roasted sheet pan vegetables to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh herbs like chopped parsley or cilantro for an extra pop of color and flavor.
10. Serve your BBQ roasted sheet pan vegetables as a standalone dish for a hearty vegetarian meal, or pair them with your favorite protein for a complete and satisfying feast!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Whether you’re meal-prepping for the week or just trying to eat more plants without the sad salad energy, this sheet pan dinner brings the flavor and the feel-good. So go ahead, get saucy, save money, and roast your heart out.

Let me know in the comments how you serve your BBQ veggie mix (and if you add any other faves to the pan…zucchini, mushrooms, and cauliflower totally belong here too!).

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Note: Delightfully (to me and perhaps to you, too), this works best with green cabbage, that inexpensive, sturdy workhorse you can find everywhere and often in the back of my fridge, neglected. This recipe was originally published in my third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers, a sort of odd man out recipe I didn’t expect anyone but me to love, and was delighted to be proven wrong.