This Moroccan chicken recipe promises succulent, juicy chicken that's crispy on the outside, flavored with bold Moroccan spices and cooked with olives, prunes, and preserved lemons. The chicken develops a delicious sauce as it bakes which is perfect for mopping up with bread.
With only 15 minutes of active time, follow these easy steps to make it. Don’t be dismayed by the ingredients - lots of substitutions below! This is by no means a traditional Moroccan tagine - but it is definitely inspired by those flavors.
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This right here is the BEST Moroccan Chicken recipe you will find! Super succulent, fall-off-the-bone tender chicken stew w/ warm Moroccan spices, lemons, olives & dried fruit. No ordinary chicken dinner, this easy one-pot wonder will surprise your taste buds in the best way possible.
Chicken tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish of chicken braised with spices, garlic, onion, olives, and preserved lemons. It’s a company-worthy dish yet easy enough to throw together on a not-too-busy weeknight.
Ingredients and Substitutions
The best cut of chicken to use is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Bone-in chicken will release a lot more umami flavor in the sauce, and the skin is perfect if you love a crispy exterior to the chicken. Chicken: I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs in this sheet pan dinner because they’re extra juicy and soak up all of the flavors well.
You’ll also need olive oil, yellow onions, garlic, and chicken broth. For the spices, you will need: cumin, paprika, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cayenne (more or less as desired), salt and black pepper. This blend offers the best mix of warmth, zing, and spice.
Aside from the warm spices, the chicken is also marinated in chopped up preserved lemons, a common ingredient used in North African cooking. Preserved lemons are lemons that have been pickled using a lot of salt and their own juices. Their flavor profile is both lemony and salty with a bitter undertone and a fermented flavor. They add a lot of depth and brightness to the chicken, especially if left to marinate for a few hours.
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Finally, to truly take this chicken to the next level, I also throw in prunes and green olives. Both of these ingredients are classically Moroccan and add sweetness and depth to the final stew. The prunes soften and caramelize, and they’re delicious when you get a piece in your mouth along with the chicken.
For the Prunes: you can substitute dried apricots, pitted and chopped up dates, or raisins. For the pitted Green Olives: you can substitute any other green olive variety or Kalamata olives.
This moroccan baked chicken comes together very quickly with jst a few products and the most important one is the Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar spice blend. This blend is aromatic, floral and sweet and being Middle Eastern, I know a good quality spice when I smell it! I was very impressed by the quality of the blend.
This spice blend is made up of Coriander, Honey, Turmeric, Cinnamon Cassia, Paprika, Rosebud, Cumin, Orange Peel, Allspice and Green Cardamom. This is the reason why I love spice blends - the average person won’t have all these spices in their kitchen cabinet. Getting this Spice Tribe Marrakesh Sitar spice blend or the Spice Tribe Ancient Halaby ( Middle Eastern Chile Blend) spice blends allows you to make so many different types of middle eastern flavored dishes without purchasing 6-7 individual spices- you just grab ONE product and it spices the whole dish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make the chicken marinade, start by draining and chopping the preserved lemon. The first step is to mix together the spices and chopped preserved lemons. This forms the marinade for the chicken.
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Place the chicken in a bowl and combine it with the preserved lemon, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix well until combined. I typically allow the chicken to marinate for at least an hour, or I will do this process the night before and leave it covered in the fridge overnight. Leave it to marinate overnight, or for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large, oven-safe skillet (I use cast iron), heat the olive oil and sear the chicken on medium heat, starting with the skin side down first. Sear the chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Heat up a large cast iron pan (or oven safe skillet) over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Sear the chicken on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden on the outside. It will not be fully cooked, remove and set aside on a plate.
TIP: If you overcrowd your pan when searing chicken, they will not develop a charred crust and will steam instead. Next, build the base of the sauce by softening the onions for 4 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add in the chopped onions and sauté until softened, 3-5 minutes.
Then, add the garlic as well as the additional spices and cook for a few minutes. Add in the garlic as well as the paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and salt, along with the prunes, and continue stirring for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and allow the mixture to come to a rapid bubble. Pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a bubble. Nestle the chicken pieces back into the pan, then sprinkle the olives all around the chicken. Add the olives and nestle the chicken pieces back in the pan with the rest of the ingredients.
Place the skillet in the preheated oven, at 400F. Place in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until fully cooked through and the tops of the chicken are golden. If the tops of the chicken pieces are not as browned, broil for a few minutes to get more colour.
Alternative Cooking Methods
If you don’t have a stove-top skillet that is also oven safe, you may find the initial step of searing the chicken cumbersome. Feel free to skip this and just add the chicken in at the end, before you pop it in the oven. You will just need to broil it for a bit longer.
You can also cook this dish on the stove-top, instead of transferring it to the oven. It will work, but will require covering the chicken with a lid to allow it to cook without drying up the sauce too much.
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Serving Suggestions
I serve this chicken with a side of bread, as well as a salad like my everyday salata. Sometimes, I serve it with basmati vermicelli rice, or a side of couscous. I often serve this Moroccan chicken tagine with plain couscous (super easy to make following the package instructions). You can try your favorite grain or Lebanese rice instead, if you like.
This recipe not only makes and incredible, filling dinner for 4 (or meal prep dinner for 1-2!) but it’s also a great meal to feed more people with additional sides.
Tips and Variations
- You can use boneless and skinless chicken to make this recipe. Be sure to adjust your cooking time down accordingly; boneless chicken will cook more quickly. I prefer to use boneless thighs here than boneless chicken breasts, but both will work.
- If you do have the time, spice the chicken ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight for more pronounced flavor.
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken pieces. Remember to adjust your cooking time down as it will be quicker to cook.
To make vegetarian: try swapping the chicken for extra firm, cubed tofu! After cooking everything according to the instructions, allow your chicken and veggies to cool completely and equally divide everything into 4 separate glass meal prep containers.
Feel free to add the dried cherries, cilantro and pistachios, but I’d recommend leaving off the feta yogurt sauce until you’re ready to serve.
Additional Tips
- Cook's Tip: If you do have the time, spice the chicken ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight for more pronounced flavor.
- Cook's Tip: You can use boneless, skinless chicken pieces. Remember to adjust your cooking time down as it will be quicker to cook.
- Leftover Storage Tip: This Moroccan chicken is even better the next day. Refrigerate leftovers in tight-lid glass containers; it should keep well for 3 days or so. Simply heat stove-top over medium heat.
Nutritional Information
Nutritional information assumes no skin. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee.
The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe.
Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms.
Enjoy your delicious and flavorful baked Moroccan chicken!
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tags: #Moroccan
