Moroccan Chicken: Authentic Recipes and Techniques

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Moroccan cuisine is known for its vibrant flavors, aromatic spices, and fresh herbs. One of the most popular dishes is Moroccan chicken, which can be prepared in various ways, from the traditional tagine to modern skewers. This article will guide you through the best recipes and techniques for making delicious and authentic Moroccan chicken.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine: A Traditional Delight

The easiest one-pan dinner inspired by the famous Moroccan Chicken Tagine with olives and preserved lemons! I grew up eating a variation of this every single week and nothing beats my mom’s roasted chicken. This is my take on it and it’s packed with so much flavor from the potatoes to the chicken to the marinade!

Traditionally, Moroccan Chicken Tagine is served with french fries and bread. It is not eaten with rice! My mom makes it with french fries or these circular fried potato rounds that are sooo so good.

Making the Marinade

The marinade is super simple yet super flavorful! If you’ve ever made the Moroccan Chicken Skewers from the blog, this recipe will look super familiar. Only this time we are using chicken drumsticks instead of thighs and no skewers are involved!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

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  • Olive oil
  • Plain yogurt
  • Parsley
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic
  • Paprika
  • Cumin
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger
  • Saffron threads (optional)

Just combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Traditionally, Moroccan chicken uses saffron but I know it can be an expensive ingredient. If you have the ability to add it, definitely go for it as it has such a distinct taste to this dish. Otherwise, you will be just fine without it!

Assembling and Baking

To a large baking dish, you’ll add the chicken drumsticks, baby gold potatoes that have been cut in half, and lemon slices. Pour the marinade in and mix to coat everything evenly. Try to lay the potatoes flat face down on the dish so they can crisp up nicely.

Bake uncovered in a preheated oven at 400°F for about 50 to 60 minutes. To get the skin golden and crispy, broil for 3 to 5 additional more minutes at the end but make sure to watch it closely to prevent burning.

Once it is out of the oven, add black or green olives and preserved lemons (the peel only). Garnish with more chopped parsley and/or cilantro to enjoy with bread on the side!

Variations to Try

It is also very common in Moroccan Chicken Tagine to add green peas! If you’d like to add green peas, add them towards the end in the last five minutes since they don’t need much cooking time.

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Where to Buy Preserved Lemons

You can find preserved lemons at Middle Eastern stores or World Market but your best is to order them from Amazon in advance if you plan on making this dish! Here is the link to purchase them on Amazon from a Moroccan brand called Mina.

Moroccan Chicken Skewers: A Flavorful Twist

Juicy chicken skewers that are "grilled" in the oven to perfection! The marinade is inspired by Moroccan chermoula which is typically made from garlic and fresh herbs like cilantro and parsley and spiced with cumin and paprika. They're so easy to make with no hassle of going outside to grill on the BBQ and no one will ever know.

Did you know you can make juicy chicken skewers in the oven with no BBQ or mess? It’s effortless but they come out so impressive with beautiful char marks as if you did grill. You can even add some bell peppers or onions to the skewers to incorporate more veggies.

Moroccan Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients for Moroccan Chicken Skewers

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic to taste
  • 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
  • Sumac and parsley or cilantro to garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add the chicken which has been cut into small pieces.
  2. Then add the olive oil, yogurt, paprika, cumin, salt, onion powder, ginger, black pepper, turmeric, minced garlic, parsley, and cilantro.
  3. Mix all together to marinade evenly.
  4. Cover and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
  5. If you don't want the wooden skewers to burn in the oven, soak them in warm water for about 20 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  7. Thread the pieces of chicken onto the skewer. If the piece is kind of long thread it twice through the skewer so it's not dangling off. Once the skewer is full, repeat with the other skewers until all the chicken is threaded.
  8. Place the skewers on your rack and tray, making sure they are spaced apart.
  9. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip over and roast for another 5 minutes. Make sure the chicken has cooked through in the center and then take out of the oven.
  10. Garnish with more cilantro or parsley and a sprinkle of sumac.

Air Fryer Moroccan Chicken Kabobs

Chicken Shawarma Skewers is the easiest dinner you can make in under 30 minutes. Serve it in a rice bowl, with salad, or even some fries. The craziest part is no grilling or BBQ necessary, it’s all made in the air fryer!

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Ingredients

  • Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Allspice
  • Cumin
  • Paprika
  • Sumac
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Turmeric
  • Coriander

Instructions

  1. Chop the chicken thighs into pieces and add to a bowl with all the ingredients listed above. Mix together to marinade evenly. You can start skewering it right away and cook it.
  2. The other option if you have time or want to prep ahead of time, cover and let it marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes. The longer the better, you could even let it sit overnight.
  3. After marinating, thread the chicken onto wooden or metal skewers. If using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes before adding the chicken so they don’t burn. This recipe makes about 4 to 6 skewers depending on how much you fill them in.
  4. If your air fryer requires preheating, set it to 400°F. Spray the surface if necessary and add the skewers in. Air fry for about 6 to 8 minutes or until golden and charred on top and then rotate. Air fry for another 6 to 8 minutes! And that’s it, you have chicken skewers in 15 minutes all in the air fryer.

The Smoking Trick

If you love the smokey taste of BBQ but don’t have a grill or the weather is not great outside, this hack will change the game for you! All you need is a piece of coal and oil.

  1. To an open flame, add a piece of coal and let it get completely white on one side, it will take a few minutes. Flip over and repeat on the other side.
  2. Once it is all white, transfer it to a small bowl made of foil. Add it to the air fryer after the skewers have cooked - the air fryer is off at this step.
  3. Drizzle a bit of oil on the coal and it will start to smoke. Seal the air fryer shut and let the kabobs smoke to infuse that flavor. Leave it shut for about ten minutes.

5 Chicken Marinades for Meal Prep

Entering 2024, I made a goal for my family that we would try to minimize how much we eat out in the new year. I truly don’t enjoy eating out that much to be completely honest, I prefer my own food so much more but sometimes the day just gets too busy or tiring to cook. The biggest obstacle for me is simply planning in advance. If I don’t plan, I get lazy to go to the store and figure out what we want to eat. To avoid this issue, I thought of marinating a bunch of protein and just leaving it in the freezer for those days I did not plan what to have for dinner!

2. MOROCCAN CHICKEN

The marinade for Moroccan chicken skewers is one of the most popular recipes on the blog! It is inspired by this chicken dish that my mom makes at least once a week. It’s packed with so many fresh herbs, lots of garlic, and ginger. The yogurt base makes it so light and refreshing as well. I love enjoying this with some salad, with bread in a sandwich, or some basmati rice.

How to Prepare the Marinade

Preparing the marinades is actually super simple and does not take too long. You can either use five different bowls or five mason jars to prepare each marinade.

Just add all the ingredients for every marinade in the bowl/jar and mix together well and that’s it.

Storage and Thawing

Now that all the meat is marinaded and in ziploc bags, it’s time to store them in the freezer! The whole point of doing this is so that you have some meals ready to go for a few months ahead. If you store these in the refrigerator, they’ll go bad in a few days. So right after prepping them, place them in the freezer on a shelf away from other non-meat items for food safety.

BEST PRACTICES FOR THAWING THE MEAT

Meat is stored, it’s frozen! Now what to do when you want to cook it up for dinner? The safest way to thaw any meat is to take it out from the freezer 24 hours before and transfer it to the refrigerator.

Other Chicken Recipes to Try

More Skewer and Kabob Recipes to Try!

  • Oven-Baked Kefta
  • Chicken Satay
  • Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken Skewers
  • Tandoori Chicken Skewers
  • Beef Koobideh

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tags: #Moroccan