Moroccan Chicken

This Moroccan Chicken is such a flavorful dish. It’s a one skillet meal that’s a combination of chicken, warm spices, onions, tomatoes, dried apricots and Kalamata olives. It’s sure to please your taste buds!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

First off, it’s incredibly flavorful and delicious. You’ve got a tangy sauce that’s made with warm spices, chewy dried apricots, smoky, salty Kalamata olives…it’s such a hearty, comforting dish.

Second, it’s a one skillet meal and you can’t beat that. The more one skillet meals I’ve got in my arsenal the better.

I made my Moroccan Chicken with boneless skinless chicken breasts because you know who loves white meat, but you can also make it with chicken thighs.

It’s delicious served on top of some pearl couscous with maybe some crusty bread for soaking up some of that tasty sauce.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The first step is to combine all the spices for your ras el hanout and set aside.

The next step is to cook your chicken breasts in your skillet with some olive oil and butter until just lightly browned on both sides and cooked through, then you’ll remove it from the skillet, place it on a plate and cover it.

You will add your onions and cook them over medium-high heat until they’re lightly browned. Then you will add your garlic and cook for an additional minute.

To the cooked onions and garlic you will add your spice blend and mix until the onions are well coated.

At this point you will add your tomatoes, chicken stock, apricots and lemon zest and stir until well combined. You will want this mixture to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes before you add your Kalamata olives followed by your cooked chicken and cilantro and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes until heated though.

I really hope you guys give it a go because you’ll be blown away by the flavor. Sweet, salty, smoky. It’s got it all!

Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken

Author: MaryAnn Dwyer

Servings: 4 servings

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This Moroccan Chicken is such a flavorful dish. It's a one skillet meal that's a combination of chicken, warm spices, onions, tomatoes, dried apricots and Kalamata olives. It's sure to please your taste buds!

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients  

Ras El Hanout Spice Blend

• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Moroccan Chicken

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into thin cutlets
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 cups crushed fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 tsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions 

Ras El Hanout

• Combine all ingredients and whisk together. Set aside.

Moroccan Chicken

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Brown the chicken, making sure not to overcrowd for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and set aside while you make the sauce.
• Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the Ras el hanout spice blend and stir constantly for 1 minute.
• Add your tomatoes, chicken stock, apricots and lemon zest and stir until well combined. You will want this mixture to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes before you add your Kalamata olives followed by your cooked chicken along with any accumulated juices and cilantro and continue to cook for 5 minutes until heated though. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let rest five minutes before serving. Serve over cooked pearl couscous, if desired.

Notes

As I mentioned above, you can make this recipe with chicken breasts or chicken thighs. If you substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs just season them with salt and pepper and cook them over medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes until nice and brown. You'll remove the chicken from the skillet and proceed with the recipe. Once you add the chicken back into the sauce, you will want to continue to cook the chicken until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.

Keyword: Chicken, one skillet meal, ras el hanout

Cuisine: Moroccan

Course: Main Dish