Easy Chicken and Vegetable Tagine Recipe
This easy Chicken And Vegetable Tagine will transport your taste buds to a bustling Moroccan marketplace. Tender chicken simmers alongside an abundance of vegetables and chickpeas in a fragrant tomato broth to produce a simple dish with hearty flavours.
In This Article
Nutritional Benefits
A Tagine is a traditional slow-cooked Moroccan dish that’s an integral part of Moroccan cuisine. This dish contains a good mix of nutrients with the various components providing protein, fibre, antioxidants and plenty of vitamins and minerals. The stand out ingredient for me though is the Ras el Hanout, or Moroccan spice.
Ras el hanout is an Arabic name that literally translates to “head of the shop”. In the context of spices, it translates to a mixture of the best spices the shop has to offer. Culinary herbs and spices are excellent food as medicine aids, something I was reminded of when travelling through Morocco. Herblists run the little spice stands in Moroccan markets and each herbalist has a family recipe for ras el hanout that can contain anywhere from a dozen to three dozen (or so!) spices.
Many spices boast a vast array of health benefits, with thanks to their high concentration of bioactive compounds (1). They are well-known anti-inflammatories – turmeric is one of the best (2), can help manage blood sugar – hello cinnamon! (3), they support heart health (4) and they can work to improve gut health (1) in addition to helping with things like nausea or upset stomach (5). Simply adding spices to our meals on a regular basis ensures we will reap the benefits.
Ingredients – What You Need To Make This Recipe
The ingredients used in this tagine recipe come together to create a satisfying dish full of warming flavors that are characteristic of Moroccan cuisine. The aromatic spices found in Ras el hanout make this spice blend worth seeking out. You’ll find it in Middle Eastern stores or good local delis.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – adding protein to make this a hearty, filling dish. Skinless chicken breasts are another option, but they can dry out more easily.
- Mixed vegetables – add plenty of colour, texture and flavor in addition to an abundance of nutrients.
- Chickpeas – adding more protein but legumes of any sort are also a great source of fibre.
- Crushed tomatoes and chicken stock – create a base for the sauce, adding acidity along with a touch of sweetness and richness.
- Extra virgin olive oil – carries the flavors of the aromatics and helps brown the chicken.
- Dried apricots – add sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Other dried fruit if preferred is also fine. Figs and dates are equally delicious.
- Garlic cloves – adds depth of flavour and a little pungency.
- Green olives – adding extra salt and tanginess.
- Ras el hanout (Moroccan spice) – brings warmth, floral notes, and a touch of citrus to the dish. Moroccan seasoning is entirely different to moroccan spice so don’t confuse the two.
- Cinnamon – brings warmth and sweetness.
- Salt and black pepper – used to enhance the other flavours.
- Optional toppings – chopped herbs (like parsley and coriander), a drizzle of lemon juice, pine nuts, or some finely chopped preserved lemon or lemon zest.
This is a very forgiving recipe and can easily manage additions or exclusions. You can change the veg to any that you have on hand, you can swap the chicken for more veg and you can adjust the level of spice too. See the substitutions and variations section below for more ideas.
How To Make A Chicken Tagine
Served with cous cous, rice or a delicious sourdough bread this easy chicken tagine recipe is a crowd pleaser. It’s full of flavour, is beautiful when placed on the table and is the ultimate comfort food on a cold night.
- Place your tagine in a cold oven and heat to 360ºF/180ºC.
- Add olive oil to a large pot, followed by the chicken. Cook the chicken over a medium-high heat until browned (a couple of minutes) then remove from the pot and set aside.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the rest of the olive oil to the same pot along with the onions, chilli and garlic. Fry gently until onions are completely softened (about 5 minutes).
- Add in the ras el hanout and cinnamon and fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chickpeas and diced tomatoes and stir well to combine.
- Add in the remaining vegetables, apricots, olives, reserved chicken and the chicken stock then season with salt and pepper. Stir everything well to combine.
- Remove the warmed tagine from the oven and fill with the chicken and vegetable mix.
- Cover the tagine with the lid and return to the oven. Cook for 60 to 80 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are thoroughly cooked. It will depend on how big your chicken and vegetable pieces are so it is worth checking at the hour mark.
- Serve with rice, cous cous, quinoa or a crusty bread.
While a tagine pot looks absolutely stunning on the dinner table, if you don’t have one, simply cook this in a dutch oven or any oven-safe pot for which you have a lid. This is also a good option if you just want to make a low-fuss one-pot chicken dish.
Substitutions And Variations
A few easy substitutions will make this recipe suitable for vegetarians or vegans. Sub the chicken for another one to two cups of veg and swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock. You could also add in more beans if you’d like to. Red kidney beans are great.
Feel free to swap the vegetables! Sweet potatoes are a great replacement for the pumpkin or green beans instead of carrots etc. This is actually a great dish for using up what veg you have in the fridge.
Can’t find Ras el Hanout or a good Moroccan spice? Make your own! In a small bowl combine the following spices then store in a small jar out of direct sunlight:
- 2 tsps ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground clove
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ ground fennel seed
Tips For Success With A Chicken Tagine
Don’t skip the toasting of spices in the pot. Giving them that quick 30 seconds on the heat with the onions brings out their aromas.
Change the level of spice to suit your tastes. The chilli can be left out entirely or you can add more if you’d like to.
The bottom of the pan will brown quite a lot as you cook the chicken and then the onions. If this concerns you, you can deglaze the bottom by adding 2 tablespoons of white wine and letting it evaporate/cook off completely. I don’t do this as I find the tomatoes are more than acidic enough to address this when they’re added.
Storing/Freezing/Make Ahead
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
This tagine freezes very well! Let it cool completely, before transferring any leftovers to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To re-heat – thaw it out in the fridge overnight then warm through in the oven.
This tastes even better the next day so it can be made ahead then re-heated before serving
FAQ
The word tagine is both the name of the dish and the earthenware pot in which it’s cooked. The Moroccan varieties have round, shallow bases with conical lids though there are others such as the Egyptian tagine (used in this recipe). These are more like a traditional pot and have a slightly dome-shaped rather than cone-shaped lid.
This spice mixture is considered the king of Moroccan spices. The blend of spices used is typically a complex mix that can include things like cardamom, cloves, turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. It brings warmth, floral notes, and a touch of citrus to the dish. Moroccan seasoning is not a replacement for this spice blend so don’t get them confused.
Most homewares stores will stock a traditional, conical shaped Moroccan tagine as well as clay pots. You just need to choose the one you love!
More Chicken Recipes
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Easy Chicken And Vegetable Tagine Recipe
Equipment
- Large heavy-based saucepan (like a Le Creuset) OR
- Large tagine A traditional Moroccan or an Egyptian clay pot style is fine.
Ingredients
- 14 oz chicken thigh (400g) cut into large chunks (~2.5cm or 1 inch)
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large carrot, cut in half lengthways then chopped into large chunks
- ½ red capsicum, chopped into large chunks
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 5 oz pumpkin, (150g) peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 3.5 oz dried apricots (100g), roughly chopped
- 3.5 oz pitted green olives (100g) halved or quartered
- 1 small birds eye chilli, thinly sliced (optional but delicious if you love a little heat)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp ras el hanout (Moroccan spice)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 8.5 oz chicken stock (250ml)
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place your tagine in a cold oven and heat to 360ºF/180ºC
- Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large pot (see note 1) to warm through, then add the chicken and fry until browned (about 5 minutes). Remove from the pot and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.
- Heat the other ½ tbsp of olive oil in the same pot then add the onion, chilli and garlic. Fry gently until onions are translucent (see note 2).
- Add in the Moroccan spice and cinnamon and fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chickpeas and diced tomatoes and stir well to combine.
- Add in the carrots, capsicum, pumpkin, sweet potato, apricots, green olives, reserved chicken and chicken stock then season with salt and pepper. Stir everything well to combine.
- Remove the warmed tagine from the oven and fill with the chicken and vegetable mix. Cover the tagine with the lid and return to the oven. Cook for 60 to 80 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are cooked through.
- Serve as is or with rice, quinoa, couscous or a delicious crusty bread.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Gabby Campbell
Gabby is a degree qualified Naturopath/Nutritionist (BHSc Nat) with a love of all whole foods. She started her Naturopathic career in clinical practice before making the move to recipe development and online education – a result of wanting to combat the misinformation that abounds on the internet about food and health. Whole Natural Kitchen aims to transform the way you think about healthy eating by helping you embrace an abundance of nutritious foods while leaving the health fads behind. MORE ABOUT GABBY