Moroccan Chicken Baked Recipe

I often daydream about visiting Morocco, the colorful culture and pristine beaches. Until I brave the long flight with two squirmy kids – I will indulge in this flavorful baked Moroccan chicken dish!

This Moroccan chicken has become one of my favorite ways of preparing chicken for my family. Its not a difficult dish to make but its so packed with flavor that some might think it took a lot of effort to prepare!

What Spices are Used for the Baked Moroccan Chicken?

Moroccan food is known for its spices. Not necessarily that their food is spicy but the amount of spice used is abundant. There are many different spices and variations to this recipe. The spices we use for this baked Moroccan Chicken recipe are coriander seeds, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin and chili flakes.

What Do You Serve with this Moroccan Chicken Baked Recipe?

I usually serve this with a side of rice, however the more authentic side would be with couscous. Unfortunately, its not a favorite in my household. Sometimes I’ll make the rice more festive and add some yellow food coloring in case you are wondering about the picture!

Is Moroccan Chicken Keto Friendly?

For a Keto friendly version, simply eat the Moroccan chicken with cauliflower rice instead.

How Do You Make Baked Moroccan Chicken?

Authentic Moroccan food is generally cooked in a tagine which is a is a special pot made of ceramic or unglazed clay. This chicken recipe however is made using a regular pan for braising and a baking dish when its time to cook the Moroccan chicken in the oven.

I have used chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs with skin on to prepare this dish, however you can always take the skin off for a healthier option.  Season the chicken well and let it sit while you prep the onions and get the can of crushed/puree tomatoes opened.

This dish calls for purple onions. Please make sure to use purple instead of the yellow or white onion because it just won’t taste the same with the other ones.

Fry the chicken until the skin is nicely browned and crisp, then add the onions and continue to cook until the onions have browned a little.

While you are waiting for the onions to brown, start heating up the crushed/pureed tomatoes so it’s ready as the onions do not take long to brown.

Transfer the chicken and onions into a baking dish and pour the hot tomato sauce over the chicken. Place it in the oven to cook for 30 mins at 400 degrees F. Once the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes, take it out of the oven and add the apricots to the dish and return it to the oven to continue cooking for another 30 mins.

Baked Moroccan Chicken Recipe

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Flavorful oven baked Moroccan Chicken

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1½ cup Tomato juice (aka crushed tomatoes)
• ½ cup dried Apricots
• 1 lb chicken thighs bone in skin on
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 5-10 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2-3 big purple onions
• 1 tbsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• Fresh chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Coat chicken in dry ingredients and fry the chicken in oil until it’s browned and skin has started to crisp
2. Add purple onions and garlic to the chicken and continue to fry until onions are crispy and golden brown.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
4. Heat 1 1/2 cup of tomato puree (I used more tomatoes because in the pictures shown above I used almost 2lbs of chicken, you can always add more tomato puree if you prefer this dish to be more saucy.            
5. Grease an oven pan and transfer chicken from frying pan to oven dish and pour the hot tomato puree over the chicken.
6. Cover and cook chicken in oven ½ way add apricots and continue to cook
7. Finish off with fresh parsley
   
   

For more delicious chicken dinner ideas, take a look at Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Spinach Casserole and Quick and Easy Spanish Rice.

Print your free coloring page and activity sheets after signing up below. The activities included in the bundle are:

1. Ingredients word search
2. Ingredients word unscramble
3. Word maker using the words MOROCCAN CHICKEN
4. Kitchen scavenger hunt
5. Color by numbers page
6. Cryptogram joke
7. Scavenger hunt with a different theme