A tagine is a North African stew of spiced meat and vegetables prepared by slow cooking in a shallow earthernware cooking dish with a tall, conical lid, which is also called a tagine. Tagine dishes are famous for slow cooked tender meat, chicken or fish and flavorful vegetables. No worries if you don’t own a tagine because this Moroccan Chicken Tagine recipe comes out fabulous in a Dutch oven or crockpot.
I start early in the morning, but you don’t have to
When I make this Moroccan chicken tagine recipe, I start early in the morning by going to the market to get fresh ingredients. I make this dish in a traditional Tagine and begin by cutting the onions, mincing the garlic and putting them in a preheated tagine with olive oil. If you are using a Dutch oven, most of the steps are very similar. The crockpot version is even easier because you just add everything and set the crockpot on high for 5 hours.
The next step is to layer the rest of the ingredients. The layering makes for a beautiful presentation when the cooking is done. The final step is covering the chicken and vegetables with the herb mixture. Then it is time to slow cook!
Tagine is served hot and stays in the cooking dish. You can enjoy it with bread and if you like, in the traditional way, eating it by hand. But be careful not to burn your hands or tongue!
Enjoy!
A few more of our favorite Moroccan recipes:
Harcha (Moroccan Semolina Biscuits)
Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant and Pepper Salad)
Moroccan Harira (Lentil, Chickpea and Tomato Soup)
How to Cook a Moroccan Tagine without a Tagine Dish
And just in case you want to buy a traditional tagine:
Finding the Best Moroccan Tagine Pot for You
Moroccan Chicken Tagine (Dutch oven or Crock Pot)
Ingredients
Tagine ingredients
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 big potatoes, cut into steak fry sized pieces
- 2 medium carrots, cut into large (2”) pieces
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 large tomato, cut into 6-8 wedges
- 3 slices lemon, with the skin
- 1/2 bunch parsley, stems removed and chopped
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped
Herb Blend
- 1.5 cups water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 1/2 tsp saffron (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a Dutch oven, heat up 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes until soft.
- Layer rest of tagine ingredients (except for herb blend) with parsley and cilantro on top.
- In a 2 cup measuring cup add 1 ½ cups water, 2 Tablespoons olive oil and the dried herbs. Mix well.
- Pour water/herb mixture over tagine ingredients.
- Cover Dutch oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove cover and bake for ½ hour more.
- Crockpot version:
- Add all ingredients making sure that chicken is under liquid.
- Cook on high for 5 hours.
Nutrition
About the Author: Mahjouba Ezzammoury
I made this last night. It was fantastic. The teaspoon of ground pepper added a new taste to it that you don’t get with cayenne or red pepper flakes.
I love how you have written this out. I make several tagine recipes and always skip the meat browning step. They often call for bringing it to a boil before putting it in the oven, this is a little precarious in my tagine. I plan to rewrite my tagine recipes based on this one to reflect how I actually prepare them. Thank you! I can’t wait to explore more of your recipes.
Delicious!! The lemon is such a great flavour along with herbs, spices and onion.
Will try this version, sounds good. I love tajine served on a pile of buttery couscous…yummy! I like the variation with olives and preserved lemon.