Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes (Does NOT have to be cooked in a tagine!)

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by My Yellow Farmhouse - Cooking with Love!

Moroccan Chicken and Rice Pilaf - - myyellowfarmhouse.com

Moroccan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes -- myyellowfarmhouse.com

Today it snowed almost all day long, so it was a perfect day to prepare a dish which simmers away in the oven, filling your kitchen with the scent of cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and ginger!

I’m not proud to say I actually received my beautiful tagine as a gift LAST Christmas.  (I’ve told you I’m a procrastinator..)  There’s no excuse for waiting so long to ‘try it out’. It’s not as if I don’t see the tangine every day, sitting and waiting patiently on the lower shelf of the buffet in my kitchen…

tangine - kitchen buffet - myyellowfarmhouse.com

Moroccan Chicken Tagine can be be cooked several different ways; 1. In a tangine – cooked in the oven.  2.  In a tangine, cooked on very low heat on top of the stove.  3.  In a covered casserole – cooked in the oven.  4.  In a large saucepan or Dutch Oven – either in the oven (if pan has heatproof handles) or on top of the stove.

Whichever way you chose to cook Moroccan Chicken Tagine, you’re in for a treat.  And, except for frying up the onions and garlic in a skillet, you have a one pot meal with no mess in the kitchen. If you’re lucky enough to have a tagine, you can proudly present your Moroccan meal served right from your tagine.                

++  Tagines, according to my research, range in size from 8″ to 16″.  Actually, mine is only 7″ across at the base but it’s deep, so I was able to able to put in 8 boneless & skinless chicken thighs, plus 2 large cut-up sweet potatoes.

++ Be sure to learn how to use your tagine if you’ve never cooked with one before!  (The terracotta ones need special care.)   ++ Here’s a link to a great website which we could call “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Tangines” !  http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/moroccanfood101/f/How-to-Use-Tagine.htm

Love Moroccan? Here’s another recipe – plus Couscous with Raisins and Sliced Almonds

Moroccan Chicken and Couscous - My Yellow Farmhouse.com

‘Never Fail’ Armenian Rice Pilaf

Moroccan Chicken and Rice Pilaf - - myyellowfarmhouse.com

++ Start tagine in a cold oven

++ Place oven rack at 2nd lowest level. 

INGREDIENTS       Oven at 325 (F)      Cook for 2 hours.   If cooking on top of stove in a saucepan or Dutch Oven, be sure to just ‘simmer’ the tangine.

  • 6 – 8 boneless/skinless chicken THIGHS
  • 2 – 3 medium sweet potatoes – peeled and cut into eighths.   ++  My tangine is small, so I only used 2 medium sweet potatoes.  They turned out soo yummy cooked this way that I plan to try to cram more in next time!! 
  •  2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, sliced      ++  About 2 cups
  • 4 large cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped   ++  Warm garlic cloves in microwave for 10 – 15 seconds, which helps remove papery covering on garlic cloves.
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander      ++  I used 1 tsp. minced fresh cilantro, which are the leaves of the same plant.  In fact, coriander comes from the seeds.
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp. cardamom
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped dates    (You can purchase chopped dates – BIG time saver!)
  • 1 cup HOT chicken broth    ++  Can also use 1 CUP HOT water and one bouillon cube.

METHOD

Arrange boneless/skinless chicken thighs in one layer on bottom of tagine.   ++  I folded the loose bits under, which looks a bit nicer and helps the chicken cook evenly.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine - www.myyellowfarmhouse.com

Put the following spices in a small dish or glass and set aside; 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 ground turmeric, 1 tsp. ground coriander (or 1 tsp. minced fresh cilantro), 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/4 tsp. cardamom, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper.

Pour 2 Tbs. olive oil into a large skillet.  Add sliced onions and cook over medium heat until onions begin to brown a bit – between 5 to 6 minutes.

Add minced garlic.  Cook two to three minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Add the spices you’d set aside.  Stir to combine with the onions and garlic.  Cook one more minute, stirring.

Spread contents of skillet over chicken.

Moroccan Chicken Tangine - - myyellowfarmhouse.com

Make one layer of the peeled and cut-up sweet potatoes.  Sprinkle 1/4 chopped dates over potatoes.  Pour 1 cup HOT broth over all.

Moroccan Chicken Tangine - -www.myyellowfarmhouse.com

Cover on tagine.  Lower oven rack to second lowest level.  Place covered tagine in COLD oven.  Set temperature to 325F.

Cook for two hours.  ++  Chicken and sweet potatoes will be cooked after 1 1/2 hours but the extra 1/2 hour of cooking time REALLY makes the chicken thighs tender.  Enjoy !!

Moroccan Chicken and Rice Pilaf 2- - myyellowfarmhouse.com

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My Yellow Farmhouse - Cooking with Love!

Sure, it's necessary to eat to survive - but that's not any fun!! The fun comes from cooking, serving and eating with lots of love, I began this blog to share some of the delicious recipes I've gathered over the years. Thanks for dropping by & sharing the love!

30 thoughts on “Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes (Does NOT have to be cooked in a tagine!)”

  1. I made this for my family and we all LOVED it!! It’s a def make again and again for this family. I do not have a tagine, but used a cast iron covered roaster. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe.

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    1. Thanks soo much for taking the time to comment. It’s often difficult for people to find out ‘where’ to comment, so I’m in the process of changing up this blog a bit.
      I’m so glad you liked my recipe!! Great idea to have used a cast iron covered roaster. ; o )

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  2. If I am using a covered casserole in the oven instead of a tagine, should I still place it in a cold oven or should I preheat my oven? Looking forward to making this recipe this weekend. How many servings is this recipe for?

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    1. Hi Laura! I would place the casserole in a cold oven. About the portions… hmm ….. I would say three to four – but it depends upon people’s appetites. Please let me know how your Moroccan Chicken Tagine turns out. I happen to think it’s super delicious!! ; o )

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    1. Thanks! And I’m glad someone pointed out to me that I’d spelled ‘tagine’ wrong..!’m really a big fan of how this ‘tagine’ turned out!! I do want to try using the tagine on top of the stove BUT it’s not a good idea to use them on glass-topped stoves. Maybe I’ll try – in the summer – to use it in my fire pit over some slow-burning coals. (It’ll have to be set on some kind of ‘rack’ or something..) I’ll let you know how that works out !!

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  5. Hi there. This recipe looks delicious – I’ll definitely be trying it out. Just wanted to note that the spelling is “tagine” or “tajine,” not “taNgine.” Thanks for the great recipe!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. OH, GOOD GRIEF !! You’re right – and I’m mortified!! How did I goof that one up… !! And it’s much, much worse than when I goof up when I talk French….. ’cause this is in an actual post!!

      ‘

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    2. I just fixed it…. now I have to fix it on my Facebook page, my ‘My Yellow Farmhouse’ Facebook page and Reddit. Thanks, Casey. for taking the time to ‘set me straight’!

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  7. So funny that you prepared this as I was just looking over some old blog photos for moroccan couscous that I had shared a couple of years back. With all of those glorious, exotic spices your kitchen must have smelled wonderful.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Isn’t that something!! I’ve noticed – a bunch of times – that I’ll be thinking I’d like to make something, and, next thing you know, a blogger I follow posts a recipe. In fact, I believe you’d done just that – posted a recipe for something I’d been hoping/planning to make! About the delicious smells (this is a good one) my neighbor Lad always clears my back porch. After it snowed the other day he was out there, working away. I opened the door to thank him – he makes a face and says, “Oooooh – what is that SMELL !!?? Close the door!” I told him I thought it smelled WONDERFUL but it seemed like I’d better not plan on sharing my Chicken Tagine with he and his partner!!! ; o )

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      1. Just remembered it was only yesterday that I found you’d recently posted a wonderful recipe for buttermilk marinated chicken – which I had been wanting to make !!

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  8. I am so impressed with your site. The format is wonderful! Your recipes, pictures and all the information just flows. I love all the extra information and shared knowledge. The is great. The only thing I can think of that would make it better was if you could hit control /alt/ command and the desired recipe would pop out of the screen and onto your plate, lol

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow – you sure made my day with your sweet comments!! Thank you so much! I do try to make readers aware of ‘the little things’ that might make a recipe go wrong. I try to think of what I’d want to tell a friend if they were preparing this with me in the kitchen at My Yellow Farmhouse.

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  9. Thanks so much! A friend of mine saw this recipe posted on my Facebook page and she posted, “So, when’s lunch?” I enjoyed sharing my meal with her and she just left my home with a Happy Tummy!

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    1. When next I venture your way I will definitely be stopping by your home! This looks delicious. I have never tried Moroccan food but this seems like a good time to give it a try. Great step by step directions and wonderful pictures.

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    1. The sweet potatoes are really good in this recipe. In fact, I’m going to ‘update’ this post to tell readers they can use more. (My tagine is pretty small…. but I’m gonna try to fit in another sweet potato next time!) When we lived in Malta, my Libyan friend had a cook who worked for her who was from Morocco. I’m going to have to post my version of something she cooked for me one time when I was sick. The couscous is cooked in the same pan as the chicken and veggies and absorbs all the wonderful flavors. I don’t have a couscoussier, so I improvised by lining a metal colander! ; o )

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        1. When my sons were young, I realized I kept saying to them, “This is my favorite food’. After I said that about 10 times – for 10 different things – I realized I pretty much I Just Love Food. And you seem to be the same – hence our blogs !! ; o )

          Liked by 1 person

  12. What a beautiful tagine … both the food and the baking dish. The serving dish for the pilaf is very attractive as well. I like the Indian motif on the spoon. 🙂

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    1. Thanks “A” – you’re very observant. I was given an entire set of beautiful brass flatware by two Shik friends of my husband. Sadly, except for the serving spoons and forks, I’ve never used it. I’ll just have to ‘break the rest out of hiding’!! ; o )

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