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This chicken tagine is one of those dinners that feels like you really cooked, but the oven does almost all the work. The chicken slowly braises in warm spices, preserved lemon, and a simple sauce until it is so tender it practically falls off the bone. We make this when we want something a little different from our usual weeknight rotation, and it works just as well for a casual dinner party. We made this for a Christmas dinner party one year and it was such a hit. The chicken is so delicious, and the tagine is a great center piece for the table! If you love easy oven dinners, our Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and One Pan Lemon Chicken follow a similar approach and are just as satisfying.
The tagine creates a naturally moist environment as it cooks, which means the chicken stays juicy and the sauce underneath builds up rich, layered flavor without any extra effort. This is also a great dish to serve when you are hosting. Check out our post on 5 Steps to Hosting a Fun and Stress-Free Dinner Party for ideas on how to build a full menu around a centerpiece dish like this one.
Chicken Tagine Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 to 2.5 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Moroccan inspired
Description
A whole chicken is rubbed with warm spices and olive oil, then slowly cooked in a tagine with onions, garlic, preserved lemon, and olives for a tender, deeply flavorful one-pot dinner.
Important Tools for This Recipe:Â
- Tagine (or Dutch oven as an alternative)
- Small glass bowl for mixing the spice paste
- Basting brush or your hands for rubbing the chicken (if you use your hands, use these nitrile gloves)
- Instant read thermometer to check doneness
Ingredients
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, 3.5 to 4.5 lbs each, patted dry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
Spices
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 preserved lemon, quartered (or the zest and juice of 1 fresh lemon)
- 1/2 cup green olives (optional)
- Fresh cilantro or parsley for serving
Vegetables (optional)Â
- Adding veggies is great way to round out this meal. We’ve enjoy adding brussels sprouts and carrots, and I could see potatoes working well too!
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.Â
- Season the Chicken
- Mix the olive oil with all the spices in a small bowl to form a paste. Rub it all over the chicken, getting under the skin where you can.
- Build the Base
- Add the sliced onions and minced garlic to the bottom of the tagine.
- Add any vegetables you’d like; we like brussels sprouts and carrots! Place the seasoned chicken on top and pour the broth around it.
- Add the Flavor
- Tuck the lemon pieces and olives around the chicken.
- Cook
- Place the lid on the tagine and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.
- Optional Browning
- If you want a little color on the skin, remove the lid for the last 15 to 20 minutes of cooking.
- Finish and Serve
- Check that the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F. We recommend this ThermoWorks Thermapen for checking the temperature! Spoon the sauce from the bottom of the tagine over the chicken and top with fresh cilantro or parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Some clay tagines cannot be placed in a hot oven, so check your tagine instructions first before cooking. The tagine we recommended above can be placed in a hot oven.Â
Keep the temperature at 300 to 325 degrees F throughout. High heat is not necessary and works against you here.
Do not add too much liquid. The tagine traps steam and the chicken releases its own juices as it cooks.
This is a braised dish, so expect tender and saucy rather than crispy skin. The lid-off step at the end adds some browning but will not give you the same result as a roasted chicken.
- You can do a couple of different variations depending on your taste preferences: sweet version: add a handful of dried apricots and a drizzle of honey before cooking. Spicy version: stir a spoonful of harissa paste into the spice mixture. Hearty version: add sliced carrots or cubed potatoes to the bottom of the tagine under the chicken.
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