Paprika and cumin add deep flavor to this flavorful chicken. Serve with warm pita or naan, feta, and mint for an easy Persian inspired meal.
- Prep Time:
10 mins - Cook Time:
20 mins - Total Time:
30 mins *
* Plus overnight marinating time.

I am always on the lookout for easy, tasty and healthy dinner recipes. Keeping dinner interesting for the family yet easy for the cook can be a challenge. But I think I found a winner with this one.
This Moroccan chicken comes from this month’s issue of Bon Appétit magazine featuring middle eastern inspired dishes. The chicken does need a long marinating time so a little planning is required. But you can toss the chicken with the herbs and spices in the morning and be ready for a quick-cooking dinner that evening.
The use of paprika and cumin to flavor the chicken really drew me in because we love the Tunisian egg dish, shakshuka, in which eggs are poached in a tomato sauce seasoned with the same spices. The aromas of the paprika and cumin coming from the kitchen as the chicken cooked was enough to draw my daughter out of her room to inquire about what I was making.
The original recipe grills the chicken as kebabs which I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the idea of kebabs but always feel like it is too much extra work to cut the meat into small pieces and put them on skewers. And as much as I want to improve my grilling skills, I am still not a good griller. So, I kept the chicken in large pieces and used my trusty cast iron skillet to cook it. This actually created a nice pan sauce that you can sop up with warm pita bread.
Moroccan Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Paprika and cumin add deep flavor to this flavorful chicken. Serve with warm pita or naan, feta, and mint for an easy Persian inspired meal.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Olive oil, for cooking
- Warm pita or naan bread, feta, and fresh mint leaves, for serving
Instructions
- Marinated chicken. Mix together garlic, parsley, cumin, paprika, and salt in a medium bowl; add chicken and toss together until the chicken is evenly coated with the herbs and spices. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
- Prep oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook chicken. In an oven proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add chicken pieces and sear on both sides (1- 2 minutes per side). Transfer skillet to the oven and cook until chicken is cooked through, 15–20 minutes. Serve with pita or naan bread, feta and mint.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit, July 2014.
KC says
My husband and I make this at least once a month – even skipping out the fresh herbs for dried it is lovely and super easy!
Taming of the Spoon says
I’m so glad you and your husband have been enjoying this recipe. My family loves it too! Thank you for letting me know about the dried herbs – definitely going to keep that in mind the next time I don’t have the fresh herbs on hand.
tanya says
can this be made leaving the chicken skin on?
Taming of the Spoon says
I think you could leave the chicken skin on. I would rub some of the marinade under the skin so that it penetrates into the meat. If you’re also using bone-in chicken, add another 10-15 minutes to the cooking time. Let me know how it turns out for you. Thanks.
Min says
I just made this and it was incredibly delicious and easy! I’m going to add this to our weekly rotation. Thank you for sharing!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thanks, Min. We make this pretty regularly at my house too. Really glad you enjoyed it!
coolgirl says
I loved the flavourings of the moroccan chicken, although it’s a shame i’m not too keen on chicken thighs.
Andrea says
Hi! Quick question.. I only have bone-in thighs. Does that change the amount of the other ingredients? (to make more sauce?)
Thanks
Taming of the Spoon says
Assuming it’s just thighs (without attached drumsticks), you shouldn’t need to change the amounts for the sauce. You will need to adjust the cooking time though since the bone-in thighs will take longer to cook. I would give it another 10-15 minutes. Let me know how they turn out for you. Thanks.
Samantha Harshman says
I made this tonight, it was amazing! I roasted some red peppers under the broiler and served with feta and whole wheat pita. Will make again!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thank you for your nice comment. I am happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Alana says
Made this tonight and it turned out to be amazing. I even made homemade feta cheese spread to go with the naan. In addition to the slices I added author curry and fresh lemon juice to the chicken. Thank for sharing this recipe!!!!
Taming of the Spoon says
So glad you liked the recipe. I actually made this for dinner tonight, too!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
that chicken looks SO good.. love anything Moroccan flavoured. definitely inspired me to recreate something similar tonight, thanks for the idea!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thanks, Thalia. I am so happy this recipe inspired you!