Moroccan chicken stew with preserved lemons, olives, and chickpeas is one of my favorite winter dishes. Packed with spices, it is aromatic and the preserved lemon gives it a delicious brightness making it the perfect solution to cold, dark days.
The recipe below is for a large batch, giving you ~20 cups of a delicious, flavor-packed soup. We make it in large batches because it’s one of our favorite freezer meals. Your heart will feel warm for having such a satisfying meal with minimal work as it only takes about a half-hour to thaw and warm up this delicious soup from the freezer.
Ingredients Notes:
- Chicken thighs: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are recommended for this recipe because they provide a lot of flavor and moisture. However, if you prefer, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts instead, but keep in mind that the cooking time will be shorter.
- Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas work well in this recipe, but you can also use dried chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked according to package instructions. If you use canned chickpeas, be sure to drain and rinse them before adding them to the pot.
- Raisins: The raisins add a nice sweetness to the dish, but if you're not a fan of raisins, you can omit them or use another type of dried fruit, such as apricots or dates.
- Castelvetrano olives: These olives are large, buttery, and have a bright green color. They are typically sold pitted and are available at most specialty grocery stores or online. If you can't find them, you can use another type of green olive, such as picholine or manzanilla.
- Spices: The spices used in this recipe include ground cumin, paprika, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger. Be sure to use fresh spices for the best flavor. You can adjust the amount of spices based on your preference. If you prefer your food spicier, you can add some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
How to Braise Skin-on Bone-in Chicken Thigh:
Start by pulling the chicken out of the refrigerator roughly 30 minutes prior to cooking to get the meat close to room temperature. Be sure to pat down the skin with a paper towel so that your chicken skins are dry prior to cooking. This process allows the chicken skins to crisp up better.
Drizzle a little olive oil (1-2 tsp) in the bottom of a Dutch oven set at medium-high temperature. Generously season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper on each side. Give the oil a minute or two to warm up before placing the chicken thighs skin side down.
If you’re cooking eight thighs, be sure to cook four thighs at a time so you don’t over crowd the bottom of the Dutch oven. Cook the thighs for six minutes, or until the skins start to get browned. Flip them over and cook on the other side for an additional six minutes.
Remove the chicken thighs and place them on a plate. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken. The chicken won’t be completely cooked at this point, don’t worry, it is going to go back in the Dutch oven soon to finish cooking.
After removing the chicken thighs from the Dutch oven, lower the temperature to medium heat, and add the onions and carrots, cooking them for 8 to 10 minutes. Every so often use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan mixing the onions and carrots in with the drippings from the chicken. Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until you can smell the mushrooms.
After draining and rinsing the canned chickpeas, add them to the Dutch oven. Next, sprinkle the spices over the vegetables and chickpeas and mix them all together to make sure they’re coated with all that delicious flavor.
Flavor Hack: Preserved lemons are a pantry staple in our household. They are super easy to make but are also easy to find in the store. Here’s a link for easy instructions for making preserved lemon and a list of my favorite recipes that include them.
Now you should add the olives, preserved lemons, and chicken stock. Give the contents a stir and then add the chicken thighs back into the Dutch oven and raise the heat to high. Allow the liquid to come to a boil and then reduce the heat back to medium. For the next half hour keep it at a moderate simmer, at which point you will add the cauliflower and raisins. I like to add the cauliflower and raisins towards the end of the process so that they don’t get too soft. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes at which point the chicken should be falling off the bone.
Fall-off-the-Bone Tender
Remove the chicken thighs from the Dutch oven and let them cool for a minute so that you can handle them easily. Next, remove the meat from the bones and add them back into the soup. You will hardly have to shred the chicken; it will be so tender and juicy that it falls apart.
Moroccan chicken thighs braised with preserved lemons, olives, and chickpeas is amazing on it’s own, but if you prefer, serve it with rice or barley. I love this soup with just a piece of toast.
Freezer Friendly: Pack any leftovers you don’t plan on eating over the next few days. Use a freeze-save Tupperware or ziplock bag to store for up to 9 months.
Time-saving kitchen trick: While the chicken is cooking, chop the carrots and onions. While your carrots and onions are cooking, slice the mushrooms and measure your spices.
More great soup recipes:
- Mushroom and Turkey Soup (Thanksgiving Leftovers)
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Black Bean Soup
- Chickpea Curry Soup with Roasted Cashews
- Chicken & Roasted Tomato Stew
- Lentil Quinoa Jalapeño and Preserved Lemon Soup
If you’ve tried these Moroccan Chicken Thighs Braised with Preserved Lemons, Olives and Chickpeas recipe or any other recipe on BalancingBowls, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Moroccan Chicken Thighs Braised with Preserved Lemons, Olives and Chickpeas
Equipment
- 1 large dutch oven
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 3 Onions diced
- 8 carrots diced
- 16 oz mushrooms sliced
- 3 cans chickpeas
- 4 teaspoon cumin
- 3 teaspoon paprika
- 3 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 dry chili pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 preserved lemons
- 2 6 oz castelvetrano olives
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Oil the bottom of a dutch oven. Season bone-in chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Cook 4 thighs at a time for 6 minutes on each side. Take the chicken out and put it aside while you start the vegetables.
- Cook the onions and carrots in the chicken drippings for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until you smell the mushrooms.
- Add the chickpeas and spices and mix them together.
- Add the chicken stock, olives, and preserved lemons and bring to a boil.
- Once it has reached a boil turn it down to medium and let it simmer for 30 minutes
- Add the cauliflower and raisins and cook for 15 more minutes or until the cauliflower is tender but not mushy.
