Last updated on April 13th, 2024

One-Pot Moroccan-Style Chicken Thigh Stew

In my home, this month’s featured meal is a heartwarming and nutritious One-Pot Moroccan-Style Chicken Thigh Stew that requires NO tagine, whoopee! Since I don’t have one.

In this delicious stew recipe, I have managed to lock in the delightful flavours of Morocco without using a tagine, incorporating earthy spices, saffron, sautéed onions, and a touch of sweetness from orange syrup. These ingredients are just a handful of the significant spices in Moroccan cuisine.

Wait, What is a Tagine?

A tagine is a round cooking pot made of earthenware with a cone-shaped lid, commonly used in Moroccan cuisine. The purpose of a tagine is to slow cook the recipes, which helps seal in all the wonderful flavours.

Why this Moroccan Chicken Stew Works without a Tagine

This stew is absolutely delicious! To make it, I use chicken thighs because they stay juicy and tender AND taste like they’ve been slow-cooked in a tagine!

Additionally, the key to this flavourful stew is using a heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, which helps to braise or sear the chicken pieces after they are coated in aromatic spices. Not only is a heavy pot good for braising, but it also serves well as a simmering pot to maintain all the flavours in the dish as it simmers.

If you’ve cooked curries with chicken thighs before, such as Creamy Chicken Korma or similar dishes, you likely already have the necessary spices.

Why you will love Moroccan-Style Chicken Thigh Stew

One-pot Moroccan Meal

• The best part is that there’s no need to marinate the chicken in the fridge for hours or overnight. Instead, I mix the chicken with the spices first while I prepare the vegetables.
• This dish is packed with Moroccan style flavour and requires minimal effort, making it an ideal choice for busy weeknights when you want to whip up a satisfying meal without spending too much time in the kitchen.

Colourful vegetable and chicken stew

• If you’re looking for a low-carb alternative, zucchini is a great choice, while eggplant can be used to add a unique and meaty texture to your dishes. The advantage of using vegetables is that you can mix and match any vegetables that need to be used up.
• By the way, I also added some carrots to use up before they spoiled. I know they are high in carbs, but I love the colour carrots add to this recipe. The chicken thighs and vegetables were tender and flavorful, making it a colourful dish on a cloudy day.

No tagine? No problem.

• As shown below, this recipe is easy and doesn’t require a fancy tagine. You can use a heavy pot with a lid on the stove, and it’ll work fine. An Instant Pot or Pressure cooker should also work, but I have yet to experiment with those to give an exact cooking time. Do let me know if you try it though!

Comfort food

• This stew is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. It has tender chicken thighs, aromatic vegetables, and a rich broth, making every bite warm and satisfying. This stew is perfect whether you’re craving a hearty meal or something soulful on a chilly night.

Carbs and Servings in Moroccan-Style Chicken Thigh Stew

This recipe makes four servings, enough for a cozy dinner for two, with an extra serving for seconds. Just keep in mind that if you’re planning to have guests over, you’ll need to double the recipe to serve four people.

under 10g net carbs

This recipe will leave you craving for more, even more on a chilly wintry day. However, with just 17.4g of carbs and 9.1g of fibre, this meal is not only comforting but also healthy. And if you’re concerned about net carbs, and using the orange juice in this recipe don’t worry, as each serving contains only around 8.3g of net carbs.

Trust me, one serving is very filling, but the delicious flavours of the stew, meat, and veggies are very tempting and make your mouth water. And that’s why you might be tempted to go for seconds.

Ingredient Notes for Moroccan Chicken Stew

Chicken and Spices

• Chicken thighs – boneless and skinless, cut into 2-inch pieces.
• Garlic cloves – crushed or minced.
• Cinnamon – ground.
• White pepper – omit if you only have black pepper.
• Turmeric – a yellow spice found in the spice aisles at the grocery store.
• Allspice is available in the spice aisles at the grocery store and has a pepper overtone.
• Salt – use less for a low sodium stew.
• Black pepper – adjust the amount to taste.
• Saffron – can be expensive and usually sold in small boxes amounts, but a little goes a long way. Buy it online or ask the cashier for it at South-Asian grocery stores.
• Sweetener – use your favourite low carb sweetener, adjust to taste. I use Volupta from Costco.
• Water – to make saffron water

Vegetables

• Zucchini – cut into 1/4-inch strips or rounds
• Carrots – peel and cut into half inch rounds or chunks.
• Red onion – thinly sliced. Add more if you like a lot of onions or swap with white onions.

Oils and Broth and Garnish

• Cooking oil – I used Grapeseed oil for this recipe, but Olive oil will work well too.
• Chicken broth – swap with low sodium broth or water.
• Water – for deglazing the pot in addition to making the delicious broth.
• Cilantro – finely chopped for garnish

Orange syrup

• Orange juice – fresh or store bought will work fine.
• Butter – salted.
• Sweetener of choice – adjust to desired sweetness.

A note on Orange Syrup: Although it contains more carbohydrates than other fruits and is not very suitable for the keto diet, a small amount of orange juice is essential to bring out the flavours of the spices and garlic in this dish. You can adjust the quantity of it to your preference.

Let’s make Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew

Step 1: Prepare the Vegetables and Spices

1) Peel the carrots and cut them into 1/2-inch rounds or chunks. Cut off the ends of the zucchini, then cut them in half and slice them into strips. Peel the red onion, cut it in half and slice it thinly. Save the remaining half for another recipe.

2) Peel, crush the garlic and measure all the spices, ready to mix later with the chicken.

Step 2: Mix the Chicken with Spices

1) Cut the chicken thighs into 2-inch pieces and place them inside a mixing bowl.

2) Blend two tablespoons of warm water with a pinch of saffron and sweetener until the sweetener has dissolved and the mixture turns vibrant orange.

3) Add all the remaining measured spices and saffron water to the chicken in a bowl and mix to infuse the meat. This will make the dish more flavourful.

Step 3: Cook the Onions and Chicken

1) Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed cooking pot with a lid, then add a 1/4 cup of water and onions. Fry the onions for about 15 minutes until they are soft, brown tips show up, and no more water is left.

2) On medium heat, add the chicken pieces to the onions slowly and braise them on all sides for about 2-3 minutes to lock in all the flavour. You don’t have to thoroughly cook the chicken, as it’ll become firm once you start simmering it later.

Step 4: Remove the Chicken and Cook the Carrots

1) Transfer the cooked chicken, along with the onions, into a bowl. They will enhance the flavour when added back to the pot and simmered.

2) Add 1/4 cup of water to the sizzling pot and swirl it around on medium heat to loosen any leftover residue from the spices that may have dried up. Next, add the carrots to the pot and cook them for a couple of minutes until they are coated with the spices.

Step 5: Cover the Pot and Simmer

1) Once the carrots are coated and glazed, return the chicken to the pot and pour a cup of chicken broth around it. Then, stir it all and cook the chicken, onions and carrots on medium to high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes, just until the juices begin to bubble and oil rises to the surface.

2) Cover the pot with the lid and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

3) After simmering for 10 minutes, add the zucchini and continue cooking with the lid on for another 10 minutes.

Step 6: Drizzle Orange Syrup for added Flavour

1) Heat butter, orange juice, along with the sweetener in a small saucepan or microwave it in a bowl until it becomes syrupy. Add a pinch of saffron to the syrup to infuse with the citrus mixture.

2) Once the chicken stew has cooked for 20 minutes, pour the orange mixture into the pot and add in a tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro to garnish. Make sure the carrots and zucchini are cooked until they’re tender but not mushy.

3) Now, it’s time to dig in and enjoy your delicious meal!

Best Tips and Variations to this Recipe

• To infuse the flavours of the spices and saffron water better into the chicken, coat the chicken pieces with them first before braising. Alternatively, if you have enough time, you can marinate the chicken with the spices for about an hour and store it in the fridge.

• Cook the onions with water to brown and caramelize them quickly since they will bring a sweet, earthy flavour to the stew. Also, you can make Caramelized Onions ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until ready to use.

• Simmer the stew for a maximum of 20 minutes to keep the carrots slightly firm, or a little bit longer for softer carrots.

• For best results, add the zucchini to the dish towards the end of the simmering process, approximately 10 minutes before the dish is fully cooked. This will help maintain the texture of the zucchini and prevent it from becoming too soft and mushy. Also, consider cutting the zucchini into slightly chunkier pieces to ensure it cooks perfectly for this dish.

• After transferring the chicken and onions to a bowl, add some water to the pot to deglaze it and release all the spices stuck at the bottom. This will liven up the juices.

• You can mix things up with this dish by swapping out the zucchini for eggplant. Just keep in mind that eggplant has tougher skin and firmer texture than zucchini. So, chop it up slightly chunkier and add it to the stew when you put in the carrots. This way, the eggplant will have enough time to cook and soften up properly.

What goes with Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew?

Cauliflower rice

• Alternatively, cauliflower rice is a low-carb, healthier alternative to regular rice. To prepare cauliflower rice, grate a whole head, sauté it in a pan with olive oil and seasoning until tender, and serve it alongside this Moroccan-style chicken Stew.

Couscous

• To savour the rich flavours of this mouth-watering stew, ladle it into bowls and pair it with a side of couscous, a grain-like pasta with a mild nutty flavour and fluffy texture.

Mashed Vegetables

• Another option to consider is mashed vegetables with low carbohydrates, which can be made by mashing steamed or boiled vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, or sweet potato. This will provide a delicious and nutritious base for the stew.

Crusty Bread

• For anyone not too fussy about staying low carb, this delicious stew would taste great with crusty bread, perfect for cold winter weather.

Standalone Meal

• In addition to being a fantastic complement to some delicious low-carb sides, this dish also stands out as a delectable standalone meal. The generous portions of protein, fresh vegetables, savoury broth, and carefully chosen spices all come together perfectly, creating a flavour experience that needs no further enhancements.

Storage and Freezing Notes

Storing & Freezing Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew

To store this stew, transfer leftovers into a covered container and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days. This will ensure that the food remains fresh and safe to eat.

This Moroccan-style Chicken Stew is best consumed within a few days of preparation. However, if you want to freeze it, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to a month.

How do I defrost or reheat this Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew?

To defrost the stew, place it in the refrigerator overnight, at least a day before you plan to serve it. Once it is thawed, you can reheat it gradually on the stove by warming it in a saucepan.

Alternatively, you can reheat it in the microwave until it is warmed through. Keep in mind that after freezing, the zucchini may be slightly softer, but the overall taste of the stew will still be delicious.

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