With dozens of 5-star reviews, you’ll love this grilled Moroccan Chicken! Made with ras el hanout, garlic, and lemon, this recipe is bursting with Moroccan flavor! Juicy tender chicken that turns out perfect every time; make it on the grill or on the stovetop.
While in Marrakech, we experienced some of the most flavorful Moroccan Chicken by a street vendor grilling chicken kabobs for the locals. I asked him what the secret was…
He seasoned the chicken with Ras El Hanout—simple yet amazing! A few weeks ago, while organizing my spice drawer, I found the Ras El Hanout spice I purchased in Morocco -I had forgotten all about it!
So I decided to replicate the ras el hanout chicken we had there- and oh my goodness- it turned out so flavorful and juicy with layers of complexity from all the different spices. I can’t wait for you try this!
Why you’ll love it!
- This Moroccan Chicken can be cooked on the grill (our favorite) or on the stovetop.
- You can use whole thighs, or breasts or turn them into skewers for the grill. However, you choose to make them I know you will love the flavor.
- The chicken is rubbed with flavorful Ras El Hanout, a spice blend you can make at home -or purchase this lovely Villa Jerada Ras El Hanout – made in Seattle!
Ingredients in Moroccan Chicken
- Chicken thighs – boneless and skinless ( or sub chicken breasts)
- Ras el hanout spice blend- make your own blend with spices you already have!
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh Garlic
- Fresh Lemon – lemon zest from one small lemon, plus juice for the end
- Herbs – parsley or mint for garnish or serve with Preserved Lemon Gremolata!
What is Ras El Hanout?
Traditionally, Moroccan chicken is seasoned with Ras El Hanout, a blend of spices (most often ginger, coriander, cumin, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, turmeric, pepper, and paprika) that varies from region to region in the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. No blend is the same!
How to make Moroccan Chicken
- Make a paste with Moroccan Spices, garlic and olive oil.
- Toss chicken with the flavorful paste, then grilled it (or pan-sear it) and finish it off in the oven until ready to serve.
- YES, you can make chicken kebabs which would grill up beautifully!
What to Serve with Moroccan Chicken
- Meltingly Tender Moroccan Eggplant
- Grain-Free Moroccan Cauliflower “Couscous”
- Preserved Lemon Gremolata
- Fluffy Basmati Rice (or everyday quinoa, or cauliflower rice)
- Couscous
- Lebanese Slaw (Salatet Malfouf)
More favorite Moroccan Recipes
Enjoy the Moroccan Chicken, and let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
Print
Moroccan Chicken Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Chicken, main, grilled
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: moroccan
Description
Moroccan Chicken with Ras El Hanout, garlic and lemon – a simple healthy recipe, using skinless chicken thighs, bursting with North African flavor! Delicious, fast and easy! Grill it or pan-sear it!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless and skinless ( or sub chicken breasts)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ras el hanout spice blend
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- lemon zest from one small lemon, plus juice for the end
- parsley or mint for garnish or Preserved Lemon Gremolata!
Instructions
Pre-heat the grill to medium-high. (See notes for stovetop)
Make a paste with the olive oil, ras el hanout, salt, garlic and lemon zest, mixing together in a medium bowl.
Add the chicken, and toss to coat all sides well. You could do this a day before and refrigerate.
Grill the thighs over medium-high heat, getting good grill marks on both sides. Move to a cooler side of grill, cover, and grill until cooked through (to 170 F), or place in a warm 350F oven to finish.
Right before serving, Squeeze with lemon and sprinkle with fresh herbs (mint and/or parsley) or make the flavorful Preserved Lemon Gremolata, and spoon over top.
Notes
If making skewers, cut chicken into one-inch cubes, toss with marinade, then skewer (making sure to soak wood skewers in water ahead so they don’t burn.) Grill over medium-high heat, getting good grill marks, then finish in a 350 F oven until cooked through.
Feel free to pan-sear the chicken in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, browning each side well, then place in a 375 F oven until cooked all the way through.
You can also bake the chicken on a sheet pan, on the middle rack, uncovered in 425F oven for 30-35 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 F.
If buying- this Villa Jerada Ras El Hanout is lovely!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5.5 ounces
- Calories: 272
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 728.5 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.4 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 30.1 g
- Cholesterol: 142 mg
Absolutely loved this dish!! The flavors did not disappoint – especially with the lemon gremolata! Thank you!
Excellent recipe, although we used less ras el hanout than the recipe called for.
Great, definitely adjust to your taste!
Absolutely loved it, very tasty and a doddle to make!
Sweet Jude, happy to hear this! 🙂
Delicious spice combination
Glad you enjoyed!
So easy and delicious! This was a quick after-work meal that received lots of mmmms starting with the first bite. Best of all, marinating wasn’t necessary!
Awesome Kristen- good to know! Glad you liked it!
Hi there. Can’t wait to make this but have one question. I see that you suggested if you’re using chicken with the skin on, to omit the oil and just use the spices. Does that also mean that you don’t have to marinate it as well or not?
Yes, I would just rub with the spices and salt, then grill- no need to let it sit.
That’s what I did and it was absolutely delish! Thank you!
Excellent flavor. Maybe use less salt in spice blend.
Feel free to cut it back, Amy!
This was outstanding. How do you think it would taste using salmon instead of chicken?
I think Salmon would taste good here!
My family and I love this recipe! My 9 year old requested it so we are having it again tonight!
Love it Josie!
Delicious, juicy chicken! Would be great with couscous.
Thanks so much!
So flavorful! Served it with Moroccan inspired couscous with raisins to complete the meal. A five star recipe! Thanks
Glad you enjoyed Patricia!
What difference will it make to this dish if I use bone-in with skin chicken thighs? I’m new to cooking and this is all I have on hand.
Hey Carly- if grilling skin-on bone-in chicken, I usually just do a spice rub (without the oil). So here you could just use the salt and spices and rub it in the skin dry. If you have already made the spice paste, keep a spray water bottle near the grill for flare-ups and grill at a lower temp. You could give the chicken some grill marks and finish cooking through in the oven. Bone in chicken will take longer to cook through.
Delicious and moist. Marinated overnight with the spice blend made as per the site . I added smoked paprika and a touch of turmeric. Flavour very authentic and restaurant quality, served with bulgur salad. Will definitely make again
Great to hear and so happy you enjoyed this Pina!
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and served it with roasted veggies and tahini sauce. It was so easy and full of flavor – our new favorite. Off to scour your blog for more gems.
So happy you enjoyed this Paula!
This is a fantastic dish with complex flavors. I browned the chicken thighs in batches in a skillet, then tucked them all together in the skillet and baked at 375 for 12 minutes. The juices released by the chicken were amazing over Israeli couscous. Gremolata without preserved lemons and Lebanese slaw paired beautifully with the dish.
Love it!
I made this tonight with the regular gremolata (not preserved lemons) and the cabbage slaw you recommended as a side and it was all fantastic!
Great to hear!
This became a staple in my house immediately.
So easy to prep, cook and so so so flavorful.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So happy you like this!
I bought a bunch of spices online from Villa Jerada in Seattle including ras al hanout. I’ve been looking for something to make with it, had some chicken thighs, and found your recipe. Just finished making for dinner with a simple cucumber, tomato and couscous salad. Chicken is so easy and delicious. Thanks and glad to now know of your blog!
Great to hear and glad you are here!
this was excellent! SImple and delicious! Full of flavor- I used the recipe for butterflied Cornish hens instead of chicken thighs.
Awesome Melina! Love the idea of butterflying the cornish hens!
It smells amazing! I’m excited to try this recipe, have it marinating. I’m going to attempt to roast it on top of baby potatoes and red onion. Fingers crossed!
Another delicious “Sylvia recipe”! When my girls ask for menu ideas, I say, “Sylvia has a great recipe for (fill in the blank)!” Now I can add this Moroccan chicken dish, preserved lemons, and the ras el hanout blend to my list of excellent recipes. The preserved lemon gremolata elevated this dish to new levels. Wow!
Thanks Cheryl!
I used this base recipe to marinade some chicken thighs in the paste. I then made a breadcrumb mix with a blend of herbs and spices(coriander powder, garlic, cayenne, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, lemon zest, chopped parsley) and a splash of olive oil. Coat each thigh in flour, dip in beaten egg mix, then cover in the breadcrumb mix and bake in the oven until crisp and golden brown. Genuinely one of the best things I have ever made. Delicious!!
This recipe looks amazing – would it be possible to do with chicken breast? My family don’t like the texture of thigh (which is annoying).
Yes, of course breast would be fine, just adjust cooking time.