When you combine North Africa's favorite spice mix 'ras el hanout' with yogurt, garlic and lemon juice, you get one of the world's best marinades for grilled chicken thighs. The yogurt is a natural tenderizer. The spices are warm and fragrant. Prep time is minimal. Let the chicken soak up the marinade for an hour or two, throw it on a hot grill, and you are in for a treat.
My favorite new flavor discovery of late is North African ras el hanout spice mix. I've been testing it out in a bunch of recipes. And since the best recipe I know for chicken thighs on the grill involves marinating them in yogurt, garlic, lemon and spices, I decided to try using ras el hanout as the spice component.
The experiment was a huge success, yielding moist and deliciously tender tasty chicken.
Why is yogurt a great marinade for chicken?
Yogurt is an ideal marinade base for beef and poultry and here's why. Dairy – yogurt , milk, buttermilk – is an excellent tenderizer, partly because is is not very acidic. Acidic marinades, like lemon for example, can actually toughen meat whereas the calcium in dairy marinades activates enzymes in the meat, causing the proteins to break down.
I have to assume all that “breaking down” makes way for the delicious flavors of ras el hanout, lemon, and garlic to move in.
How to Make Ras El Hanout Spice Mix
- Ras El Hanout is not difficult to make and you probably have most of the ingredients in your spice cabinet. Here's my favorite go-to ras el hanout recipe. It takes less than five minutes to make.
- Instead of making it yourself, you can purchase ras el hanout spice mix on Amazon or in the spice section of some grocery stores.
Ras El Hanout grilled chicken thighs goes with everything. A simple green salad, boiled potatoes and steamed asparagus drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt is a perfect accompaniment.
I also love it with a lemony veggie pasta salad. For a bright and flavorful finishing touch, serve ras el hanout grilled chicken thighs with lemon wedges on the side and freshly chopped parsley or mint sprinkled on top.
Here's the recipe for ras el hanout grilled chicken thighs. If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Ras El Hanout Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 1 hour 12 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A simple marinade with yogurt, lemon, garlic and wonderful spices transforms ordinary chicken thighs into something extraordinary. [Note: Prep time doesn't include marinating time]
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
For the Ras El Hanout Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ras el hanout spice mix
- 1 cup plain whole fat Greek yogurt
- Zest of 1 lemon (Best to zest the lemon before juicing it)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or double if you like it really hot and spicy)
- 5-6 garlic cloves, smashed
Garnishes:
- Lemon wedges
- Mint or parsley leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour them into a bowl or container large enough to hold all the chicken. Add chicken and toss to coat. Allow chicken to marinate for at least an hour and up to 6 hours, covered, in the fridge.
- Heat the grill to medium-high. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side or until it's cooked through.
- Garnish with lemon wedges and chopped parsley or mint
- Serve with rice or couscous. Another great side for this is Moroccan raw carrot salad or this simple green salad with citrusy dressing. You could also cut up the chicken and roll it up in pita with chopped salad and tahini sauce like in this recipe for grilled chicken shawarma.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Category: Main dish
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: North African
Susan M
Made this for dinner the night before last and am excited to have leftovers for lunch today!
We halved the recipe for the two of us and ate it with couscous studded with Golden raisins and diced apricots. It was a party of flavors! Thanks for yet another keeper!
Cathy R.
Made with chicken breasts (all I had) & unfortunately, it was raining heavily. No grilling, but used an air fryer (no kidding!) Easy recipe, wonderful results, it is a keeper for me.
Lisa
Good to know that this recipe can be adapted with breasts and an air fryer! I'm really glad you enjoyed. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. 🙂
Hildur Rudolfsdottir
Fantastic recipe. Have you tried leaving it marinating over night in the fridge? Sorry if this has been asked and answered already
Lisa
I'm so glad you like it! No, I haven't tried leaving it overnight. I bet it would be great! Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
M
This is one of my favourite marinades - for chicken AND lamb. I’ve used it with a boneless lamb shoulder (marinated overnight, then roasted in the oven at 180C, for 40 minutes). Very delicious, and easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!
S. Hansen
Any suggestions for someone without a grill? I have only an oven and stove....
Thanks!
Lisa
Ye! Do you have a grill pan? Or even a heavy skillet will work. Heat up the pan with a light coating of vegetable oil, over high heat. Sear the marinated chicken for 2 minutes per side or until it's nicely browned. Turn down the heat and continue to cook the chicken on low for another 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness), until it's cooked through. Alternatively you can sear it in the pan and then transfer the pan to a 325ºF oven to finish cooking the chicken. I hope this helps - happy cooking!
Andi
I love this recipe. I have made it several times for guests and it always goes over very well, so well that. I have shared the recipe with others.
Niki
Hi can the greek yoghurt be replaced by natural soya yoghurt - i am dairy intolerant.
Thanks
Lisa
Hi Niki, Soya yoghurt should work just fine though it doesn't have quite the same tenderizing benefits that dairy yogurt has. You might want to mix some mayonnaise with the soya yoghurt - maybe half and half. Most of the fat will cook off when you grill the chicken and it should keep your chicken extra tender and juicy.
food lover
just in love with this recipe thank's for sharing great content
diane b
I love this recipe, it's fantastic. Do yo think it could be made in the oven w a high heat?
Lisa
Hi Diane, yes absolutely! Or in a grill pan, if you want to get those grill marks. For oven roasted, I suggest you preheat the oven to 425F. Cook the seasoned thighs in a roasting pan with slow sides or on a rimmed baking sheet, for 20 minutes or so. Let me know how they turn out!
Lisa
Great to hear Frank. Thank you for your comment. Best, Lisa
Ellen
Hi - thanks so much for this recipe. Have made these three times and they came out great - super simple to make and full of flavor!
Emma
Looks great, but I’d like to substitue fat free yoghurt in the tenderizer. Any reason why full fat is specified?
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Emma, I've tried fat-free yogurt in this recipe and I prefer whole fat. Here's an article I found that explains why. https://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-cooking-with-greek-yogurt-243358 It will still be good with fat-free yogurt but just not "as" good.
Alison
Looks like a great recipe! Any suggestions for cooking time and temperature in an oven instead of grilling?
Lisa
Hi ALison. You can definitely cook these in the oven but I might suggest using bone-in, skin-on chicken for the oven. Marinate the chicken the same way. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cook the thighs skin-side down for 20 minutes, then flip and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes until they're cooked through. If you want crispy skin, turn the oven up to broil for the last couple of minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn. If you want to stick with boneless, skinless thighs I suggest you start cooking them on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet. Sear them over high heat until they get nice and brown. Then pop the skillet into a 400ºF oven for 10-15 minutes, to finish them. I hope you enjoy. Let me know!
Alison
Thanks, Lisa! I made these last night using bone-in, skin-on thighs. I followed your cooking directions except I cooked at 425 as I was roasting carrots at the same time. Turned out great - thanks for the recipe!
Lisa
I'm glad you enjoyed and I'm glad to know that the recipe worked out well in the oven. Great to know! Thanks for reporting back Alison 🙂
Inzamam ul haq
Yummy! This one is good and easy to make and great recipe!. I madeGrilles chicken thighs in Pakistan and add more pepper to make taste delicious & yummy. Before this, I use the same Grilled Chicken recipe from ( https://www.sooperchef.pk/pakistani-recipes/ ) .Thank you!@
Brook
I don't know as I've ever used anything but the paste, Lisa. In fact, I make my own---it's rather easy.
As long as you keep a layer of olive oil floating on the top, it keeps two days longer than forever in the fridge.
If you want, I'll be glad to send you the recipe.
Lisa
Sure - I'd love to see your recipe.
Brook
Made this tonight, Lisa. What can I say, other than GREAT! I did use harissa rather than pepper flakes, but otherwise followed your recipe.
Lisa
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed Brook!!
Brook
Sounds really good, Lisa, and is on my to try list for sure.
One suggested modification: In order to maintain the Moroccan profile, I'd use harissa, rather than the pepper flakes.
Lisa
Interesting suggestion Brook - would you use Harissa spice or the spice paste?