• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Panning The Globe
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
×
Home » Recipes » Chicken

Senegalese Chicken Yassa

March 11, 2015 Updated March 5, 2021 by Lisa Goldfinger 52 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe
Pinterest pin: Chicken Yassa

Chicken Yassa is scrumptious West African comfort food that the whole world needs to know about. Delicious tender chicken and lots of caramelized onions in a sweet, spicy, lemony sauce.
a white porcelain baking dish with braised chicken pieces, caramelized onions, sliced green olives and bright swirls of curly lemon zest

Senegalese Chicken Yassa is a famously popular recipe throughout west Africa. It's one of those simply delicious dishes: just a few ingredients that are transformed, by the magic of cooking, into an exciting and comforting meal.

Chicken, lots of onions, lemon juice, garlic, dijon mustard and one hot pepper to infuse a perfect amount of kick. After marinating, browning and a slow braise, you get fall-off-the-bone tender chicken and sweet caramelized onions in a captivating sweet-tangy-spicy sauce.

Browned chicken pieces for making Senegalese chicken yassa

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN YASSA

There are several stages to this recipe, each one contributing a delicious layer of flavor to the dish.

  • The first step is to marinate the chicken and onions with a mixture of oil, lemon juice, garlic and dijon mustard. Let the chicken marinate for a good three hours for maximum flavor. If you can leave it overnight, even better.
  • Next, brown the chicken. This can be done on a grill (the most authentic method) or in a skillet. I prefer the skillet to the oven for browning. Just a personal preference. I might have considered grilling it but there's still a mountain of snow between my back door and my grill!
  • Remove the browned chicken pieces from the skillet and add the onions with their lemony, garlicky marinade. Sauté them until they are golden and caramelized. Remove them from the pot.
  • Add the chicken back to the pot. Mound the caramelized onions on top. Set the hot pepper in the middle. Turn on the heat and get everything simmering.
  • Cover the pot and set it in a preheated 350ºs oven and cook for an hour and 20 minutes. 

a white Dutch oven filled with chicken yassa smothered in caramelized onions with one small red pepper in the center

Serve Chicken Yassa hot, with plain white rice to soak up all the delicious sauce.

Be careful when you transfer the chicken to a plate or platter because it might fall apart - it's that tender!

plates of rice toped with Senegalese chicken yassa

This comforting dish with bright flavors feels just right as the snow here in Boston is starting to melt and the birds are starting to chirp. 

I hope you enjoy!

If you like this kind of comforting flavorful chicken dish, don't miss these other delicious Panning The Globe chicken recipes:

  • Filipino Chicken Adobo 
  • Jollof Rice with Chicken
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine
  • Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac
  • Arroz Con Pollo: Spanish Chicken and Rice Casserole

Senegalese Chicken Yassa by Panning The Globe

Here's the Senegalese Chicken Yassa recipe. If you try this recipe, please come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think.

Print

Recipe

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Senegalese Chicken Yassa by Panning The Globe

Senegalese Chicken Yassa


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.7 from 16 reviews

  • Author: Lisa
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Tender chicken braised with lemon and caramelized onions. Serve with fluffy rice and Moroccan Carrot Salad.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 chicken leg quarters (leg and thigh)
  • 3 chicken breast halves (bone-in)
  • 5 onions (about 2 pounds) peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
  • 1 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper
  • Marinade
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup canola oil or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • For Browning and Braising the Chicken
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil (olive, canola, or grape seed)
  • 1 ½ cups low-salt chicken broth (I recommend Swanson's)
  • Garnish 1 cup pitted green olives, sliced

Instructions

  1. Marinate the Chicken: Put the chicken and onions into a large glass bowl. Cut a few slits in the habanero pepper and add it to the bowl. Whisk marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour on top. Toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours or, preferably, overnight.
  2. Brown the Chicken and Caramelize the Onions: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Remove the chicken from the marinade and sprinkle pieces with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper, to taste. Brown chicken on both sides in batches, three pieces at a time, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Spoon out some of the chicken fat from the pot, leaving about one tablespoon.
  3. Caramelize the Onions Set the hot pepper aside and scrape the onions and all the marinade into the pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes to get the onions hot and cooking. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium-low. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes more, until they are soft and starting to caramelize. Regulate the heat so they don't burn.
  4. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to move onions aside, as you lay chicken pieces into the bottom of the pot, and then mound the onions on top of the chicken pieces. Place the hot pepper in the middle of the pot. Pour in chicken broth. Turn the heat to medium high and bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the pot and put it in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
  5. Serve with fluffy white rice and sliced green olives.
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: African

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

 

 There are affiliate links in this post

More Chicken Recipes

  • bowl filled with sesame coated linguine noodles, topped with matchstick cucumbers and carrots, sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
    Spicy Peanut Noodles: Chicken or Vegetarian
  • Arepas stuffed with chicken avocado salad, and a stack of five arepas in the background.
    Reina Pepiada: Venezuelan Arepas with Chicken and Avocado
  • chicken Marbella in a roasting pan with prunes, green olives and a garnish of chopped parsley
    Chicken Marbella from The Silver Palate
  • Two piece of Filipino chicken adobo - two braised chicken thighs coated with rich brown adobo sauce - on a bed of white rice, on a plate, with a sprig of bay leaves on the side.
    Filipino Chicken Adobo

Filed Under: Africa, All Recipes, Chicken, Cooking Light, Dinner, Entertaining, Most Popular Recipes, Stew Tagged With: dairy-free, gluten-free, one-pot meal, paleo

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Kirsten

    March 08, 2025 at 11:19 am

    Would omitting the Dijon mustard alter the flavor too much? Is there an alternative? I love every mustard other than yellow mustard but my partner is a super taster who can tell if I throw in just a pinch of any kind of mustardy flavoring into even complex dishes, and it automatically makes the dish taste not as good in his eyes. Believe me, I've done experiments lol

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      March 14, 2025 at 2:21 pm

      I bet this dish will still be great even without the mustard. The lemon flavors will shine through and you'll have plenty of flavor contrast with the garlic, olives and caramelized onions. I hope you and your partner enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Greg

    December 14, 2023 at 10:19 am

    Excellent recipe. Question, I am using boneless chicken thighs and would like an idea of how many pounds I need of this. Thanks so much.

    Reply
  3. Miska Knezevic

    September 19, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    Excellent I,ll make it tomorow! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Pinterest pin: Chicken Yassa

Hi, I'm Lisa! Welcome to Panning The Globe. Dive into my collection of delicious, healthy recipes, discover new global flavors, and create unforgettable meals for your family and friends. Learn More!

Healthy Easy Recipes for Spring!

  • Easy White Bean Turkey Chili Verde
  • Bowl of lemon asparagus risotto topped with shredded basil and parmesan
    Lemon Asparagus Risotto
  • Rows of colorful chopped veggies and chicken in a serving bowl: cherry tomatoes, chicken, cucumbers, red onion, carrots and avocados.
    Rotisserie Chicken Chopped Salad
  • a bowl of Korean Chicken Stew with Gochujang Sauce
    Korean Chicken Stew with Gochujang
  • overhead shot of a cast iron skillet filled with paella: shrimp, sausages, chicken, strips of pimiento and a parsley leaf in the middle
    Easy Spanish Paella Recipe
  • white bowl filled with roasted fennel, tomatoes and white beans
    Roasted Fennel, Tomatoes and White Beans
  • Fish in crazy water is a classic Neopolitan dish of fresh fish, poached with carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes. The fish is tender, the veggies are crisp-tender, the broth is sweet and delicious, and dinner is on the table in just 30 minutes.
    Fish In Crazy Water
  • rimmed baking sheet topped with baked chicken thighs, potatoes, red bell peppers, zucchini and green olives.
    Baked Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Peppers and Olives

STAY ON TOP OF WHAT’S COOKING

Subscribe to our free newsletter and get the newest recipes and seasonal menu ideas sent directly to your inbox.

Footer

LET'S CONNECT!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Footer

Pinterest pin: Chicken Yassa

↑ back to top

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Browse

  • Contact
  • All Recipes
  • Quick & Easy Recipes
  • Side Dish Recipes
banner with names of publications that have featured recipes from panning the globe

COPYRIGHT © Panning The Globe 2025 · All text, recipes, content and images on this site are the sole property of Lisa Goldfinger and Panning The Globe.

PRIVACY POLICY · CONTACT ME · SUBSCRIBE

7.7K shares