Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas

This elegant Moroccan Chicken Tagine is perfect for the slow cooker. The chicken braises low and slow, tenderizing and soaking up all the delicious flavors of garlic, honey and fragrant North African spices. The result is falling-off-the-bone deliciousness! A truly spectacular dish with minimal time and effort in the kitchen. 

If you’ve ever visited Morocco, you’ve surely had a tagine or two. It is one of the most celebrated Moroccan dishes, along with couscous and pastilla.  

What is a tagine?

A tagine is a North African stew that’s named for the pot it’s cooked in – a tagine. It’s a conical earthenware pot that works a lot like a slow cooker, using low temperatures and long cooking times for an exceedingly moist and tender outcome. 

How To Make Chicken Tagine in a Slow Cooker

To create layers of flavor in this dish, there’s a bit of sautéing before throwing everything in the slow-cooker. Here’s how the recipe goes:

• First season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and brown them for a few minutes in a skillet.
• Set the chicken aside and add onions and garlic to the pan.
• When the onions are nice and soft, add broth, honey and spices to the pot.
• Stir to loosen any brown bits and pour the whole mixture into the slow cooker.
• Stir in the apricots and chickpeas.
• Place the chicken on top.
• Cover, and cook on low for 6 hours.

Life is hurtling by at warp speed. My slow cooker is about the only thing that’s slow in my life right now. At times like this I love to make delicious meals that draw the family around the table.

I’m turning to my slow cooker a lot lately, and loving it. I spend a half hour or so in the morning, chopping and sautéing, and come dinner time I can rock a beautiful meal like this scrumptious slow cooker Moroccan chicken tagine.

HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN TAGINE

• Serve this chicken tagine on a bed of plain couscous or rice to soak up all the flavorful sauce
• Garnish with toasted almonds, chopped cilantro and lemon wedges. Garnishes are an integral part of this dish. The tender, sweet and spicy long-cooked stew is complemented beautifully by lots of fresh bright lemon juice, crunchy almonds, and the unique and exciting flavor notes of cilantro.
• On the side, I love to serve a simple green salad with citrusy dressingor a Moroccan raw carrot salad or both.

Cooking Chicken Tagine For A Crowd

If you’re cooking this for a big group or if you want leftovers, this recipe can be “one and a halfed” (not sure how else to say this?) For one of my test runs, I made it with 12 thighs instead of 8. I increased all the other ingredients accordingly. I arranged the chicken in the crockpot, with some pieces overlapping, and it turned out great.

If you’re looking for another amazing slow-cooker recipe, this chicken with dried cherries and leeks is my long-time favorite. For this one there’s no sautéing – just throw everything in the slow-cooker and 6 hours later you will be in for a big treat.

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Here’s the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas. 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!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

Tender chicken and chickpea stew with North African flavors.

• Author: Panning The Globe, adapted from Cooking Light
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hours 10 mins
• Total Time: 6 hours 25 mins
• Yield: Serves 4-8 (1 or 2 pieces of chicken per person) 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: slow cooker, crockpot
• Cuisine: Moroccan

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• The Chicken and aromatic vegetables:
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 8 bone-in chicken thighs with the skin removed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 1/2 medium onions)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped garlic (10–12 med cloves)
• The Spices:
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Remaining Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups low salt chicken broth (I use Swanson)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 (15-ounce) cans organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Garnishes:
• 3 tablespoons oil (to cook almonds)
• 3/4 cup whole blanced almonds
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• Suggested Accompaniment: Couscous or rice

Instructions

1. Season the tops of the chicken thighs with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan, top/seasoned side down. Cook for 5 minutes, until nicely browned on the top side only. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, ginger, red pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth and honey, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a simmer. Carefully pour hot mixture into a 6-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in apricots, chickpeas and cinnamon sticks. Arrange chicken on top, browned side facing up. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Discard cinnamon sticks.
4. Brown the Almonds: Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the almonds, tossing constantly, until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.
5. To Serve: Serve over couscous or rice. Sprinkle generously with almonds and cilantro and place a couple of lemon wedges on each plate.

Keywords: slow cooker Moroccan chicken, crockpot Moroccan chicken stew, slow cooker chicken stew

[Originally published May 23, 2016. Updated March 1, 2019. Same delicious recipe with added nutritional information and some tweaks to the written post]