This delicious Moroccan chicken stew is made with nutrient-dense spinach, warm spices, sweet raisins, and sun-dried tomatoes, bringing together bold flavours and heartiness in one dish. This healthy stew delicious on its own with some flatbread or can be served with rice, couscous, quinoa or cauliflower rice.
Moroccan Chicken Stew Story
While travelling in the camper van, we’ve been meeting a lot of people and exchanged our favourite recipes. One of the most passed-around recipes ended up being a plant-based Moroccan chickpea stew. I love Moroccan cuisine and have made this with chickpeas many times but decided to try a chicken version instead.
I also added a few more veggies, so that the stew could be a stand-alone meal. You can, however, serve it over cauliflower rice, rice, quinoa, couscous and or extra vegetables.
This Moroccan chicken stew with spinach, raisins and sun-dried tomatoes is gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 friendly. I hope you like it as much as I do and it keeps getting passed down to your friends and family.
How To Make Moroccan Chicken Stew
You will find the full recipe with ingredients below. Here are some step-by-step photos to guide you along.
You can use any type of chicken meat for this dish. I used a mix of chicken breast and tenderloins. Skinless thighs would also work really well.
White potato can be replaced with sweet potato and for a more low-carb version, use zucchini instead.
Step 1. Sauté onions over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until slightly soft.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tomatoes, chicken stock and spinach. Stir for 30 seconds to allow the spices to release aromas.
Step 3. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and spinach. Stir through, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low-medium and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes over slightly higher heat. Stir a few times.
More Moroccan Recipes
Full Recipe
Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let me know in the comments, and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.
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Moroccan Chicken Stew With Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stewed
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Moroccan Chicken Stew recipe is a warm, comforting and flavourful dish made with tender chicken, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and raisins. It is a delicious blend of spices and ingredients that come together to create a unique and delicious taste.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 500 g / 1lb chicken meat, diced (breast, tenderloin or thighs)
- 1 large white potato, peeled and diced into cubes (sweet potato or zucchini can be used instead, see notes above)
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 to ½ cup chopped)
- 2 tablespoons of raisins
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne pepper
- 1 x 400 g tin of tomato puree (chopped tomatoes or tomato passata)
- 400 ml of chicken stock (about 1 ½ to 2 cups, I just used the tomato tin to measure)
- 1 cup of defrosted spinach, roughly chopped (squeeze some of the liquid out first)
- Garnish: Handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
Instructions
- In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onions and salt. Sauté, over medium heat, for 3-4 minutes, until slightly soft.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tomatoes, chicken stock and spinach. Stir over medium-high heat for 30 seconds to allow the spices to release their aromas.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir through. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low-medium and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes over slightly higher heat. Make sure to stir a few times during the cooking process.
- I like to let the cooked stew sit off the heat for 5 minutes to set and to cool down slightly. Serve garnished with fresh coriander. Cauliflower rice makes for a lovely side dish.
Notes
Vegetarian/vegan version: Use canned chickpeas instead of chicken, about 2 cans of chickpeas rinse and drained. Everything else should remain the same. You can try the Instant Pot version here.
Storing the stew: Cool the stew completely before storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Store in airtight containers or freezer-safe bags to prevent freezer burn and to keep the stew fresh. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and for up to 3-4 months in the freezer. Thaw out in the fridge overnight and reheat thoroughly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 631.5 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.7 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 35.3 g
- Cholesterol: 81.8 mg
Keywords: Moroccan Stew, Chicken Stew, Moroccan Recipes, Paleo Stew, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Whole30, Healthy, Spinach
This looks so very hearty! Perfect for this time of year!!
Thank you, Christina.
This looks so simple! Love it.
★★★★★
Sounds delicious. I love all the spices you’ve included!
★★★★★
I”m not real familiar with Moroccan cooking but I adore all of those seasonings and spices – I will definitely try this!
★★★★★
We ate this last night it was delicious! I love anything with sun dried tomatoes so with those and all of those lovely spices this is definitely a recipe to keep!
★★★★★
SO many great FLAVORS IN THIS MAGICAL STEW!! Can’t get enough!
★★★★★
Absolutely, it’s all about the spices.
I can just tell from your photos how delicious and flavorful this is! Love all the veggies it has as well, yum.
★★★★★
Love moroccan food. The chicken looks so moist and delicious! I want to make this dish now!
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Me too, this is a new favourite!
What a great weeknight dinner. We’ll be trying this in our home!
★★★★★
OMG, sun-dried tomatoes are one of my favorite foods! I love how you’ve combined them with the cumin and chili, which I use a lot in my Mexican cooking. Such lovely comfort food!
★★★★★
I know, right?!? I love them too. Sun-dried tomatoes forever 🙂
This is so good! I love the spices in this dish!
★★★★★
I just bought a bag of fresh spinach and was thinking about adding it to a stew to use it up.
What a perfect timing and a perfect recipe.
★★★★★
I’ve been craving something different with all the holiday indulgences and this looks like just the thing!
★★★★★
You’ll love it, Kari!
Love your work
Thank you 🙂
Great dish. Leftovers we’re even better! Used zucchini instead of potato and was great!
★★★★★
Thank you 🙂 Glad to know the zucchini worked well. I’ve only made it with potato but thought it would work with less starchy veggies as well.
Love, love this dish! Cooked it a couple of times now. So tasty.
Thank you, glad you liked it!
It’s look delicious and health. I love your recipes. Keep sharing.
Thank you
★★★★★
What type of paprika plain or smoked
Plain mild or sweet paprika.
This was really easy and delicious. I subbed zucchini for the potato and added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste as well. The tomato paste plus the sun-dried tomatoes give the dish so much umami.
★★★★★
Thanks, Diana! I can see how extra tomoto would work:)
The recipe was delicious. I used white meat chicken but prefer the dark meat, so will use that next time. The one thing I miss in your recipe is when to add the chicken, and is there anything you do to it prior to cooking in the stew?
★★★★★
First of all, thanks and glad you enjoyed the recipe. The chicken is part of ‘add the rest of the ingredients’ – just add it raw, diced and stir through for a minute over heat, then the stock and tomatoes go in. See step-by-step pic as well.
PS- I would add a little more cinnamon and more raisins, but that’s a personal taste.
★★★★★
question- should the chicken be cooked and ready to go prior?
Yes, you could definitely do that and use something like rotisserie chicken.