Do you have a meal that is so intimately connected with a memory, it represents far more to you than a collection of ingredients? Fellow food lover that you are, I suspect you do. That is how I feel about this Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken.
Warmly spiced with cinnamon and cumin, sweetened with golden raisins, and protein-rich with chickpeas and juicy chicken, this healthy crockpot chicken recipe is comforting, filling, and addictive. It’s a fantastic, easy crockpot chicken recipe you should add to your menu this week.
For me, however, it tastes something of more than warm spices: its flavor is one of warm welcome, hospitality, and a joyful night with new friends.
Despite the fact that I haven’t been to Morocco (bucket list!), Moroccan food has been a hallmark in many happy memories.
When I returned to visit my host family France nearly a decade later, my host mom cooked Ben and myself a Moroccan chicken tagine (you can find this stellar recipe in The Well Plated Cookbook, and an old recollection of our little French reunion here).
When I first moved to Minneapolis, a new friend invited me over for Moroccan dinner night. We all sat on the floor, ate too much couscous, and laughed like we’d known each other for years instead of hours.
And most recently when I moved to Milwaukee, another couple I barely knew invited me over to share the simple, healthy meal they’d prepared for themselves that night, this slow cooker Moroccan chicken.
I asked if a) I could have the recipe and b) if I could post it publicly, because, well I have this job that’s kind of hard to explain to people when you first meet them. :)
Fortunately, they agreed and here we are!
5 Star Review
“The only mistake I made with this recipe was not doubling it! So easy to make and yet nutritious. My family and friends thank you!”
— Debra —
How to Make Crockpot Moroccan Chicken
Like many of my favorite healthy crockpot chicken recipes, this one is family-friendly, easy to prep ahead, and tastes excellent leftover too.
The Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs. As with my Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken and Jerk Chicken Tacos recipes, I strongly recommend using chicken thighs. They are less likely to overcook and hold up well to the bold Moroccan flavors in this recipe.
- Chickpeas. Moroccan flavors and chickpeas are a perfect match (just ask this Moroccan Chickpea Salad). Plus, they’re packed with vitamins and fiber.
- Tomatoes + Bell Peppers. Beautiful and nutritious pops of color. The tomatoes help add rich flavor to the sauce.
- Golden Raisins. Delicious little sweet morsels and a classic ingredient in Moroccan cooking. They taste lovely beside the spices.
- Tomato Paste. Helps make the sauce taste like it’s been simmering away all day.
- Spices. Cumin, cinnamon, and paprika bring this dish to life. They’re bold (but not spicy), warm, and earthy.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Peanut butter gives the sauce body and adds another layer of deep, complex, and nutty flavor. Not a peanut butter fan? You can use any nut butter you enjoy here.
The Directions
- Add everything but the chicken and nut butter to a slow cooker, then stir.
- Scatter the chicken over the top.
- Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
- Stir in the nut butter.
- Serve as desired and ENJOY!
TIP!
Crock pot Moroccan chicken cooks in about two hours on high or six hours on low, but you can let it go for even longer if you have a programmable slow cooker like this one that automatically shifts to “keep warm” once the cooking time is finished.
How to Serve Moroccan Chicken
Our favorite way to serve crock pot Moroccan chicken is with a delicious grain. Here are a few ideas:
- With Rice. Brown rice, white rice, or cauliflower rice would all be tasty.
- With Quinoa. The nutty flavor of quinoa would pair nicely with this dish.
- With Couscous. This chicken and Moroccan Couscous would be a fabulous pairing. For tips on cooking couscous, check out my Couscous Recipe!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Refrigerate chicken in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Rewarm leftover chicken in a Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- To Freeze. Freeze leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Meal Plan Tip
Dice the chicken, tomatoes, peppers, and onion up to 1 day in advance. Store each separately in the refrigerator.
Leftover Ideas
Pile this Moroccan chicken over a bed of greens for a hearty, easy salad.
What to Serve with Moroccan Chicken
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Slow Cooker. Easy to use and incredibly versatile.
- Measuring Spoons. Two-sided spoons mean fewer dishes.
- Non-Slip Cutting Board. My go-to cutting board.
Programmable Slow Cooker
Whether you’re looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, or drinks, there’s a crockpot recipe on my site. This kitchen appliance is a must-have!
This crock pot Moroccan chicken is one of the very first recipes I shared on my blog. I hope that it leads to happy memories for you too!
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Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 cans reduced sodium chickpeas (15 ounce cans), rinsed and drained
- 1 can whole tomatoes (28 ounces), drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 large bell peppers seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons creamy unsalted peanut butter almond butter, or other nut butter of choice (I used all natural peanut butter)
- Prepared brown rice  quinoa, or whole wheat couscous, for serving
Instructions
- In the bottom of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together the chickpeas, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, golden raisins, tomato paste, water, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, and salt.
- Scatter the chicken pieces over the top.
- Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 6-8 hours on LOW or 2-3 hours on HIGH.
- Stir in the nut butter.
- Serve over rice, quinoa, or couscous, garnished with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- I strongly recommend chicken thighs over chicken breasts in slow cooker recipes, as chicken breasts tend to dry out quickly.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate chicken in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT:Â Rewarm leftover chicken in a Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE:Â Freeze leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
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This looks so so good! How would you adapt for an Instant Pot?
Hi Megan! You could try this using the slow cooker setting on your Instant Pot. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it!
I don’t usually comment but I felt compelled, not just because this recipe is fantastic (which it is, we all loved it and my 15 month old son devoured it for dinner and lunch the next day) but because, like you, I have warm memories attached to these flavors. this recipe so closely resembles one in my recipe box, given to me by a former patient of mine and cooking it always makes me fondly think of that gentleman. Your version was simpler thanks to the crockpot and even tastier thanks to the peanut butter! Thanks again for a great recipe, we loved it!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Kathryn! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Delicious!!!! I made this using chicken breast since that is what I had. I added dried apricots and a tiny bit more spice and served it with cauliflower rice. I will add more raisins next time since it really tasted fabulous with them and I had been a bit hesitant about including them.
My husband LOVED it!!!! Will be making this again!!
So great to hear you all enjoyed this dish Mims! Thank you for this kind review!
Are the raisins necessary? I do want to try this but my entire family (including myself) despise raisins so I plan on omitting them but want to make sure I won’t be compromising the flavors.
You can leave them out!
I always forget to pull meat out ahead of time can I start frozen?
Hi Vande. I have never cooked my chicken from frozen in this recipe so I can’t say for sure. I do know that if chicken is added into the crock pot frozen you will have to cook it for a longer time.
I’m excited to try this dish but Where’s the measurements for spices?
Hi Josh! You can find all the information for the recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page to take you right to it.
This turned out pretty good! The only slight tweaks I made were a) I ended up adding in 4 cloves of garlic, b) I didn’t have any cumin so I subsituted it with approximately 1 TB of curry and 1 TB of coriander and c) I browned the chicken with a bit of salt for a few minutes on a frying pan, then added it into the crockpot, then sauteed the onion and bell peppers in a little bit of salt for a few minutes and added it in. It ended up taking closer to about 4-ish hours for the chicken to be fully cooked. It turned out really nice! Will definitely make again :)
Glad it worked out for you Lu!
Served this to my friends at a movie night while watching Casablanca. It was a huge hit. Added some Harissa and served with rice vinegar to cut the sweetness. Everyone was impressed not only by the flavor but the easy preparation. Thanks
Hi Stacey! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This was delicious and so easy to make! What do you think about throwing in some unsalted peanuts, too?
Hi Marie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review! Sounds tasty!
You don’t say how to dice the peppers, whether to drain the chickpeas or anything else. Super vague instructions.
I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble with the recipe Alex. Are you viewing it in the recipe card or just looking at the overview of it in the blog post? Because in the recipe card it says for the 1st ingredient “2 cans reduced sodium chickpeas (15 ounce cans), rinsed and drained” and 3rd ingredient in the recipe card says “2 large bell peppers seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces”. Hope this helps!