The flavors of this dish are inspired by Moroccan cuisine from North Africa. It is so flavorful thanks to the spice paste you rub all over the chicken to include cumin, paprika and cinnamon. The addition of golden raisins add a little pop of sweetness. Bonus, your whole house smells amazing and the leftovers are absolutely insane!
If you really want a deep dive, this dish is typically cooked low and slow, in a tagine. Do I have a tagine?! Yes I do and I love it! Here is what mine looks like:
The bottom part is enameled cast iron and the conical shaped lid helps to circulate steam and retain moisture during cooking!
But I am well aware not everyone has a tagine and I also wanted this dish but without turning on my oven so I decided to make it in the slow cooker!
I love to serve it over a bed of herby couscous and a drizzle of cucumber yogurt sauce! You can even add chickpeas or cubed sweet potatoes to make it heartier!
Slow Cooker Tan Tan Moroccan Chicken
Ingredients
2 lbs bonelss, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)
Moroccan Spice Blend:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional for some spice)
Herby Couscous
1 package garlic and herb couscous
2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:
5 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 English cucumber, chopped (or one small regular cucumber, seeds removed, chopped)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Spice Blend:
In a small bowl, mix all the spices and the oil together. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken.
For the Chicken in the Crockpot:
- Place the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth in the crockpot. Stir in the lemon juice and raisins.
- Nestle the seasoned chicken into the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3–4 hours, until chicken is fall-apart tender.
- (Optional: at the last hour of cooking add the drained, rinsed chickpeas)
For the Herby Couscous:
- Cook the couscous according to package instructions.
- Once it is done, fluff the couscous with a fork and then stir in the fresh mint, parsley and the slivered almonds.
For the Cucumber Yogurt Sauce:
Combine all the ingredients. Store in a container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Serve:
Remove the chicken and cut it into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken back into the crockpot and stir everything together.
Serve the chicken over basmati rice, couscous or with a pita. Drizzle with cucumber yogurt sauce!
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