This delicious, aromatic, sweet and tangy apricot chicken tagine cooked in a rich tomato sauce with chickpeas requires surprisingly little effort and makes a fantastic weeknight family dinner.
Check out also my easy Hungarian paprikash!
Why I love this recipe
- It uses pantry ingredients, involves very little chopping and takes minutes to put together.
- While the casserole is bubbling away you can prepare your side dish. Couscous, rice or quinoa are all good options.
- It combines tangy and savoury with sweet and spicy. The end product is delicious!
Apricot chicken tagine ingredients
The only ingredients that require chopping in this chicken apricot tagine recipe are onion and garlic. I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs and dried apricots and created a rich tomato based sauce including a little passata, chicken stock and 2 tablespoons of apricot jam. This last ingredient tones down the sourness of the sauce and really enhances the flavour! I added chickpeas as well as chickpea water into the sauce for more substance (plus nothing gets wasted!).
My Moroccan inspired spice mix is similar to the one I used in my recipe for crispy chicken legs.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1.In a large shallow dish heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the spices, stir then add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3 minutes until softened stirring frequently. Push the mixture to the sides, add the chicken thighs and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
2. Add the chickpeas (plus chickpea water), passata, tomato paste, chicken stock, apricots and apricot jam, stir, cover and bring to the boil then simmer gently for 45 minutes stirring often.
3. Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning if needed (and a splash of water if the sauce is too thick), scatter freshly chopped herbs and flaked almonds over the whole thing and enjoy!
Serving suggestions
I served my apricot chicken tagine with whole grain giant couscous but ordinary couscous, rice, bulgur wheat or quinoa are all great alternatives.
Top tips
- I do not recommend swapping white meat for dark meat in this recipe. White meat does not benefit from prolonged cooking (after 40 minutes of cooking it's likely to be chewy).
- Best served hot.
- The sauce will thicken after a while so if you are reheating leftovers the next day you may want to add a little water (and adjust the seasoning if needed). Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Substitutions
If you prefer not to use apricot jam add sweet chilli sauce. Garnish either with freshly chopped cilantro, parsley or mint (or a combination of these herbs)
You might also like
- Winter Stew Recipe
- Honey Chicken and Peaches with Cauliflower
- Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
- Simple Chicken Potato Stew
- Spiced Yogurt Marinated Chicken Breast
Check out also this collection of easy, healthy chicken recipes!
Keep in touch!
If you make this apricot chicken and chickpea tagine I'd love to know how it turned out for you. What did you serve it with? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Recipe
Easy Apricot Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas
Equipment
- Large shallow dish with lid
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 12 dried apricots deseeded, whole or roughly chopped
- 1x14.11oz can (400 g) chickpeas reserve chickpea water
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ⅔ cup (160 g) passata
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1-2 tablespoons apricot jam
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup (120 ml) chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin and paprika each
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and allspice each
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cilantro/fresh coriander, parsley or mint for garnish plus almond flakes
Instructions
- In a large shallow dish heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the spices, stir then add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3 minutes until softened stirring frequently. Push the mixture to the sides, add the chicken thighs and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
- Add the chickpeas (plus chickpea water), passata, tomato puree, chicken stock, apricots and apricot jam, stir, cover and bring to the boil then simmer gently for 45 minutes stirring often.
- Remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning if needed (and a splash of water if the sauce is too thick), scatter freshly chopped herbs and flaked almonds over the whole thing and enjoy!
Notes
- I do not recommend using white meat instead of dark meat in this recipe. White meat does not benefit from prolonged cooking (after 40 minutes of cooking it's likely to be chewy).
- Substitutions: If you prefer not to use apricot jam add sweet chilli sauce. Garnish either with freshly chopped cilantro, parsley or mint (or a combination of these herbs)
- The sauce will thicken after a while so if you are reheating leftovers the next day you may want to add a little water (and adjust the seasoning if needed). Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Natalie Lachenberg says
Can you use dates in this recipe instead or will it be too sweet?
Monika says
I think dates might be too sweet although this is possibly down to personal preference. Or maybe use less and chop them up. Or try adding a small handful of raisins instead.
Krystyna Czarniecka says
Czesc Monika,
Do I have to use boneless chicken thighs? They don't sell them that way here in France and I'm not sure I would know how to debone them. I suppose chicken breasts would be too dry for this wonderful recipe.. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
PS Uwielbiam czytac Pani przepisy. Sa tak roznorodne i w wiekszosci stosunkowo latwe do wykonania. Swietnie zrobiona strona! Zdjecia wysmienite, zawsze slinka leci! Gratuluje i pozdrawiam z Lyonu!
Monika says
Hi Krystyna! Thank you for your kind words. Glad you enjoy my recipes :)You can use chicken thighs with bones, but I don’t recommend chicken breast. Smacznego!
Amy says
This looks great! Do you think I could get away with not having real apricots and just using the jam? We don't have them available here. 🙁
Monika says
Hi Amy, yes, I am sure it would be fine. The recipe would still work.
[email protected] says
Thank you! Glad you think so:)