Instant Pot Chicken Tagine pairs tender chicken, chickpeas, apricots, and Moroccan spices in a sweet, savory stew that's easy to make.
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Tagine is Morocco's famous stew, named after its cooking vessel, a tagine. It is fruity and spicy, savory and sweet, and a fantastic taste of North Africa. And, it's usually made with lamb.
I love lamb, but for some of my family it's a bridge too far. (Not that I'm resentful or anything.) So, when I made Instant Pot Lamb Tagine a few months ago, I was asked "does it have to be lamb?"
No, it does not. And, though I still love the lamb version of this recipe, the chicken version is every bit as good. Pair some dark meat chicken with Moroccan spices, chickpeas, dried apricots, and some honey, and you've got a fantastic, spicy stew. The apricots and honey give it a different, sweeter flavor than the lamb version.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken breast: It's boring. It's bland. And everyone wants it. This recipe works as written with boneless, skinless chicken breast. (It's not quite as good, though - give chicken thighs a try!).
- Bone-in chicken thighs: If using bone-in chicken thighs, increase the pressure cooking time to 20 minutes with a full natural pressure release (about 20 more minutes). Once the cooking time is over, fish the cooked chicken thighs out of the stew, shred the meat (discarding the skin and bones), and stir the shredded chicken back into the pot.
- Chickpeas: Homemade chickpeas taste much better than canned - on their own. I usually have a few 2-cup containers of frozen chickpeas, so that's what I use. But, with so much going on in this recipe, you can substitute a drained can of chickpeas without anyone noticing.
- Ras el Hanout: I buy this spice blend from Morocco in specialty stores (or on Amazon). To make your own, mix 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ginger powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, and ½ teaspoon turmeric.
- Olives:Â Green olives are most authentic, and green Castelvetrano olives are my favorite choice. That said, if I'm in a hurry, I'll buy a small can of cheap sliced green olives to save on knife work.
- Preserved Lemon: Preserved lemon adds a tart and salty flavor to the dish, and is one of the key parts of the Moroccan flavor profile. I buy jars of preserved lemons at specialty grocery stores, or on Amazon. If you can't find preserved lemons, substitute the zest from a fresh lemon (for the tart flavor), and an extra ½ cup of olives (for the salty flavor).
- Apricots:Â The apricots add a sweet pop of flavor. Any dried apricot will do, but I personally prefer dark brown dried apricots - all the yellow ones are sulphur treated, so they keep their color while they're drying. There's nothing wrong with the yellow ones, and they taste basically the same, so use them if they're the only apricots available.
- Honey: Any honey will do, but hot honey is great in this recipe.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Tagine in pictures
Marinate the chicken
Toss the chicken with the spices, salt, and extra virgin olive oil, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Sauté the onion and toast the spices
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode, sauté the onion, and then toast the spices for 1 minute.
Broth, Chicken, Chickpeas, Carrots, and Tomatoes into the Pot
Pour the broth into the pot, scrape the bottom, then stir in the marinated chicken, chickpeas, carrots, and tomatoes.
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a 15 minute Natural Release
Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, let the pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
Stir in the apricots, olives, preserved lemon, and honey
Add the apricots, olives, preserved lemon, and honey, and let warm for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
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Instant Pot Chicken Tagine Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Chicken Tagine pairs tender chicken, chickpeas, apricots, and Moroccan spices in a sweet, savory stew that's easy to make.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into rough 2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for the marinade)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for sautéing)
- 1 large onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout
- 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade chicken broth, or store-bought low sodium)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using homemade broth)
- 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained (or 2 cups of homemade chickpeas)
- 8 ounces carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
- 14- to 16- ounce can petite diced tomatoes with juices
- Rind from 1 preserved lemon, chopped (discard the pulp) - about ¼ cup
- ½ cup green olives, pitted and chopped
- 1 cup dried apricots, cut into 1-inch pieces (or golden apricots)
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish
Serve With
- Couscous
- Hot Harissa Paste (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate chicken: Put the chicken cubes in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and Ras el Hanout, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir the chicken until it is evenly coated with the spices. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably 4 to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
- Sauté the Onion and Toast the Spices: In an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high (or a stovetop pressure cooker over medium-high heat), heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to shimmer, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and sprinkle with the salt. Sauté until the onion starts to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add 1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout. Toast the spices for 1 minute, then stir into the onions.
- Broth, Chicken, Chickpeas, Carrots, and Tomatoes into the Pot: Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into the pot (and add ½ teaspoon fine sea salt if using homemade broth). Scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to make sure the onions and spices aren't sticking. Add the marinated chicken, chickpeas, carrots, and the can of diced tomatoes with its juices. Stir until everything is evenly mixed.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a 15-minute Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pot, and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, or for 8 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) When the pressure cooking time is over, let the pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Add Lemon, Olives, Apricots, and Honey: Unlock the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Stir in the preserved lemon, olives, apricots, and honey, and let the pot sit for 5 minutes to plump up the apricots.
- Serve: Put a bed of couscous in a bowl, ladle some chicken tagine on top, and sprinkle with a little of the parsley or cilantro, passing the harissa at the table. Serve and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups of tagine
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 7.9 g
- Sodium: 663.6 mg
- Fat: 10.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.9 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 30.4 g
- Cholesterol: 127.8 mg
Frequently Asked Questions
That's a lot of work - is there a shortcut version?
If you can source the ingredients, most of this recipe is dump and stir. But, to make it even easier, here are the shortcuts I take to simplify it even more:
- Don't worry about marinating the chicken - just toss it with the spices before adding to the pot
- Use a bag of baby carrots instead of peeling and slicing carrots
- Replace the preserved lemon with the zest of a fresh lemon
- Buy pre-sliced olives
…and that's it. This makes this mainly a dump and stir recipe, where dicing and sautéing the onion is the only thing to do before pouring everything into the pressure cooker.
Storing leftovers
Chicken tagine makes great leftovers. It lasts for a few days in the refrigerator, and will last for months in the freezer. I freeze it in 2-cup containers for quick leftover lunches.
Related Posts
This recipe is a variation of my Instant Pot Lamb Tagine, and both are similar to Instant Pot Moroccan Lamb Shanks. If you're looking for some other recipes from the ancient spice road, I have some from Ethiopia: Instant Pot Ethiopian Red Lentils (Misir Wat) and Instant Pot Doro Wat (Ethiopian Chicken Drumsticks).
If you're looking for something else, here is my index of Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes.
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