Moroccan Chicken With Sweet Potatoes

Experience incredible aromas and juicy spiced Moroccan chicken with the most scrumptious sweet potato, prune, onion, garlic and apple medley ever.

This Moroccan chicken recipe is loosely inspired by a similar one from Food and Wine. It’s now a simplified one pot dish with chicken, vegetables and fruit cooked all together. The mixture of roasted sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, apples and prunes – soaked in chicken juices – makes you weak in the knees.

I fiddled with the spice mix and included lemon zest (really good). Here are a couple of other Moroccan spice blends you can play with – one from Wanderlust and the other from Epicurious.

How to roast Moroccan chicken

A couple of things to note. Many Moroccan chicken recipes require a Tagine (a special cone shaped cooking vessel) for cooking. This one uses a simple cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, a roasting pan (not too large) will do too.

Some recipes use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken. I like the whole chicken route because there there is no need to saute and brown the chicken pieces first. Less steps, no frying.

The basic steps are as follows:

1. Chop the vegetables, aromatics and fruit. Place them in a large skillet. Toss with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them.
2. Season the whole chicken and settle it into the pan with the veggies and fruit surrounding it. Add a bit of broth.
3. Roast for about an hour (or two hours if you’re using a slow cook method)
4. While the chicken is resting, put the sweet potato-fruit medley back into the oven to brown/caramelize more.
5. Cut up the chicken and serve with the amazing roasted side and some lemon wedges.

I tried the recipe with two different cooking methods – slow roast and quick roast. I didn’t find a lot of difference in the juiciness of the chicken. The trick is really not to overcook the chicken and to let it rest. I preferred the quick roast method because it is a bit more straightforward, the chicken skin gets crispy and it takes about an hour less to cook.

The recipe creates its own delicious side dish while cooking the chicken. So you’ll only need a simple additional side at most. I suggest a green salad perhaps with mango salad dressing, a kale slaw, steamed asparagus or roasted broccoli (place in oven for last 10 minutes while potatoes are browning).

Tailor To Your Taste

• Try dates, raisins or dried apricots instead of the prunes.
• Halved baby white potatoes can be substituted for the sweet potatoes (if you insist).
• Use a teaspoon of sumac instead of the lemon zest.
• Add a drizzle of honey and chopped nuts over the chicken before serving.
• I sometimes add 15 purple grapes (instead of apples) to cook along with the potatoes and prunes.
• Some Moroccan chicken recipes add green olives.
• Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Shortcut

• Both quick and slow cooking methods are provided in the recipe. Obviously the quick roasting method is quicker!

Make Ahead

• Chicken and potatoes can be prepped several hours ahead or the night before.
• The entire recipe can also be cooked ahead and kept warm, loosely covered, for up to an hour without cutting up the chicken. Cut chicken just before serving to preserve juiciness.
• Serving this recipe for company? You might find our post on how to keep food warm helpful. 

Other roast chicken recipes to try

Roast chicken is pure comfort food. Here are a few other favorite recipes.

• Simple roast chicken and potatoes
• Roast chicken breast with gravy
• One pan roast chicken and vegetables
• Instant pot roast chicken and gravy
• Company chicken with citrus sauce and pistachios

And if you like Moroccan flavors, try our spicy cherry tomato sauce.