Slow Cooker Chicken with Moroccan Spices

82 Reviews

How to use your slow cooker for a slow cooked, Moroccan-style chicken without a tagine.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Editorial Process
Updated on November 10, 2025
the flavorful broth mixture, and simmer
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Credit: Elise Bauer

Why Make This

  • For a tender, well spiced chicken dish inspired by the flavors of Morocco, look no further than this recipe, made in a slow cooker instead of a tagine.
  • This spice list for this recipe may look long, but if you're missing one or two, don't stress and just make it without! You can also experiment with the spices here.

Moroccan chicken, my favorite! Chicken thighs, rubbed with an abundant amount of spices, cooked until tender with olives and lemons.

This is a slow cooker riff off our popular tagine recipe. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are sprinkled with paprika, ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and more, placed on a bed of chopped onions, and slow cooked with green olives, lemon slices, and raisins until fork tender.

The spice list is long, if you are missing one or two, don't stress about it. Feel free to experiment with the amounts and find what works for you.

I do love the subtle addition of crushed fennel seeds, and I recommend not going overboard with cinnamon, which can be bitter in large amounts.

If you don't want raisins or dried fruit, add a cup of sliced carrots the last hour of cooking.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken Recipe served in a white bowl
Elise Bauer
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
2 hrs 30 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 45 mins
Servings:
6 servings
Yield:
Serves 6
Note:

We are using boneless (and skinless) chicken thighs for this recipe only because they're easier to deal with. Feel free to use bone-in thighs (you'll need 2 1/2 pounds) if you prefer.

You can substitute dates or prunes for the raisins.

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon paprika

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1 teaspoon turmeric

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1 red onion, roughly chopped, about 2 cups

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

  • 1 cup pitted green olives

  • 1/2 cup raisins

  • 1/2 fresh lemon, thinly sliced

  • Fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish

Directions

  1. Salt the chicken:

    Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the chicken thighs. Let sit while you prep the other ingredients.

  2. Whisk the spices:

    Whisk together the spices in a small bowl—the paprika, ground ginger, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, crushed fennel seeds, and nutmeg.

    slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken-method-1
    Elise Bauer

  3. Layer the onions, chicken, spices, garlic, olives, raisins, lemon slices in slow cooker:

    Place chopped onions at the bottom of a slow cooker bowl. Layer the chicken thighs on top of the onions. As you layer the chicken thighs, sprinkle them all over with the spice mix. (Use all of the spice mix.)

    slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken-method-2
    Elise Bauer
    slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken-method-3
    Elise Bauer

    Add the garlic, green olives, raisins, and lemon slices.

    slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken-method-4
    Elise Bauer
    slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken-method-5
    Elise Bauer

    There's a lot of lemon here, but in the end, the lemon should add a subtle flavor, standing in for preserved lemon.

  4. Cook:

    Cook on the high setting of the slow cooker for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or 4 to 5 hours on the low setting (depending on your slow cooker brand). Towards the end of cooking, stir so that the lemons olives and raisins get mixed into the liquid. The chicken is done when it is fall apart tender.

    Serve with couscous or rice (use rice if cooking gluten-free). Garnish with fresh cilantro and/or parsley.

    Did you love the recipe? Let us know with a rating and review!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

426 Calories
18g Fat
34g Carbs
40g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Calories 426
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 34g 12%
Dietary Fiber 7g 26%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 40g 80%
Total Fat 18g 24%
Saturated Fat 5g 23%
Cholesterol 184mg 61%
Vitamin A 34mcg 4%
Vitamin C 71mg 79%
Vitamin D 0mcg 2%
Vitamin E 2mg 17%
Folate 36mcg 9%
Vitamin K 15mcg 13%
Sodium 972mg 42%
Calcium 110mg 8%
Iron 4mg 21%
Magnesium 73mg 17%
Potassium 882mg 19%
Zinc 3mg 30%
Vitamin B12 1mcg 23%
Omega 3 0g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Reviews (82)

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Slow Cooker Chicken with Moroccan Spices

My Rating

Featured Tweaks

a pinch of salt
02/19/2017
I liked the simplicity of this recipe, but found the lemon to be bitter. To counteract the bitterness, I added some chicken broth and honey. I'd suggest using a cinnamon stick instead of ground cinnamon. I wound up finishing the dish in a dutch oven on the stove, and am planning to freeze it. For dishes like this one, freezing often enhances the flavors.
Sue Gilchrist
02/18/2016
I made this last night in the oven instead of a slow cooker and it was great! I increased the lemon, cumin and paprika and put all of the spices in a ziplock bag. I added the chicken and shook it. The chicken then marinated in the rub for 30 min. I cooked the assembled dish at 400 for 15 minutes and 350 for another 45.
Heidemarie
05/24/2020
Made this for dinner - so easyeasy. and so good. I just made it in a heavy enamel dish with a tight fitting lid, in the oven at about 130 ° C for about 5 hours. It smelled, looked and tasted great - I particularly loved the little extra flavour bursts of the lemon slices. Olives were just plain green pitted ones. Served with couscous and a salad garnished with pomegranate and toasted almonds. Thank you for the recipe . It's great - do you normally add any stock?
SneakyYam4717
06/27/2019
I used chicken breasts instead of thighs as I don't like digging out bones and breast has no skin so less fat. I substituted dried mango and dates instead of raisins and also added carrots, an eggplant and a red capsicum to give a bit of veggie to the meal. I added also hot water that I used to soak the dried mango and figs in as I thought the mix looked too dry. All those spices and garlic went into the liquid and was just delicious.
SadGin2080
01/11/2019
I'm making this now. It smells wonderful. I wonder if the problem others might have had with the lemon peel is that this dish is usually made with preserved lemons. I've used those a lot and always have a jar in the fridge. And the peel is more tangy than bitter, at least to my taste.
Wayne Boylan
12/03/2015
If I may suggest a "shortcut", check to see if you have an international style spice store in your area. If so, ask for "Ras al Hanout", which I understand to mean "Head of the Shop", in Arabic. This one blend will eliminate the great list of ingredients, without changing the overall recipe significantly. I have used it a lot and we just love the result.
CozyBass5077
01/29/2020
Cooking this as I write so review to follow. I added chicken broth right away as we like a sauce and I am using chicken breasts so probably would be too dry. Also where is the nutrition information? I choose recipes based on this and couldn't find it.
Christy
01/18/2020
Could this be made in an instant pot? What would the time difference be?
SmartPie4739
04/10/2017
Tonight is my 4th time making this dazzling dish. I have tweeked with different dried fruits and different olives....alf fine including the original. BUT, I concluded after the first go that it does absolutely needs more liquid. We like to put some of the tasty juices over our rice. So, I now add a cup of lo/so chicken broth and that combined with the natural juices is perfect.
Ron
12/31/2016
I recently retired but my wife still works full-time, so I cook most of our weeknight meals now. Needless to say, I am a novice in the kitchen. While shopping at our little market down the road the woman behind the register told me about this recipe. She had just made and raved about it. So I went home and tried it. We loved it! My wife, who is an awesome cook and baker really was impressed and that made me feel great, too. We had it again last night and it was just as splendid as before. Both times I removed the bone from the thighs and did not have issues with it being dry. This recipe is wonderful and simple enough that even I have success in the kitchen!
Karima
01/11/2021
Hello, if I just need to make for 3 servings do I just divide everything by 2? Also we would like to have some extra sauce for the couscous? What would you suggest we do?
82 Reviews
Norman
01/31/2021
It was pretty good, but I fonf that the lemon rinds made it bitter. Anything I can do about this?
maschierholt
01/26/2021
Is there a substitute for olives, which my husband refuses?
Niki
01/25/2021
It was delicious! I substituted dried apricots instead of the raisins and it was very tasty. Will definitely be making this again!
Bricin
01/13/2021
Hi Elise and Sara,I made this and it turned out delicious!I have a couple of suggestions - place some of the lemon slices between the layers of chicken too. We found that the chicken in the top layer tasted more like Lemon Chicken and that the lemon flavour was much less prominent in the lower layer.I didn't use preserved lemons this time round but will be using them next time.I'd also be more inclined to use prunes instead of raisins.We also found that we would have appreciated a side dish to bulk the meal out a little but it's good to eat light too. ;)We thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks for the recipe. :)
Bricin
12/29/2020
Hi Elise,I've very curious to try this dish - it looks fantastic and the reviews so far as excellent. :)I was wondering if you've ever tried making it using preserved lemons?
SavvyPot1307
12/25/2020
Forgot to rate. 5 stars for sure!!
BluePeach6876
12/25/2020
This was SO GOOD! I'm trying it with lamb tonight.. we shall see!
Chelsea
10/27/2020
I'm making this today! Will it work in a breville multi chef? It's an all in one and has a slow cooker setting.
Tiana
10/11/2020
Not sure why mine didn't turn out as well. Would not try this again. Used everything the recipe asked for... :(
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