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This Slow Cooker Tagine-Inspired Chicken is perfectly bright and is sure to add excitement to your dinner table!
If you are not familiar, Chicken Tagine is a traditional traditional Moroccan dish of chicken braised with spices, garlic, onion, olives, and preserved lemons. It’s deliciously bright and something I highly recommend trying!
With those bright flavors in mind, it inspired this delicious slow cooker chicken. But, instead of preserved lemons, I did a mix of orange and lemon zest and juice! I cannot get enough of these bright flavors.
Slow Cooker Tagine-Inspired Chicken Ingredients:
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Ground Coriander
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Tomato Paste
- Salt and Pepper
- Chicken Breasts
- Lemon Zest
- Orange Zest
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Fresh Orange Juice
- Cilantro
- Pitted Green Olives
- Shelled Pistachios
- Cauliflower Rice or Jasmine Rice
Slow Cooker Tagine-Inspired Chicken step-by-step: slow cooker method
Step One: Start the Sauce and Chicken
In the bottom of a slow cooker, add the sliced onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, chicken broth, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Nestle in the chicken breasts, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.
Step Two: Shred the Chicken
Once the cook time is complete, transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, and shred with two forks. Return the chicken back to the cooking liquid and toss to combine. Add in the lemon and orange zest and juice, cilantro, and olives. Stir to combine.
Step Three: Serve and Enjoy!
To serve, scoop cooked cauliflower rice or jasmine rice into bowls and ladle the sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped pistachios and extra cilantro if desired.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! You can absolutely make this in an Instant Pot, you can find the steps below on how to make.
If you need to keep this Whole30 or Paleo, you can serve this over cauliflower rice! If not, this is great over steamed rice. I’ve even served the leftovers over a simple salad!
for more chicken recipes:
Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Chicken and Veggies
Instant Pot Beer-Braised Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Tagine-Inspired Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 large yellow onion halved and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lb. chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ½ cup chopped cilantro plus more for serving
- ½ cup drained and roughly torn pitted green olives
For Serving:
- ¼ cup chopped shelled pistachios
- Cooked cauliflower rice or jasmine rice
Instructions
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS:
- In the bottom of a slow cooker, add the sliced onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, chicken broth, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Nestle in the chicken breasts, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.
- Once the cook time is complete, transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, and shred with two forks. Return the chicken back to the cooking liquid and toss to combine. Add in the lemon and orange zest and juice, cilantro, and olives. Stir to combine.
- To serve, scoop cooked cauliflower rice or jasmine rice into bowls and ladle the chicken tagine mixture over top. Garnish with chopped pistachios and extra cilantro if desired.
INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:
- In the Instant Pot, add the sliced onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, chicken broth, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Nestle in the chicken breasts, place the lid back on the top, lock, and turn the vent to “sealed.” Using the manual setting, set the cook time to 20 minutes.
- Once the cook time is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for about 10 minutes. Turn the vent to “venting” to release the rest of the steam, and open the lid. Transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, and shred with two forks. Return the chicken back to the cooking liquid and toss to combine. Add in the lemon and orange zest and juice, cilantro, and olives. Stir to combine.
- To serve, scoop cooked cauliflower rice or jasmine rice into bowls and ladle the chicken tagine mixture over top. Garnish with chopped pistachios and extra cilantro if desired.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
Good basic recipe but not enough flavor for my regular rotation. Thank you for all your amazing recipes!!
Made this tonight and Superb! My husdand and I enjoyed it. We did not add the pistachios but overall a definite add to our rotation. Since I was excited to make this after I saw this on instragram.. I used pressure cooker to cook chicken breasts and thighs for 25 min. I made rice for our bowls! Alex, Thank you for your recipe!
Glad it was a hit, Josie.
Made this tonight definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Love your recipes Alex. I liked this one too, but felt the citrus (esp. the orange) was a little overpowering, so next time i make I’ll add 1 tbsp of each lemon/orange to start instead of the full 2 tbsp.
Made this tonight! I subbed boneless skinless chicken thighs and it worked well. This recipe is perfect as written. I discovered my orange was a Cara Cara orange when I cut into it so was a tad more grapefruity. I will definitely be returning to this recipe again and again!
Hi Alex – mega fan. If we have preserved lemons on hand, are they a 1:1 substitute for the zests and juice, or would you recommend another approach? Thank you!
Yes, would like to use those as well instead of orange/lemon. Any recommendations?
Made this tonight cause I had all the ingredients … delicious and so easy! Definitely a keeper. And healthy too! Thanks for this one.
Looks delish! Can’t wait to make this week. I can’t have tomatoes – do you think it’s okay to omit? And any sub recommendations for coriander? Ty!!
i think it’s okay to omit the tomato paste- but it does add flavor and does help thicken the sauce slightly!! I would maybe make a slurry at the end (1/4 cup of the broth from the pot + 1 tbsp tapioca flour) whisk that and stir it in to help thicken it a bit.
This is excellent!!
If doing this in a Dutch oven/ enamel on the stove how long would you cook for?
I would think on low for 2 hours should work (haven’t tested it yet)