Chicken Tagine with Olives & Preserved Lemons is a classic Moroccan dish that is traditionally prepared in a tagine (the name of the dish and also the vessel in which it is cooked), but a slow cooker is much easier and the results are identical. While Moroccan food may sound exotic, many popular dishes are not at all difficult or time consuming to prepare. In fact, this delicious tagine takes about 15 minutes hands-on time. Couscous (Moroccan pasta) is the perfect accompaniment, and takes only 5 minutes once the water is boiling.

Many Moroccan dishes call for Ras el Hanout (translated “top of the shop”), a spice mixture. In the Moroccan markets or souks as they are called, each shopkeeper has his own special recipe for Ras el Hanout, which can contain up to 30 different spices. If you can’t find Ras el Hanout in a Middle Eastern market or specialty spice shop, it can be easily made at home; I’ve included a simple but excellent recipe for a quick homemade version that can be kept for months on the shelf in an airtight container. In addition, this tagine contains Preserved Lemons, which were featured in a previous article on this Quick Cooking site. While they can sometimes be found in Middle Eastern Markets and on line, they are very expensive. Hopefully your homemade preserved lemons are sitting on a shelf ready to be used in this dish; otherwise, it’s a good idea to get them assembled now so that you can prepare this fabulous recipe in the near future; it will take only a few minutes and your homemade preserved lemons will last at least a year.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine with Olives & Preserved Lemons

4 Servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup dehydrated onion flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth, (bouillon is okay)
2 preserved lemons
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Clean the chicken breast halves and cut out any veins, blood, or other nasty looking stuff.


2. Place them in the bottom of a 3-4 quart slow cooker.


3. Sprinkle the onion flakes and garlic over the chicken breasts


4. Rinse the preserved lemons in cold water, scrape out and discard the pulp, then coarsely chop.


5. Add the chopped preserved lemon to the pot along with the olives, bay leaves, and ras el hanout.


6. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low 4-6 hours (high 2-3 hours) or until the chicken is cooked through.


7. Sprinkle with the cilantro.


8. Serve over couscous or rice.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 285 Calories from Fat 125
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 44% Protein 42% Carb. 14%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 14 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Cholesterol 79 mg
Sodium 989 mg
Total Carbohydrate 10 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 30 g

Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 7% Calcium 0% Iron 11%

If you’re interested in owning a tagine to serve your Moroccan dishes in, you can purchase one from Amazon:

Souk Ceramique Cookable Tagine

10-Inch Handmade Moroccan Tagine

11-Inch Emile Henry Tagine

Preserved Lemons may be purchased on Amazon:
Mustaphas Preserved Lemons

Ras el Hanout may be purchased on Amazon:
Ras el Hanout