My fuss free Moroccan chicken and rice is a comforting, easy introduction to Moroccan cuisine with a magical combination of citrus, floral and umami that preserved lemons bring to any savoury dish.
This dish is really a one-pan wonder that involves some simple prep work. Then it looks after itself in the oven, while you get on with enjoying your guests or weeknight tasks. The brown rice base absorbs the chicken broth that has been spiced with saffron, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and gently steams the chicken as it bakes. The chillies used are mild and provide extra warmth to the dish rather than heat. The preserved lemons and the green olives add just the right touch of saltiness. And, with the addition of onions and capsicum, it’s entirely legit to serve it as a complete meal!
Using store bought preserved lemons is perfectly fine. But why not try making your own with my Easy Moroccan Preserved Lemons recipe! Homemade preserved lemons are super quick to make. There are countless ways to use them to brighten up your everyday meals.
Let’s dive into this effortless one pan chicken dinner recipe —your kitchen is about to smell amazing!
Moroccan chicken and rice ingredients
With the exception of the preserved lemons, this Moroccan chicken and rice bake is full of easy to find ingredients.
I always used tinned chickpeas in my recipes. I can’t understand how it’s supposed to be more virtuous to cook with dried chickpeas over ones in a can. Is that just a ‘me’ thing?
This is one recipe where you want the chicken to be ‘skin on.’ I’ve used Maryland joints and have cut them into thighs and legs. For 6 serves you need 12 pieces of chicken, which should fit into a large roasting dish.
I use brown Basmati rice. You can swap in white Basmati rice but I prefer the nutty result with the brown rice.
If you don’t have wine handy, you can swap out the white wine with water or more chicken broth. But I do like the depth of flavour you get with white wine.
Try my homemade preserved lemons recipe
I know, you have no time or preserving is too complicated – right? I get it, really, I do. But if you are curious and want a super simple recipe to ease you into preserving or pickling, my Easy Moroccan Preserved Lemons recipe is for you.
But please don’t abandon this one pan chicken dinner recipe if you’re not interested in making your own preserved lemons—they do not need to be homemade!
Australian made preserved lemons
If opting for buying the preserved lemons for this one pan Moroccan chicken with rice recipe, turn the jar over and check whether they are made in Australia. Most jars you find in the shops are packaged in Australia but the preserved lemons are made overseas.
The one Australian made and owned brand I am aware of are the preserved lemons from Olgive & Co. This family owned and operated company locally sources both the lemons and salt in Western Australia. Their retailers are available on their website.
So if you choose to buy the preserved lemons, you can also support Australian made and family owned.
The garnish is important!
I serve my Moroccan Chicken and Rice Bake with fresh lemon wedges, Greek yoghurt and chopped coriander on the side.
Prep the preserved lemons, herbs and aromatics
I promise this is a Fuss Free Moroccan Chicken and Rice recipe. The secret to keeping it fuss free is assembling and preparing all your ingredients before you start cooking.
Prepping the spices
This dish is a one pan recipe if you have a casserole, roasting pan, or large frying pan with a lid that can go from the stove top to the oven. I wanted to bake the dish in a stoneware casserole so needed to use a frying pan for toasting the spices and when browning the chicken.
I used a 4 litre capacity baking dish, measuring 35cm x 25cm x 5 cm.
Heat the pan on medium heat and add the cumin and coriander seeds to the pan, swirl the pan gently as they heat up. Remove from the pan once you can smell their fragrance and cool on a dish. Grind the spices with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. If you don’t have either, you can crush the spices with the bottom of a heavy pan on the chopping board. Add the cinnamon to the spice mix and set aside.
I also crush the saffron and put it in a small dish. Add some warm water to the saffron so it will infuse while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients.
Prepping the flavour bombs for this dish
Prepare the preserved lemons by splitting them into quarters, removing the lemon segments, and leaving only the rind. Rinse the rind briefly under cold running water to remove the salt brine and pat dry. There’s enough salt left in the peel to help season the rice. Slice the lemon quarters across into strips approximately 4-5mm wide. Set aside.
Either peel the garlic and chop or set it aside to add to the pan with a garlic crusher. Set aside.
Wash the chillies (I use plastic gloves) and split down the middle, removing the membrane and seeds with a small paring knife. Slice the halves crosswise into strips 3-4mm thick. Set aside.
Thoroughly wash the coriander before use. I wash it twice, lifting it out of the salad spinner bowl to leave behind any grit. Remove the roots and discard. Cut the coriander stems from the leaves and keep the leaves wrapped in paper towel in the fridge to use as garnish for the finished bake. Chop the stems finely and set aside.
Chop the onions and capsicum
Peel the onions, halve and cut into segments about 2cm thick. Remove the core and seeds from the capsicum. Roughly chop the capsicum. Keep in mind that the onions and capsicum will be cooking with the rice for about 1 hour.
You want to start with fairly large pieces so they do not disintegrate before end of the cooking process. Set aside.
Browning the chicken, onions and capsicum
I have used Maryland joints for my one pan Moroccan chicken with rice. To separate the thigh from the legs. I dislocate the joint between the thigh and leg and then cut through the joint, trying to keep the skin intact as I go.
Add a couple of tablespoons of flavourless oil to the pan on medium high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides in batches, don’t crowd the pan. Set aside each batch on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the chopped onions and capsicum. Leave without stirring to get some char happening on the edges of the vegetables. Stir them for a few minutes and remove from heat before they start to soften. Set aside.
Creating the Moroccan flavoured rice base
Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced 200°C conventional.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan using medium heat. Add the ground spice mix, crushed or chopped garlic, sliced chillies, bay leaves, and chopped coriander stem. Stir while the spices toast and once they start to become aromatic add the rice and stir well to coat the rice with the flavoured oil. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze. Stir briefly and then add to the roasting pan (if using more than one pan).
At this point the spice mix, chillies, garlic, coriander stems, bay leaves, rice and white wine are in the pan that will be going into the oven. Add the chicken stock and saffron (with water) to the pan and stir.
Drain the tinned chickpeas, discarding the fluid. Add the chickpeas to the pan and stir to distribute them across the pan. Then add the onions and capsicum, pushing them part way into the rice . Finally, add the strips of preserved lemon rind and the green olives across the top of the rice mixture, pushing them in lightly.
Ready for the oven!
Make sure the oven is preheated to 180°C fan forced 200°C conventional.
Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the rice base (do not press into the rice). If necessary, the chicken pieces can overlap slightly but the goal is for them to cook in a single layer.
Put a lid on it!
Cover pan with a tight-fitting lid or cover with foil. If your lid is a bit loose, you can cover the pan with foil or baking paper first and then put the lid on.
If I don’t have a lid, seal the roasting dish in an aluminium foil tent. Place two long pieces of aluminium foil on top of each other, shiny side inwards. They need to be longer than the baking dish as they also need to come up the ends of the dish. I then fold the long edge in twice, creating a 1cm seam. Open out the foil rectangle on the kitchen bench, being careful not to disturb the seam you’ve created. Keep the shiny side of the foil up. Place the pan in the middle of the foil and fold the foil over the top and ends of the pan. Create a tent like effect as you seal the seams of the foil by rolling them together.
Cooking time
This one pan moroccan chicken with rice dish takes about 1 hour to cook. Start checking at about 45 minutes to see if the rice is cooked through. It will expand quite a bit, be soft, and have absorbed all the liquid. The chicken will be fully cooked at this stage. But you can check a piece to make sure there is no blood near the bone. Alternatively, use an instant read thermometer, which should read a minimum of 74°C.
Remember, if the lid is not tight fitting, some of the fluid may evaporate and there may not be enough to cook the rice. If this occurs, add more chicken broth, wine or water to the rice as it finishes cooking.
Ready to serve
This Moroccan chicken bake is best served fresh out of the oven. But it does make great leftovers, which can be frozen.
Assemble the garnishes before serving: lemon wedges, chopped coriander leaves and Greek yoghurt. I drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the yoghurt.
Goes great with a tomato and preserved lemon salad!
The preserved lemons provide a delicate and floral citrus depth of flavour to this one pan Moroccan chicken with rice bake. To stay with the North African theme, and to add bolder preserved lemon statement, pair this chicken recipe with my Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad.
One Pan Moroccan Chicken with Rice
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle (optional)
- Garlic crusher (optional)
- Salad spinner (optional)
- 4 litre capacity casserole/roasting pan (lid optional)
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs skin on
- 6 chicken legs skin on
- 400 g tin chickpeas
- 375 g brown basmati rice
- 500 ml chicken broth (low salt)
- 250 ml white wine
- 1-2 preserved lemons
- 1 yellow capsicum
- 1 red capsicum
- 2 large brown onions
- 3 large cloves garlic
- 100 g green olives
- 2 long red chillies
- 1 small fresh bunch coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads (a large pinch)
- 2 fresh lemons
- 1 cup full fat Greek yoghurt
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced 200°C conventional.
- Heat a 4 litre capacity flameproof casserole on medium heat. Add cumin and coriander seeds to the pan and swirl the pan gently.
- Remove from the pan when the seeds become fragrant and cool on a dish.
- Grind the seeds with a mortar and pestle and add cinnamon and set aside.
- Crush saffron in the mortar and pestle and scrape into a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of warm water to infuse the saffron, set aside.
- Remove lemon segments from preserved lemons and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
- Slice the lemon quarters across into strips approximately 4-5mm wide. Set aside.
- Peel the garlic and set aside.
- Split the chillies lengthwise down the middle, removing the membrane and seeds with a small paring knife. Slice the halves crosswise into 3-4mm strips. Set aside.
- Remove the roots from the fresh coriander and discard. Cut the coriander stems from the leaves and reserve the leaves in the fridge to garnish the finished dish. Chop the stems finely and set aside.
- Peel the onions, halve and cut them into segments about 2cm thick.
- Remove the core and seeds from the capsicum. Roughly chop the capsicum into large pieces.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan on medium high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides in batches, don’t crowd the pan. Set aside each batch on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, swirl and add the chopped onions and capsicum. Leave without stirring to get some char happening on the edges of the vegetables. Stir them for a few minutes and remove from heat before they start to soften. Set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and heat on medium heat. Add the ground spice mix, crushed or chopped garlic, sliced chillies, bay leaves, and chopped coriander stems. Stir until the spices become aromatic, then add the rice and stir well to coat the rice with the flavoured oil.
- Add the wine to the pan and stir to deglaze.
- Add the chicken stock and saffron water to the pan and stir.
- Drain the tinned chickpeas, discarding the fluid. Add the chickpeas and stir to distribute them across the pan.
- Then add the onions and capsicum to the pan, pushing them into the rice part away.
- Add the strips of preserved lemon rind and the green olives across the top of the rice mixture, pushing them in lightly.
- Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the rice base (do not press into the rice). If necessary, the chicken pieces can overlap slightly but the goal is for them to cook in a single layer.
- Cover pan with a tight fitting lid or cover with foil. If your lid is a bit loose, you can cover the pan with foil or baking paper first and then put the lid on.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour. Check at 45 minutes to see if the rice is cooked through. It will expand quite a bit, be soft, and have absorbed all the liquid. If the rice is not quite cooked and the liquid has all absorbed, add a small amount of chicken broth, wine or water. Cover and return to the oven until the rice has finished cooking.
- The chicken will be fully cooked at this stage. You can check a piece to make sure there is no blood near the bone or use an instant read thermometer, which should read a minimum of 74°C.
- Assemble the garnishes before serving. Cut lemon wedges and chop the coriander leaves coriander leaves. Place the Greek yoghurt in a serving bowl and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve the Moroccan chicken bake straight from the oven or keep covered and warm until ready to serve.
