Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

Updated: November 22, 2023

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I really enjoy Moroccan food. The flavors, the spices, the ingredients – always so vibrant and never boring!

This is my adaptation of a Moroccan Chicken dish with Couscous. So while it may not be 100% traditional, it is extremely delicious 🙂

This recipe uses 1 medium organic, free-range chicken. Chicken is a great source of protein, selenium, vitamin B6 and phosphorous. As you may know, your bones are made up of about 50% protein and for your bones to repair, they require a steady stream of amino acids (the building blocks of body proteins). In fact, for stronger bones, higher protein intake is the missing link in most osteoporotic women, click here for more.

One of my favorite additions (which I have noted as optional in this recipe) are the green olives. These are very often used in Mediterranean cooking and add a different element to this dish.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Let me know in the comments below.

Moroccan Chicken with parsley and lemon

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Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

Monica Straith
Great source of protein, selenium, vitamin B6 and phosphorous.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Moroccan
Servings 1
Calories 3431 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium free range chicken quartered (you will be left with two breasts, two wings, and two leg/thighs.)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes BPA-free
  • 1 small yellow onion sliced
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley or cilantro chopped
  • 1 lemon sliced into 4 wedges
  • 1 zucchini chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 cup chicken broth organic
  • 2 cups couscous
  • 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Optional

  • 1/2 cup green olives pitted

Instructions
 

  • Place a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • While the skillet is heating, apply 1-2 tsp of olive oil onto chicken pieces, distributing evenly. Season thoroughly with salt and pepper.
  • Once the skillet is heated, add the remaining olive oil and coat the pan.
  • Add the chicken skin down to the pan and cook for 7 minutes, or until browned. Then turn over for an additional 6-7 minutes.
  • Remove the chicken from the heat and add to a plate.
  • Add onions, zucchini, and peppers to the pan and saute until softened. Add the cumin, paprika, and turmeric and cook until fragrant.
  • Add your can of tomatoes to the pan and chicken broth and place your chicken back into the pan as well.
  • Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then uncover for 10 minutes longer or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
  • While the chicken is cooking, prepare couscous to package directions.
  • Once couscous and chicken are ready, scoop couscous onto plates and place chicken and its veggies on top. Garnish with additional fresh chopped parsley or cilantro and add the lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Notes

The remaining chicken bones and trimmings can be used for stock.

Nutrition

Calories: 3431kcalCarbohydrates: 327gProtein: 199gFat: 146gSaturated Fat: 37gCholesterol: 571mgSodium: 2590mgPotassium: 4516mgFiber: 36gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 13075IUVitamin C: 392.1mgCalcium: 564mgIron: 26.2mg
Keyword chicken, couscous
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

For those of you following a vegetarian or vegan diet. You can simply swap out the chicken for a head of cauliflower and the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

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Recipe Rating




  1. Kathleen Annis

    June 11, 2016 , 5:52 pm

    Chickens in this country, unless one is lucky enough to live where one can raise one’s own, are treated despicably. Free range does not mean what it implies. The chickens are not individually caged, true, but they are crowded together with barely enough room to turn around – this is called ‘free range’ The last thing the chicken experiences before joining the dead is being thrown into boiling water which facilitates plucking. More or less the same thing is done to pigs. I suppose it saves time but what I’d like to do is dip chicken and pig farmers in boiling water for one second. Not enough to kill but enough, one hopes, to make them think about more than profit.
    We no longer buy chicken and, living in the city, can’t raise our own. Ergo – no chicken and no opinion om the recipe. It did ‘read’ pretty mouth watering

  2. Monica

    June 13, 2016 , 12:13 am

    Hi Kathleen,

    Thank you for your feedback.

    We believe in bioindividuality – that everyone has their own specific needs for their health according to their lifestyle, beliefs, age etc. and we do not impose our beliefs or judge.

    The great thing about most of our recipes we share is that they can be adapted. As noted at the bottom of this one, you can easily substitute cauliflower and vegetable broth in place of chicken.

    – Monica @ AlgaeCal

This article features advice based on cutting-edge research from our industry experts to give you the best possible information to support your bone-building journey.

Lara Pizzorno
MDiv, MA, LMT - Best-selling author of Healthy Bones Healthy You! and Your Bones; Editor of Longevity Medicine Review, and Senior Medical Editor for Integrative Medicine Advisors.,
Dr. Liz Lipski
PhD, CNS, FACN, IFMP, BCHN, LDN - Professor and Director of Academic Development, Nutrition programs in Clinical Nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health.,
Dr. Emma Gasinski
PT, DPT, RYT - Physical therapist and certified yoga teacher with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals,
Dr. Lawrence (Larry) A. May
MD, FACP, Harvard Medical School Graduate, Physician, Author, Public Speaker - Doctor of Internal Medicine at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and author of several articles and books, including the widely utilized and best selling medical textbook Primary Care Medicine,