This delicious paleo-friendly Moroccan chicken stew is made with lots of nutrient-dense spinach, warm spices, raisins, and sun-dried tomatoes, bringing together bold flavours and heartiness in one dish.
While travelling in the van, we’ve been meeting a lot of people and exchanging our favourite recipes. One of the most passed around recipes ended up being a plant-based Moroccan chickpea stew. It was very, very tasty, but while I enjoyed having a plant-based meal with my vegetarian friends, I did feel the effects of those chickpeas on my digestive system, if you know what I mean.
I really wanted to make this stew again and decided to do a chicken version. I also added a few more veggies, so that the stew could be a stand-alone meal. You can, however, serve it over cauliflower rice or extra vegetables.
So, here it is, my adapted paleo Moroccan chicken stew with spinach, raisins and sun-dried tomatoes. I hope you like it as much as I do and it keeps getting passed down to your friends and family.
Cook’s notes
You can use any type of chicken meat for this dish. I used a mix of chicken breast and tenderloins. Skinless thighs would also work really well.
White potato can be replaced with sweet potato and for a more low-carb version, use zucchini instead.
For more Moroccan recipes, check out my spiced cauliflower salad and this delicious Moroccan lamb casserole stew.
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Moroccan Chicken Stew With Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 500 g / 1lb chicken meat, diced (breast, tenderloin or thighs)
- 1 large white potato, peeled and diced into cubes (sweet potato or zucchini can be used instead, see notes above)
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 to ½ cup chopped)
- 2 tablespoons of raisins
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne pepper
- 1 x 400 g tin of tomato puree (chopped tomatoes or tomato passata)
- 400 ml of chicken stock (about 1 ½ to 2 cups, I just used the tomato tin to measure)
- 1 cup of defrosted spinach, roughly chopped (squeeze some of the liquid out first)
- Garnish: Handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
Instructions
- In a heavy medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onions and salt. Sauté, over medium heat, for 3-4 minutes, until slightly soft.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tomatoes, chicken stock and spinach. Stir over medium-high heat for 30 seconds to allow the spices to release their aromas.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir through. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low-medium and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes over slightly higher heat. Make sure to stir a few times during the cooking process.
- I like to let the cooked stew sit off the heat for 5 minutes to set and to cool down slightly. Serve garnished with fresh coriander. Cauliflower rice makes for a lovely side dish.
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This looks so very hearty! Perfect for this time of year!!
Thank you, Christina.
This looks so simple! Love it.
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Sounds delicious. I love all the spices you’ve included!
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I”m not real familiar with Moroccan cooking but I adore all of those seasonings and spices – I will definitely try this!
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We ate this last night it was delicious! I love anything with sun dried tomatoes so with those and all of those lovely spices this is definitely a recipe to keep!
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SO many great FLAVORS IN THIS MAGICAL STEW!! Can’t get enough!
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Absolutely, it’s all about the spices.
I can just tell from your photos how delicious and flavorful this is! Love all the veggies it has as well, yum.
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Love moroccan food. The chicken looks so moist and delicious! I want to make this dish now!
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Me too, this is a new favourite!
What a great weeknight dinner. We’ll be trying this in our home!
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OMG, sun-dried tomatoes are one of my favorite foods! I love how you’ve combined them with the cumin and chili, which I use a lot in my Mexican cooking. Such lovely comfort food!
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I know, right?!? I love them too. Sun-dried tomatoes forever 🙂
This is so good! I love the spices in this dish!
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I just bought a bag of fresh spinach and was thinking about adding it to a stew to use it up.
What a perfect timing and a perfect recipe.
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I’ve been craving something different with all the holiday indulgences and this looks like just the thing!
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You’ll love it, Kari!
Love your work
Thank you 🙂
Great dish. Leftovers we’re even better! Used zucchini instead of potato and was great!
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Thank you 🙂 Glad to know the zucchini worked well. I’ve only made it with potato but thought it would work with less starchy veggies as well.
Love, love this dish! Cooked it a couple of times now. So tasty.
Thank you, glad you liked it!
It’s look delicious and health. I love your recipes. Keep sharing.
Thank you
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What type of paprika plain or smoked
Plain mild or sweet paprika.
This was really easy and delicious. I subbed zucchini for the potato and added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste as well. The tomato paste plus the sun-dried tomatoes give the dish so much umami.
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Thanks, Diana! I can see how extra tomoto would work:)
The recipe was delicious. I used white meat chicken but prefer the dark meat, so will use that next time. The one thing I miss in your recipe is when to add the chicken, and is there anything you do to it prior to cooking in the stew?
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First of all, thanks and glad you enjoyed the recipe. The chicken is part of ‘add the rest of the ingredients’ – just add it raw, diced and stir through for a minute over heat, then the stock and tomatoes go in. See step-by-step pic as well.
PS- I would add a little more cinnamon and more raisins, but that’s a personal taste.
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