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Moroccan chicken is tender, succulent, and full of exotic flavor. It’s an easy recipe that can be prepped in advance, making it the perfect dish for company.
This is yet another great recipe from the same gal (my cousin Alla from WA) who shared her tzatziki sauce recipe with us. Alla invited us over for dinner while we were visiting Seattle this past weekend and she served this chicken. We were mighty impressed.
By the way, that tzatziki sauce brings this chicken to a whole new level, so if you’re making the grilled Moroccan chicken, go ahead and stock up for the tzatziki recipe (you’ll thank me later; it’s Nice!).
If you want to bake this chicken, one of my readers shared that she baked at 375F for 35 minutes (covered) and for another 5 minutes uncovered and it worked well.
Ingredients for Moroccan Chicken:
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (1 1/2 lbs)
How to Make Grilled Moroccan Chicken:
1. Put all ingredients into food processor except for the cilantro, parsley and chicken. Pulse the marinade 5-7 times times to mince the garlic.
2. Next, add in cilantro and parsley and pulse it a few more times. Pulse until your cilantro and parsley look chopped (your chicken will look prettier if you don’t puree it. Hey now, prettiness counts, especially when you’re serving something for company).
3. Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to make make 8 thinner chicken breast pieces. (I added a picture, just incase someone’s like, “what’s lengthwise?” and then proceeded to cut it in half down the middle :-O). Transfer chicken breast into a large ziploc bag (or bowl).
4. Pour marinade over chicken and smoosh/toss-it-in-the-air-like-you-just-don’t-care, to evenly coat the chicken. Let it sit at least 4 hours or over night.
5. Grill the chicken on medium heat just until cooked through. Note: If you want to bake this chicken, one of my readers shared that she baked at 375F for 35 minutes (covered) and for another 5 minutes uncovered and it worked well.
6. Make the tzatziki sauce (Seriously. Please!) and keep in mind the tzatziki sauce is best if made at least an hour in advance, preferable refrigerated overnight).
Another great tip from my Cousin Alla: Double this recipe and divide it in half. Grill one portion and place the other half in a large gallon-sized ziplock bag. Remove excess air from the bag, then lay it flat in the freezer for another night (note: it defrosts quicker when you freeze it flat vs bunched together).
When you decide to grill the marinaded chicken just transfer from the freezer to the fridge and it will marinade as it defrosts. Don’t you love shortcuts?
Grilled Moroccan Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/8 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into food processor except for the cilantro , parsley and chicken. Pulse the marinade 5-7 times times to mince the garlic.
- Next, add in cilantro and parsley and pulse it a few more times. Pulse until your cilantro and parsley look chopped (your chicken will look prettier if you don't puree it. Hey now, prettiness counts, especially when you're serving something for company).
- Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to make make 8 thinner chicken breast pieces. Transfer chicken breast into a large ziploc bag (or bowl).
- Pour marinade over chicken and smoosh/toss to evenly coat the chicken. Let it sit at least 4 hours or over night.
- Grill the chicken on medium heat just until cooked through.
Notes
Double this recipe and divide it in half. Grill one portion and place the other half in a large gallon-sized ziplock bag. Remove excess air from the bag, then lay it flat in the freezer for another night (note: it defrosts quicker when you freeze it flat vs bunched together). When you decide to grill the marinaded chicken just transfer from the freezer to the fridge and it will marinade as it defrosts.
Natasha, just wanted to thank you for this recipe… My daughter and I like chicken, and we are always looking for good healthy ways to cook. She will be coming to visit next week, and I’m inspire to make Grilled Moroccan chicken, this recipe will soon become one of my family favorite… Welcome to my kitchen Natasha 🙂 blessings to you!
Thank you so much Perla; it’s good to be a visitor in your kitchen 🙂 I love your name; it reminds me of my late friend, Pearl. 🙂
Just about to try this recipe! I was wondering what would 4 chicken breasts be in terms of kilos?
Oh good question. Hmm.. I think it’s about 1 to 1.25 kg.
Update! Just came back from dinner and it was a HIT! Even my best friend who isn’t much of a meat eater (raised vegetarian) loved it and wanted the recipe! Definitely amazing when grilled!
I’m so glad it turned out awesome for you!!! 🙂 Thanks for reporting back. Happy New Years!
I marinated this the other night with the intention of grilling it with friends for Christmas Eve, but my family got the flu, so we ended up cancelling our plans. I was out of foil and baked it uncovered for myself and it turned out dry. (I also had traded the four chicken breasts for quite a few chicken tenders, so perhaps I could have made a double batch of seasoning.) I loved the seasoning though, so I made ANOTHER batch that we’ll grill this time on our make-up Christmas Eve get together tonight! 🙂 I’m sure tonight it’ll be much better!
Moral of the story: Flu shots are definitely something you should consider getting, and definitely do not cook this uncovered on 375 if you need to bake it or you might have some dry chicken!
Thank you for another great recipe, Natasha! 🙂
Yes, I imagine cooking it uncovered would produce a very dry chicken. I’m glad you gave it another shot 🙂 I hope you all feel better soon!!
Making this today! What did you serve with it? I was thinking about making mashed potatoes….
I’ve served it with rice and mashed potatoes. Both are great options!
Natasha, if I was to half the recipe, would I half the marinade too? Thanks.
You could do it either way. If you have leftover marinade, use it for veggies 🙂
Natasha, I also wanted to ask how it would come out if we baked the chicken , and saw Natasha G’s post. Do you know about how long would it have to be in the oven for? Having company this weekend and want to serve it with the tzatziki sauce! And a few other dishes as well 🙂
I havent tried baking it so it’s hard to say exactly. I’d check on it after 15 minutes for doneness. It looks like she cooked it under foil, but I don’t know if the color would still be that pretty golden brown if you bake it under foil. You might take the foil off at the end and put it under the broiler a couple minutes? Sorry that’s not more concrete.
I just made it tonight, baked in the oven. I baked at 375F for 35 minutes (covered) and for another 5 minutes uncovered. It looked similar to the picture, minus the grill marks – tasted moist and really good 🙂
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing that. I was way off with my 15 minutes (I err on the side of caution I guess). lol Seriously, thanks for sharing!! 🙂
OH MY!!! this chicken was devine, we LOVE it!! and grilled i think its the best method, my husband is a pro a grilling and it came out soo nice and moist and very flaverfull, and i also did the vegies and the sause with it and let me tell you i couldnt stop untill we finished all the vegies!!
thank you again for this post!!! ur awesome!!
Sounds like you did an entire Moroccan menu! That’s the best way to do it! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it 🙂
First off, thank you for all your wonderful recipes:) I made this chicken last night & I had to bake it cause grill was unavailable @ the time.. Let me tell you, it turned out great!! I baked it @ 375 covered with foil.. It was super juicy & the flavor was amazing.. Thank you again for all you do & Blessings to your family!
Oh that’s awesome! I’m going to try your method once our grill goes into hibernation for the winter 😉
Natasha, that looks super delishes! Do you think it would still be good if I baked it in the oven? (we dont have a grill =( )
I haven’t tried baking it, but I think it would work. I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure what temp or time to recommend.
Love Moroccan flavors! I used to make Moroccan leg of lamb all the time. With cinnamon cous-cous on the side. This chicken looks so good!
I’ve never actually cooked lamb before. Do you have a good recipe for it on your blog? Cinnamon couscous sounds wonderful.
Natasha…you are a life savier :)))) thank you so much for this great recipe
You are so welcome. I hope you love it!
I love this! I love all Moroccan recipes! I love cousin Alla invasion of Natasha’s kitchen. Pinned!
Ha ha! Yes, definitely! Thanks so much for pinning 🙂
Hi Natasha, do you by any chance have the recipe for the Olive Garden bread sticks?
No yet but that would be a good experiment!
Tzatziki sauce is in the fridge and the chicken is marinating…. Can’t wait to try it! I have a question: Our grill needs to be replaced since it’s is not heating as it should….do you think if I bake in the oven it will be fine?
P.S. Thanks for the great amazing recipes!!!
It should be fine in the oven, let me know how it turns out :).
Tried the Tzatziki sauce and it was delicious!! Shared the recipe with
my old Van Pool family… they loved it. I hope when you visited Seattle
that our weather was sunny and no rain (we did have a beautiful summer:))
I’m glad you loved the recipe. It was a great weather for the entire trip. Although it rained the day before we arrived and on the day we left :).
Sounds wonderful, can’t wait to give it a try!
Let me know how it turns out :).
Looks delish on my to do list asap haha thanks for posting and thanx for ur cousin for sharing it!!!
You are so welcome Alana :).
This is great! Thanks for sharing! What did your cousin serve as a side dish? I envision pita bread going good with this chicken and tzatziki sauce 🙂
She served grilled vegetable skewers (recipe to follow) :).
This looks delicious!
Thank you Norma, it really was delicious :).