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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.




Hi Natasha! Thanks for your site all the great recipes. I want to try to make this chicken into kabobs and add the morrocan veggies to it, the veggies on your site. Do you think it’ll work out? So it would be a chicken and veggie kabob. Have you ever tried it?
Hi Yana! these would work fine as shish kabobs. If you make them that way, they pair really well with these vegetable skewers and of course the tzatziki sauce goes well with both. I hope that helps!
This is a new favorite! We made this chicken for a big family party and it was a hit! After the party my husband says, “did you hear all those compliments about the chicken?”
I used chicken thighs and made them into kabobs. The flavor of this chicken is so good! Thank you for another winning recipe!!!!
I love this! Thank you so much for sharing such an awesome review with us!
Delicious! A refreshing change from what I usually do to chicken. I first made this in February when my grill was under a foot of snow. Instead of baking it I cooked it on my grill pan on the stove. It turned out perfectly,juicy and flavorful. I thought you’d like to know that option for cooking it and suppose a tabletop grill would also be an alternative. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
How many pound of chicken do you used for this recipe? Chicken breast is vary greatly in size now a day 😀
Hi Han, it is about 1 1/2 lbs. Up to 2 lbs would still work.
Thank you
My pleasure Han!
I just have to say that EVERY recipe I have made from your blog has been outstanding. I have made so many recipes from food blogs that look beautiful but the flavor falls flat…we find ourselves making Natasha’s Kitchen recipes multiple times a week. Can’t get enough! Thanks for your hard work. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging comments!
This was SOOOO good. Maybe the best chicken I have ever made. I had bone-in thighs and only had 2 hours to marinade. Delish! Can’t wait to try it with boneless thighs, tenders, or boneless breast as written with proper marinade time. This will be a go-to recipe for our family. Thank you!
You’re welcome Lauren! I’m glad to hear how much you love the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review! 🙂
Another great recipe! Loved it.
YES, I’m happy to hear that Greg! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Would a vitamix be ok to use instead of a food processor ?
Irene, Vitamix will work just fine using pulse setting.
Made this for my family tonight and they LOVED it! I followed the directions for the oven (375 for 35min covered and then 5min uncovered). I also used roasting tray to elevate the chicken a little. Wow…. it was juicy and the flavor was great. I just wonder how amazing it would be if I marinated this all day and cooked it in the evening. Thanks for posting this recipe.
My pleasure Vince! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does!
Hey, Vince…I don’t know if you noticed that in the recipe it does say that you can marinate from 4 hours to overnight? I thought maybe you were asking if it would be OK to marinate all day or if you were commenting?
Going to try cooking it via cast iron . The chicken is currently marinating. Hopefully it turns out awesome. It sure smells delicious.
I would love to hear how the recipe turns out 😄.
Can this marinade be used with beef, as well?
Hi Ellie, I haven’t tested this for beef – I’m not sure if the lemon juice and long marinating will toughen the beef. If you test it out, let me know how you like it 🙂
Can these be made into shishkabob ?
Hi Diana, these would work fine as shish kabobs. If you make them that way, they pair really well with these vegetable skewers and of course the tzatziki sauce goes well with both.
That was the plan thank you!
I found this recipe awhile ago and have been wanting to make it. I see that you gave instructions for baking, which I may end up doing, but I was also wondering if you ever tried it with bone-in chicken pieces. I assume it would work…
Also, do you have favorite side dishes you’ve served with it?
Hi Elizabeth, bone-in chicken can take considerably longer to bake and I haven’t tested it, so for bone-in chicken I recommend baking until the chicken’s thickest part reads 165˚F.
I serve this with the moroccan veggie skewers and mashed potatoes and then I make the tzatziki sauce to go with the chicken and veggies. It’s a wonderful Moroccan/Greek inspired meal 🙂
Tzatziki: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/10/10/tzatziki-sauce-recipe/
Veggie Skewers: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/10/15/grilled-moroccan-vegetable-skewers/
Mashed Potatoes: https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/11/20/garlic-and-chive-mashed-potatoes/
Hi, first of all the recipe looks delicious and I shall be trying it over the weekend. One quick question: After adding all the ingredients in the food processor to grind gives a liquidy sauce – how does it become flowy? are we adding yogurt or something to it? or the ingredients are just as is?
Good ingredients are just as is. It’s not a creamy marinade. Enjoy! 🙂
how can i turn it into a creamy moroccan sauce to cover the grilled chicken?
Hi Randy, I don’t have anything like that. I normally serve these with tzatziki sauce which matches the flavor profile here really well!
ohh, so delicious!
Thanks Lindsay 🙂
Hey, do you think it would be ok to cook this in a smoker? and if so what kind of wood…..
I don’t really have any experience with smokers so I can’t really advise on that. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
my family loved it! thanks!!!
That makes me happy. Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Your recipe states parsley, but it is NOT on the ingredient list???? I bought everything EXCEPT the parsely!
Hi Brian, The parsley is both at the top, in the instructions and in the print friendly recipe. For some reason in the list at the top of the post it was in smaller font but it was there (I fixed the font to be the same; wordpress does funny things sometimes), it’s listed just before the cilantro. You can omit the parsley and it will still work, but it does add more flavor.
Beyond awesome! I made this yesterday for friends large group and everyone raved about it! The Tzatziki sauce was amazing with it!!! Thank you!
I just love it with the sauce too. I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
Natasha,
Random question…
I was wondering what size ramekins you have? The glass ones… And are they Pyrex ramekins? Thanks!
Sorry I took forever to reply. I purchased the little glass ones at Cost Plus World Market and they don’t have a brand on them. The little wooden ones are from there too 🙂