Moroccan chicken and couscous skillet is a delicious one-pan dinner that's made in less than 20 minutes. Perfect as a weeknight dinner, or as an easy lunch. The dish has lots of flavour, lean protein and hearty couscous - everything you need to complete a meal.
I love a good chicken dinner, and this is definitely one of my recent favourites. Any meal that can be thrown together in 15 minutes is great in my book. The fact that it tastes incredible is quite the bonus as well.
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How to make Moroccan chicken and couscous
First, prepare 200 g cooked couscous. You can buy it precooked, or you can make it by simply adding 100 g couscous to a bowl, then pouring boiling water to completely cover the grains by about an inch. Wait 5-6 minutes for the water to be absorbed, and the couscous should be done. Taste test to make sure that the grains are soft. If they are still a bit hard, add more boiling water and allow it to be absorbed before continuing.
Heat up some one calorie cooking spray in a large skillet. Finely dice the onion, and saute for a minute. Dice the chicken breasts and add them to the pan. Add the ras el hanout over the chicken pieces, making sure that the chicken is covered on both sides. Allow the chicken to cook until done, about 5 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. Remove the chicken from the pan.
To the same pan, add cooked couscous, roughly chopped olives and pomegranate seeds. Drain and rinse ½ tin (400 ml size) chickpeas, and add to the couscous. Stir the pan to combine all the ingredients. Allow the ingredients to heat up, then add the chicken pieces on top. Serve immediately, or sprinkle some feta cheese over the top.
What is ras el hanout?
Ras el hanout is a spice blend that's commonly found in North African cuisine, particularly Tunisian and Moroccan. There is no definite rules for which spices go into the spice blend, but it's common for the blend to contain 5-15 different spices, including cardamom, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, rose petals, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric and more.
You can find ras el hanout in many grocery stores, or you can make your own. You can also substitute it in this dish for a combination of the spices listed above.
Side dishes to serve with Moroccan chicken and couscous
You don't really need a side dish for this recipe, but if you prefer to add more vegetables to your meals, I can highly recommend serving this with oven roasted green beans, cumin spiced roasted carrots or sweet potato chickpea salad with kale and walnuts.
More delicious chicken dinners:
- Chicken paprikash - Paprika chicken with soured cream
- Coq au vin - Chicken in red wine sauce
- Slow cooker soy and honey chicken
- Chow mein with chicken
- Pasta with broccoli and chicken
Recipe
Moroccan chicken and couscous skillet
Ingredients
- 200 g cooked couscous
- 15 olives, roughly chopped
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
- ½ tin chickpeas
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 2 teaspoon ras el hanout
- 50 g feta cheese
- 1 onion
Instructions
- First, prepare 200 g cooked couscous. You can buy it precooked, or you can make it by simply adding 100 g couscous to a bowl, then pouring boiling water to completely cover the grains by about an inch. Wait 5-6 minutes for the water to be absorbed, and the couscous should be done. Taste test to make sure that the grains are soft. If they are still a bit hard, add more boiling water and allow it to be absorbed before continuing.
- Heat up some one calorie cooking spray in a large skillet. Finely dice the onion, and saute for a minute. Dice the chicken breasts and add them to the pan. Add the ras el hanout over the chicken pieces, making sure that the chicken is covered on both sides. Allow the chicken to cook until done, about 5 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- To the same pan, add cooked couscous, roughly chopped olives and pomegranate seeds. Drain and rinse ½ tin (400 ml size) chickpeas, and add to the couscous. Stir the pan to combine all the ingredients. Allow the ingredients to heat up, then add the chicken pieces on top. Serve immediately, or sprinkle some feta cheese over the top.
Rita
So quick and easy, we love it.