Moroccan-Style Roast Chicken Recipe

The humble chicken is one of the thriftiest Paleo meals around – much, much cheaper than buying just the breasts or the wings.

For a family, it’s dinner; for a single person, it’s a hearty meal with plenty of leftovers for soup, salad, and broth. The typical way to prepare a chicken is to roast it, but it’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut making the same roast chicken again and again until you never want to see a bird again!

This recipe is an antidote to any roast chicken boredom that might have entered your kitchen. A colorful spice rub adds a warm, earthy flavor to the meat and the dates in the stuffing balance out the heat of the spices with just a hint of sweetness. It’s a little bit exotic and a whole lot of delicious.

As an additional point in its favor, this recipe cooks a vegetable side dish right inside the bird, so you don’t have to worry about making vegetables separately.

So it’s perfect for a busy evening when you can’t find time to cook a vegetable side (and then clean up another set of pans). If you do want a little something extra to go with it, try a recipe that uses mint: roasted cauliflower with mint and pomegranate would be an excellent choice.

When you’re cooking a chicken, you definitely don’t want to overcook, or you’ll lose that juicy tenderness and end up with dry, unappetizing meat.

The recipe here is written for a 4-pound chicken, but especially if you’re using a free-range chicken, your bird might be smaller (so it won’t require as much cooking time). To test for doneness, simply pierce the chicken’s thigh with a fork: when the fork slides in evenly, it’s ready to eat.

Moroccan-Style Roast Chicken Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 20 min COOK: 1h 10 min

Ingredients

• 4 lb. whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry;
• 1 onion, chopped;
• 1 zucchini, minced;
• 6 fresh or dried dates, pitted and roughly chopped;
• 2 cloves garlic, minced;
• 2 carrots, minced;
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced;
• ½ tsp. paprika;
• ¾ tsp. ground cumin;
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano;
• ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper;
• ¼ tsp. ground turmeric;
• 1 cinnamon stick;
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste;
• Cooking twine;

Ingredients for the spice rub

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil;
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon;
• ½ tsp. cumin;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, and cook until soft (2 to 3 minutes).
3. Add the zucchini, dates, ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, and turmeric, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Spoon the mixture into the chicken cavity and add the cinnamon stick. Tie the chicken's legs together with the cooking string.
5. Place the chicken breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
6. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub, and rub it over the chicken.
7. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with the remaining rub mixture.

Moroccan-Style Roast Chicken Recipe

Bored of the same old roast chicken? Spice it up with a variation that's delicious enough to pull you out of a rut, but easy enough for a busy weeknight.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 10 mins

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings 4 people

Calories 1198 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 lb. whole chicken rinsed and patted dry
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 zucchini minced
• 6 fresh or dried dates pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 carrots minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger minced
• ½ tsp. paprika
• ¾ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Cooking twine

Ingredients for the spice rub

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. cumin
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 350 F.
• Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, and cook until soft (2 to 3 minutes).
  1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 2 cloves garlic
• Add the zucchini, dates, ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, and turmeric, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  1 zucchini, 6 fresh or dried dates, 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, ½ tsp. paprika, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp. ground turmeric, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, ½ tsp. cumin, Cooking twine
• Spoon the mixture into the chicken cavity and add the cinnamon stick. Tie the chicken’s legs together with the cooking string.
  4 lb. whole chicken, 1 cinnamon stick
• Place the chicken breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan.
• In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the rub, and rub it over the chicken.
  ¾ tsp. ground cumin, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with the remaining rub mixture.

Nutrition

Calories: 1198kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 86gFat: 87gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gMonounsaturated Fat: 41gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 340mgSodium: 331mgPotassium: 1185mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1883IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 103mgIron: 6mg

Keyword moroccan, roast chicken

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!