Instant Pot Chicken Tagine
A tagine is both a delicious Moroccan dish, and a cooking vessel! This Instant Pot Tagine is bursting with flavor in every bite. Go on a North African adventure at your table tonight!
What is a tagine?
A tagine is a dinner table staple in Morocco, and it is a braised stew filled with available meat, vegetables, and spices. It is commonly served over couscous or rice. It was originally a Berber dish, and is an ancient dish that is thought to date back to the 12th century.
A tagine is also a conical earthenware cooking vessel that has been written about in such early texts as One Thousand and One Nights a collection of Arabic short stories. It consists of two parts a round base or bowl, and the conical top piece. However, as you travel through Africa different regions may have varied designs.
Gather your ingredients
There are a lot of ingredients to this recipe, and I suggest checking the list to be sure you have everything prior to cooking.
- 6 - 8 Chicken thighs, bone-in with skin
- Carrots
- Garlic, minced
- Onion
- Dried Apricots
- Olives, your favorite
- Tomato paste
- Chicken broth
- Fresh Roma tomatoes
- Fresh parsley
- Sweet paprika, ground ginger, turmeric
- Cumin, pepper, cinnamon
- Allspice, and cayenne pepper
Preparing the chicken stew
Trim the chicken thighs then salt and pepper them. Preheat the Instant Pot to saute, and add some olive oil to the pot once it has heated up. Saute the chicken skin side down first for a few minutes to brown. Salt and pepper the underside as you wait if you have not done this already.
Then flip over to do the same to the opposite side. Set aside on a plate while you cook all the pieces.
Once you are done add the onions and cook until softened. Add in the carrots next, and cook for a few more minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and add all of the spices except the parsley. Stir constantly for two minutes then turn off the saute.
Add the chicken broth, and the parsley then stir. Layer in the browned chicken pieces along with the olives and dried apricots.
Dice your Roma tomatoes, and then add as the top layer.
Cooking and finishing the stew
Seal the lid on the Instant Pot, and cook on high pressure (normal) for 15 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. Serve immediately over some of this awesome Instant Pot Coconut Rice, or couscous.
How to video
More Instant Pot Chicken Meals
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Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Tagine
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs bone in, skin on
- 1 onion sliced
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup dried apricots
- ½ cup Spanish olives whole, pitted
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
Spice Mixture
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Trim the chicken then salt and pepper. Turn on the Instant Pot to saute, brown the chicken on both sides starting with skin side first. Set the pieces aside to a plate.
- Add the onions to the pot, and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the carrots, and saute for a few more minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste, minced garlic, and spice mixture. Stir everything together, and cook for one additional minute. Add in the chicken broth to deglaze the inner pot.
- Layer the chicken, apricots, and olives in the pot. Add the tomatoes to the very top, and do not stir. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure (normal) for 15 minutes followed by a 10 natural pressure release.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to one week.
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How long should I cook this if I'm using precooked chicken.
If you are only cooking the vegetables I would do 7-minutes on high pressure followed by a quick release. This should be enough time to heat up the chicken if you added in whole pieces as well although I have not tested this.
How long should I cook if I use boneless skinless chicken thighs
I would try cooking at high pressure for 10 minutes then following with a 5 minute natural pressure release. Thanks!
This was excellent! I made it exactly as written but used a can of drained, diced tomatoes in place of the Roma’s which just didn’t seem very appealing at the grocery. I served it over quinoa and may try rice next time. Luckily, we have enough for 2 meals.
Thank you! Canned are a great substitution when you can't find suitable fresh. I'm so happy you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and we all enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if I would like the mixture of seasonings but it was delicious. I may have cooked the carrots too long in the beginning because they were very soft but it did not spoil the dish. So glad I tried this recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
You're so welcome! I'm glad you found a new spice mixture you enjoy. You can omit the cooking the carrots for a few minutes before hand especially if they are on the thin side.
The actual recipe (I used the "Jump to recipe" option never mentions the Roma tomatoes or the parsley...
The parsley and tomatoes are in the ingredients section. The spice mixture is in a separate section. I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂