Easy to make leftover chicken tagine with apricots is a delicious spicy stew with all the warmth of North Africa. Using leftover cooked chicken means no need for long, slow cooking. On the table in 35 minutes, it is ideal for a speedy mid week dinner.
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Quick & Easy Chicken Tagine
Using leftover roast chicken for this tagine reduces the cooking time considerably, so that this recipe takes about half an hour to make a dish that is traditionally cooked very slowly.
However, it still has all the rich flavour and aroma of that wonderful North African stew.
My leftover chicken tagine is a protein-rich filling dish that makes just a little leftover chicken go so much further.
It makes a complete meal served with a salad, but if you are feeling hungry, the traditional accompaniments are cous cous (always quick and easy) or flat bread or rice.
Like many spicy dishes, this tagine is even better reheated the next day. If you are expecting company, make it the day before and leave yourself more time with your guests.
Why you will love this!
- It is packed with warming spices, and is quick & easy to make.
- Dinner can be ready in just over half an hour.
- You can make this ahead and reheat.
- It is super frugal, using leftover roast chicken that can be stretched out.
- A classic one pot dish – less washing up!
- It is super adaptable – change the spices to suit your taste.
Leftover Chicken Tagine Ingredients
- Leftover chicken – This tagine is perfect for using up the last bits of your roast chicken. You don’t need slices, just bite sized chunks.
- Olive oil – I always use extra virgin as it is unrefined.
- Chick peas – The texture of different brands can dramatically vary – choose some with a bit of bite, they want to be soft, but not mushy after cooking,
- Onion and garlic
- Dried apricots – or you can substitute dates or any other dried fruit.
- Canned tomatoes – not the cheapest, but not the most expensive.
- Spices – Use what you love. You can easily make this hotter, or use a North African spice blend.
- Spinach
- Fresh Coriander / Cilantro – Fresh is so much better here as there is so much more flavour. Chop up the stalks and use those too. You can also use frozen fresh coriander, although it doesn’t look as nice as a garnish!
- Chicken / Vegetable Stock / Broth – Use your favourite, or even any leftover gravy from the roast chicken!
Leftover Chicken Tagine Recipe – Step-by-Step
Step 1 – First, measure out your ingredients. Make up the stock. Peel dice the onion and garlic, and chop up the chicken and apricots. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Step 2 – Heat the oil in a shallow pan with a lid over a medium-low heat. Fry the diced onion gently for a couple of minutes. Then add the garlic. Continue to cook until the onion is translucent.
Step 3 – Add the spices to the pan, and stir well so that the onion is well coated. Cook a little longer to bring out the fragrance of the spices.
Step 4 – Add the chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, honey, chicken, stock, and apricots.
Stir well, and turn up the heat to bring to a gentle boil. Then turn the heat to a low simmer, cover and leave to cook for 20 minutes.
Step 5 – Add half the spinach, stir in and cover the pot. Leave it for a minute or so before adding the remaining spinach and the coriander stalks. Then give it a good stir.
Pro Tip
It’s much easier to add the spinach in stages like this. At first it may seem as though there’s far too much spinach, but wilting it in two stages reduces the volume very quickly.
Step 6 – Sprinkle over the chopped coriander leaves, and garnish with some pomegranate seeds and toasted almonds when you are ready to serve your chicken tagine.
Pro Tip – Cooking Cous Cous
This is a hearty dish as it is, but you could serve it with some easily prepared savoury cous cous, the traditional accompaniment to a tagine.
Simply use 1:1.25 by volume cous cous to stock in a covered bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
Use about a quarter of a cup of cous cous per person for a side dish.
Hints & Tips
- 250 g of leftover chicken will serve four people in this tagine. I find this quantity fits easily into a flat take-away tray, which stacks neatly in my freezer.
- 50 g of dried apricots is 7–8 individual pieces of fruit. I cut each into quarters using a pair of scissors and find it far easier than using a knife!
- Substitute pitted dates or prunes for the apricots.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds and/or toasted slivered almonds. Be careful when you toast the almonds in a dry frying pan, as they go from just coloured to burnt very quickly. Keep the pan moving.
- Use a quality brand of canned tomatoes. You don’t need a premium version, but using something better than supermarket budget brands makes a big difference.
- Not all brands of chickpeas are the same, as some are far softer than others. I actually buy different brands for salads/hummus than I do for when I am cooking.
- Chicken tagine freezes well. However, I do not advise refreezing if you used previously frozen meat to make the tagine.
Easy Leftover chicken tagine
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 inches cinnamon stick
- 1 x 440g tin chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 x 440g tin plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 125 ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 250 g leftover roast chicken (cubed)
- 50 g dried apricots (cut into quarters)
- 2 large handfuls spinach
To Garnish
- 4 tbsp coriander (chopped, stalks and leaves)
- 1 tbsp slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a shallow casserole dish or lidded sauté pan on a medium-low heat. Fry the onion for a couple of minutes, and then add the garlic. Fry gently until the onion is translucent but not browned.
- Add the spices and fry until fragrant, stirring well to coat the onion in the spice.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the spinach and coriander and the garnishes. Turn the heat up so that the stock is boiling, then turn down to a low simmer.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add half the spinach and stir it in. The spinach will wilt down. Then add the rest of the spinach and the coriander stalks. Stir in, cover, and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Sprinkle over the chopped coriander leaves. Garnish with toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds if using them, and serve.
Notes
- 250 g of chicken will serve four people. I find this quantity fits easily into a flat take-away tray, which stacks neatly in my freezer.
- 50 g of dried apricots is 7–8 individual pieces of fruit. I cut each into quarters using a pair of scissors and find it far easier than using a knife!
- You could substitute pitted dates or prunes for the apricots.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds and/or toasted slivered almonds. Be careful when you toast the almonds in a dry frying pan, as they go from just coloured to burnt very quickly. Keep the pan moving.
- Use a quality brand of canned tomatoes. You don't need a premium version, but using something better than supermarket budget brands makes a big difference.
- Not all brands of chickpeas are the same, as some are far softer than others. I actually buy different brands for salads/hummus than I do for when I am cooking.Â
- Chicken tagine freezes well. However, I do not advise refreezing if you used previously frozen meat to make the tagine. Â
- This recipe is 20 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portionÂ
Diana Black
My mouth is watering just looking at your photos, what a wonderful tasty meal. Love the idea of using cooked chicken. I am impatient when it comes to meals I can smell cooking.
Becca
Gosh, Helen! This is like something from a restaurant I go to. So nice to make at home and really good for a warming meal.
Angela
Such a good tasty and wholesome dish. Full of flavour, it really is a perfect winter dish.
Alexander O'Brien
The flavours in this are just divine. Such a good combination, and reducing the cooking time with using cooked chicken is such a godsend. Great family meal.