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    Instant Pot Chicken Tagine

    September 5, 2024

    An intoxicating blend of spicy, sweet and savory ingredients make this Instant Pot chicken tagine a memorable meal that’s ready fast.

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    instant pot chicken tagine in a large white bowl topped with fresh mint and cilantro

    Chicken Tagine: A Perfect Instant Pot Chicken Recipe

    Classic chicken tagine—a deeply flavorful North African stew—cooks for hours and hours. But, thanks to the Instant Pot, chicken tagine is now officially a weeknight dinner option! Succulent chicken thighs simmer in a spiced tomato-y sauce along with tender, sweet apricots and pale green pistachios and the whole gorgeous meal is ready in about 30 minutes. Whether you’re serving this luxurious North African stew at a dinner party, or just whipping it up for your family, it has a seriously enticing combination of sweet-savory-spicy flavors that everyone is sure to love.

    chicken thighs, chicken stock, shallots, tomatoes, dried fruit, chickpeas and herbs in small bowls for chicken tagine

    What’s In Chicken Tagine?

    Recipes vary quite a bit—in fact, Moroccan tagine doesn’t even have to be made with chicken. The word “tagine” does mean a meaty, tomato-y, slow-cooked North African stew, but “tagine” is also (and primarily) the name of the conical clay pot that the stew is traditionally cooked in. All of that said, our Instant Pot tagine is obviously not cooked in a traditional tagine, but it does have traditional tagine ingredients! Therefore, it still qualifies as a tagine (at least we think so). Here’s what’s in our chicken tagine recipe:

    • Chicken thighs. We’re opting for boneless, skinless chicken thighs here, because the fat from the chicken thigh skin can make the tagine sauce overly fatty.
    • Shallots
    • Fresh garlic
    • Fresh ginger
    • Spices: cumin, turmeric, cinnamon
    • Tomatoes, two ways! Tomato paste, and canned, diced tomatoes.
    • Dried apricots
    • Pistachios
    • Brown sugar
    • Chicken stock
    • Chickpeas
    • Fresh mint
    • Red onion
    • Fresh lemon
    browned chicken in an instant pot
    shallots, garlic and cinnamon browning in an instant pot
    shallots caramelized in an instant pot
    caramelized shallots with crushed tomatoes, pistachios and dried apricots in an instant pot
    chicken and shallot mixture in an instant pot
    chicken tagine cooked in an instant pot
    chicken tagine with chickpeas in an instant pot
    instant pot chicken tagine

    How to Make Tagine in Your Instant Pot

    Chicken tagine—like all traditionally low-and-slow cooked stews—is an optimal recipe for the Instant Pot. It really showcases what pressure cooking can do, and how much it speeds things up! Here’s how to make chicken tagine in the Instant Pot:

    1. To begin, brown the chicken thighs. Set your Instant Pot to sauté on high, and sauté the chicken thighs in batches until they're crisp and browned. Set them aside.
    2. Now you're going to make the saucy tagine base that the chicken will simmer in. Sauté all of the good-smelling things! Shallots, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon. Tip: use a little chicken stock to deglaze the pan if it looks too dry.
    3. Once the onion is soft, stir in the tomato paste, chicken stock, apricots, some pistachios, brown sugar and tomatoes. Add the seared chicken thighs back to the Instant Pot.
    4. Put on the lid and lock it, making sure the steam valve is in the 'sealing' position. Set the pot to pressure-cook on high for eight minutes. After eight minutes, let the pressure release naturally for ten minutes. Then, carefully turn the steam valve to the venting position to manually release the remaining pressure. Turn off the pot and remove the lid.
    5. Lift the chicken out of the tagine mixture, and shred the chicken thighs until you've got bite-sized pieces. then add it back to the pot along with the chickpeas to finish.
    6. And you're done! Time to eat!
    chicken tagine with a bowl of cous cous next to it topped with fresh herbs and purple onions

    What Do You Serve with Chicken Tagine?

    Tagine is so full of flavor, you could almost call it a meal in itself. But it is better with something to soak or sop up all of that delicious tagine sauce. We love to serve it with:

    • Couscous — most classic tagine accompaniment.
    • Cucumber Salad would be a refreshing side dish to serve with chicken tagine.
    • Moroccan beet salad is be a bright, vibrant contrast to the warm, slow-cooked flavor of a tagine.
    • For a little crunchy contrast, serve up some Falafel.
    Instant pot chicken tagine over cous cous on a white plate

    Tools You’ll Need:

    Instant pot chicken tagine in a white bowl topped with fresh herbs

    More Instant Pot Recipes to Try

    We’re still warming up to the Instant Pot, but we’re getting more into it by the minute. In addition to this killer Instant Pot tagine recipe, we’re pretty proud of these two Instant Pot recipes—if you haven’t yet, give them a try!

    Weeknight Tagine, Anyone?

    Well, we’re finally on the Instant Pot bandwagon, and it’s a pretty delicious place to be. If you are too, and you give this recipe a go, let us know how it turned out! Snap a photo of your Instant Pot tagine and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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    Instant Pot Chicken Tagine

    Updated on September 5, 2024

    • Serves:  8
    • Prep Time:  10 min
    • Cook Time:  30 min
    • Calories:  373
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    Ingredients

    • 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    • 3 large shallots, sliced
    • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
    • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1 cup chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • ½ cup halved dried apricots
    • ½ cup roughly chopped pistachios
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
    • 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
    • Juice from ½ lemon, optional
    • Cooked couscous, for serving
    • ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion, optional
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, optional

    Method

    1. Pat the chicken dry. Season all over with the salt.

    2. Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot, hit Sauté, and Adjust to select the More or High setting. After 3 minutes of the oil heating, working in batches as needed, add the chicken and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

    3. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon and stir to combine; cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Use a little chicken stock to deglaze if necessary.

    4. Stir in the chicken stock, tomato paste, apricots, ⅓ cup of pistachios, brown sugar, and tomatoes until combined.

    5. Return the chicken to the pot and turn to coat. Secure the lid, moving the valve so it is in the sealed position. Hit Cancel and then hit Manual or Pressure Cook. Pressure cook for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually vent to release the remaining pressure.

    6. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir to submerge in the sauce. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the lemon juice, if using, and stir to combine.

    7. Serve the chicken and sauce over cooked couscous. Top with onions, mint and remaining pistachios.


    To make on the stovetop:

    1. Pat the chicken dry. Season all over with the salt. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high. Once the oil is glistening, working in batches as needed, add the chicken and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

    2. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, another 1-2 minutes. Use a little chicken stock to deglaze if necessary.

    3. Stir in the chicken stock, tomato paste, apricots, 1/3 cup of pistachios, brown sugar, and tomatoes until combined.

    4. Return the chicken to the pot and turn to coat. Increase the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Stir, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the chicken is very tender and can be pulled apart easily with a fork, about 1 hour.

    5. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir to submerge them in the sauce. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Return the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the lemon juice, if using, and stir to combine.

    6. Serve the chicken and sauce over couscous; top with onions, mint and remaining pistachios.


    To make in a Slow Cooker:

    1. Pat the chicken dry. Season all over with the salt. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high. until glistening. Once the oil is glistening, working in batches as needed, add the chicken and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

    2. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon, stir to combine and cook until fragrant, another about 1-2 minutes. Use a little chicken stock to deglaze if necessary.

    3. Stir in the chicken stock, tomato paste, apricots, 1/3 cup of pistachios, brown sugar, and tomatoes, until combined.

    4. Transfer everything to the slow cooker and cover. Cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours.

    5. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker and stir to submerge them in the sauce. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker along with the lemon juice, if using, and stir to combine.

    6. Serve the chicken and sauce over couscous; top with onions, mint and remaining pistachios.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 373
    • Protein 5 g
    • Carbohydrates 18 g
    • Total Fat 6 g
    • Dietary Fiber 4 g
    • Cholesterol 0 mg
    • sodium 251 mg
    • Total Sugars 7 g

    Instant Pot Chicken Tagine

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Megan

      Are the pistachios critical? What would you do if nut free? Pumpkin seeds?

      Sure, that would be fine!

    • Amber

      Can I use chicken breasts instead?

      Sure!

    • Dani

      Can I use frozen chicken?

      We brown the chicken first in this recipe so you wouldn't be able to do that with frozen chicken. We haven't tested it with frozen chicken to give you exact cook times to switch it up.

    • Jill

      This looks amazing, I don't have an instant pot, so planning to do in the slow cooker. How long would you suggest and do you think I need to add broth? Let me know what you think, thanks!

      We haven't tested this in the slow cooker yet so not sure about adding broth. Timing wise chicken usually takes 5-6 hours on low.

    • Mary

      How would you adapt this recipe to use a crock pot instead of an Insta pot?

      We haven't tested this in the slow cooker.

    • Erica

      This was probably the most delicious recipe Ive ever made. My husband literally shouted OH MY G-D upon tasting it - its that good! Honestly, it was time-consuming and I was getting annoyed making it, but it was worth every second. Something super special you could even serve at a holiday!

      Thanks Erica, so glad it was worth the time and that you loved it!

    • Luisa

      Excellent rendition. Sumptuous, good balance of flavours. I used a mini food processor to blitz all the ingredients except the chicken, mint, apricot and chickpeas, to save time chopping, and because I wanted the nuts ground for my one year old. I used a chicken shredding disc from Amazon to save time too.

      Thanks Luisa, so glad you loved it!

    • HadFum

      This was amazing, my whole family loved it. Thank you!!!

      Thank you!

    • Rebecca

      I made this last night and oh my god it was amazing! Super subtle flavours, warm on a cold night, and the mint made it pop. I measured half the recipe, so half the chicken and half of all the liquids, bus still added a teaspoon of each spice. Served with couscous and green beans. Yum! Will be adding this to my repertoire. Thanks guys.

      Thanks so much Rebecca, glad you love it!

    • It's

      I've made this several times and enjoy it immensely! I also went a little wild and turned it into a pizza with a few adjustments. (pistachio mint yogurt drizzle) It was enjoyed by many! I also enjoy doing it over forbidden rice. Super tasty!

      We are so glad you loved it!