Moroccan Chicken Bake
If you’re a fan of Moroccan cooking and flavors, this Moroccan Chicken Bake Recipe with Lemon Yogurt Sauce is a must. Every bite is packed with juicy chicken, flavored with an easy homemade Moroccan spice blend. It’s such an easy dinner recipe, you can make it tonight.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Joy Filled Eats
One of my favorite types of meals are sheet pan dinners. The easy clean up of baking an entire dinner in one pan is perfect for this busy mom of 6. We love trying new cuisines and flavors, so I came up with this easy dinner using a simple Moroccan spice mix. My husband, teens, and I were fighting over leftovers for lunch the next day. And the leftovers really were just as good the next day.
This simple Moroccan chicken dish preps in about 10 minutes, so you can get other things done while the chicken cooks. The warm spices and lemon yogurt sauce work really well together with the boneless chicken thighs.
Be sure to try my Chermoula Spice Blend and Southwest Spice Blend for two other delicious flavor options. You can swap either of those into this sheet pan chicken dinner in place of the Moroccan spices.
Ingredients
- Avocado oil – A good, healthy fat option. You can use olive oil if you prefer.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – Using dark meat ensures it doesn’t dry out as the veggies cook.
- Vegetables – I used butternut squash, bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and carrots. All are cut into bite-sized pieces. You can swap in whatever veggies you like. Cut soft veggies large and firm veggies smaller so they cook in the same time.
- Chickpeas – Drain the liquid and rinse.
- Garlic cloves – Halve them before adding.
- Cumin, coriander, salt, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper – The seasonings needed to make the homemade spice.
- Greek yogurt – I prefer full-fat yogurt, but nonfat will work too.
- Lemon zest- Fresh lemon zest adds the most flavor.
- Garlic powder – To add flavoring to the yogurt sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Moroccan Chicken Bake
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle the oil on the large sheet pan.
Step One: Place the chicken thighs and veggies onto the sheet pan.
Step Two: Mix the seasoning ingredients. Sprinkle the seasoning on top of the chicken and vegetables. Toss to coat.
Step Three: Put the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Stir, then add the chickpeas. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender.
Step Four: To make the yogurt sauce, combine all the ingredients. Drizzle over the chicken and veggies when serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or fresh cilantro for a little color and extra flavor.
Top Tip💡
If you don’t have a large sheet pan, divide this between two medium pans. For the best results, do not crowd it.
Substitutions
- Warm spices – You can easily add more or less of any of the spices to change the flavor of these baked Moroccan chicken thighs. You can use a store-bought seasoning if you want. Or try Mediterranean Seasoning, Cajun Blackened Seasoning, or another spice blend you enjoy.
- Chicken – If you wanted to make this recipe using chicken drumsticks, you could do that as well. Skip adding oil and spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. The chicken will naturally release fat from the skin that the vegetables will cook in.
Variations
- Lemon slices – Adding lemon slices to the pan along with the chickpeas is a great way to add more citrus flavor. You can also drizzle with some lemon juice.
- Green olives – Adding some sliced green olives to the veggies and boneless skinless thighs mixture is a simple way to add a salty flavor. If you don’t want them cooked with the rest of the sheet pan meal, you can easily add them at the end as a topping.
See this Chicken Asparagus Bake Sheet Pan Dinner for another simple way to cook chicken.
Equipment
All you need to cook this Moroccan chicken recipe is a baking sheet (or cookie sheet, as some like to call it) and a mixing bowl to combine the simple spices and ingredients for the lemon yogurt sauce.
Storage
Once this sheet pan dish is cooked, store the leftover chicken in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready to reheat and eat, warm in the microwave.
Common Questions
Using a meat thermometer is the best way to make sure that the chicken is cooked all the way. Be sure that you insert the tip in the thick part of the chicken thigh. As long as the internal temperature reading shows 160-165 degrees, the chicken should be considered safe to eat. Don’t worry if thighs are at a higher temp. They don’t dry out easily and will continue to tenderize.
Absolutely. You can easily add your favorites. Diced baby potatoes, mushrooms, and anything else that you enjoy are fine.
This really is a meal all by itself. If you want to bulk it up, you can serve it with a side of rice, couscous, or cauliflower rice.
Moroccan Chicken Bake with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (8 pieces)
- 3 cups butternut squash peeled, cut into small pieces
- 1 sweet pepper cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium zucchini cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 carrots peeled, cut into small pieces
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 6 cloves garlic halved
Moroccan Seasoning
Lemon Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Drizzle the oil on a large sheet pan.
- Put the chicken and vegetables on the sheet pan.
- Combine the seasoning ingredients.
- Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken and vegetables. Toss gently.
- Bake for 25 minutes, stir, and add the chickpeas.
- Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Lemon Yogurt Sauce
- Stir together ingredients for the sauce.
- Drizzle over the chicken and vegetables when serving.
- Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Like what you see? Follow me on Facebook and Instagram! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & a 5-star rating right here! Make sure you don’t miss new recipes by getting email updates!
