Spiced Chicken Stew with Carrots

267 Ratings
  • 5 49
  • 4 91
  • 3 88
  • 2 35
  • 1 4

What's for dinner? Moroccan spices and golden raisins enhance the carrots in this tagine-inspired chicken stew, which takes only 10 minutes to prep for the slow-cooker.

Everyday Food, March 2009

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Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary test

prep:
10 mins
total:
10 mins
Servings:
4
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Ingredients

Directions

Slow-Cooker Method:

  • Place carrots in slow cooker. In a bowl, toss together chicken, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; add to slow cooker. Cover, and cook on high, 4 hours (or on low, 8 hours), adding raisins 15 minutes before cooking is done.

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  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and carrots to a dish (remove cinnamon stick); top with cilantro and almonds. Season cooking liquid with salt and pepper; spoon over chicken. Serve with couscous, if desired.

Oven Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In step 1, use a 5-quart Dutch oven or ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid, adding 1 cup water. Cover, and bake until chicken is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Proceed with step 2.

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Reviews (29)

267 Ratings
  • 5 49
  • 4 91
  • 3 88
  • 2 35
  • 1 4
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2017
Amped up the spice blend and loved this, will make again. Used 2-3x the cumin and garlic. Also added onion powder, ginger powder, coriander, cinnamon and cloves.
Martha Stewart Member
03/03/2017
Well... Mine came out...NOT so good. Guess it just doesn't suit my tastes.
Martha Stewart Member
01/09/2016
Mine came out tasteless and the chicken was in shreds! If I could get over the shredded mealy taste of the chicken it might have been good.
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Martha Stewart Member
01/22/2014
After reading other reviews, I used the crock pot and chicken breasts (since that's what I had in the freezer). I put carrots and onions in the bottom of the crock pot with 2 cups of water (I was afraid of the meat getting dry) and seasoned the carrots with salt and pepper. Since someone said the recipe was bland, I added some ground coriander and onion powder to the seasoning. I followed the rest of the recipe and added the raisins, almonds, and cilantro. It was okay. My boyfriend didn't compl
Martha Stewart Member
01/07/2014
If you don't ramp up the spices, you will be disappointed. I made this in my oven and it was pretty drab. Granted, I did not have the raisins to add. I still think it needs more umph. Also, in the oven, by adding the 1 cup of water, it really came out more like a soup. The dish has potential, but needs a lot of tinkering to make it more flavorful. The chicken and carrots were not at all dry, they just lacked enough flavor.
Martha Stewart Member
10/08/2013
Seriously, I don't understand how many people enjoyed this recipe. I just made it and it was a total disaster! The chicken was dry and flavourless, the carrots were mushy and brown. The whole thing was inedible! I have always said this website never fails; turns out I was wrong this time around.
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Martha Stewart Member
06/04/2013
I've been meaning to review this recipe for like a year! This is one of my go to recipes especially in the fall and winter. I make t in the morning slowcooker style and it is ready when I return home.. I do add a few other spices: (1/2 tablespoon of each) curry, clove, and ginger. I also up the cumin to 1/2 tablespoon from 1/2 a teaspoon. It comes out amazing and super flavorful, pairing it with couscous is ideal!
Martha Stewart Member
05/20/2013
This is delicious! Perfectly spiced with a great balance of interesting flavors. The raisins make it amazing. I served it with a lentil and rice pilaf, and white sangria.
Martha Stewart Member
12/08/2012
I've made this 3 times in the slow cooker now and it's on my menu plan for this week again. We waited a couple months because we ate it every week there for a while and decided we needed a break! Now I can't wait to make it again. I make it exactly as written every time and serve it over couscous. I can taste it now. So good! Don't worry about there being no liquid. It's fine, I promise! My boyfriend LOVES this. Best Martha recipe I've tried and I love them all! P.S. Toast the almonds!
Martha Stewart Member
08/14/2012
I made this and it was great! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I think it might was been meant to use with the bone but it didn't affect the end result. I will repeat what others have said in the fact that the almonds, raisins and cilantro make the dish.
Martha Stewart Member
01/07/2012
I made this as is except for substituting currants for raisins, and served it over brown rice. It's really delicious and has lots of flavor. I suggest putting the cinnamon stick down in with the carrots so that the flavors can fuse well.
Martha Stewart Member
11/26/2011
I was worried this would not work out with no liquid cooking the chicken as it sits on top of the carrots, but it turned out tender and delicious. (I made it in a slow cooker.) I made it with a bone in, skin on, chicken leg and thigh and it was wonderful. It’s so easy, and I served it with brown rice. I will definitely add this to my go to list of easy slow cooker meals.
Martha Stewart Member
03/06/2011
I've made this a lot
Martha Stewart Member
02/15/2011
can you omit the raisins in this recipe? I do not like raisins.
Martha Stewart Member
02/15/2011
can you omit the raisins in this recipe? I do not like raisins.
Martha Stewart Member
02/15/2011
This is a stand-by at our house. We love it! We always cook it on high for the shorter amount of time (I work from home and have the luxury of being able to start it at lunch time, though.)
Martha Stewart Member
01/18/2011
I have yet to make this, but it is on my list for next week. As for the meat being dry, I may be a heretic, but I'd bet not removing the skin from the chicken would make a difference. Take the skin off after cooking
Martha Stewart Member
09/25/2009
My family isn't crazy about chicken thighs, so I made this with bone-in chicken breasts instead, and the crock pot method. It was fabulous! Not dry at all. Next time I plan to use some of the delicious liquid to make my couscous, at the end.
Martha Stewart Member
03/26/2009
I made this dish two weeks ago in our slow cooker overnight and the flavor was fantastic! My husband and I could smell the wonderful spices as the stew cooked throughout the night. Yes, it was truly delicious. But I must say that the texture of the thighs was kind of mealy. I'm thinking that maybe using the oven might make a better difference. Has anyone tried both versions--slow cooker and oven? Was there a difference?
Martha Stewart Member
03/26/2009
I made this dish two weeks ago in our slow cooker overnight and the flavor was fantastic! My husband and I could smell the wonderful spices as the stew cooked throughout the night. Yes, it was truly delicious. But I must say that the texture of the thighs was kind of mealy. I'm thinking that maybe using the oven might make a better difference. Has anyone tried both versions--slow cooker and oven? Was there a difference?
Martha Stewart Member
03/10/2009
I wasn't happy with the overall flavor of the dish. It was worth the try though.
Martha Stewart Member
03/05/2009
Made this last night and it was FANTASTIC! I also used boneless breasts and they were a bit dry. Might shorten cooking time a bit if using breasts. I wouldn't add liquid because I suspect that would result in overcooked carrots - they were JUST right as written. I recommend trying currants instead of raisins (I always do this in Moroccan dishes), they are less sweet and the small size means more little morsels per 1/4 cup :) I agree with nolamom, do not omit them or the almonds and cilantro.
Martha Stewart Member
03/04/2009
So delicious..and literally could NOT be easier. The raisins, almonds and cilatro absolutely MADE this dish -- do not omit them. The only thing I would do differently is I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and they were somewhat dry..next time I might add some chicken broth to add some moisture.
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2009
I've been using my slow cooker a lot lately and just wanted to add that I have tried out the slow cooker liners (basically an oven bag) and while they make clean up easier, I don't think I'm going to continue using them, they seem to interfere with the liquid seal and moisture creation...
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2009
To burg60: The slow cooker method doesn't need added liquid because it is a moist cooking environment. You'll notice that the lid of your slow cooker get all steamed up, well that moisture does two things 1) drips into the pot thereby adding liquid and 2) 'seals' the lid to the pot allowing it to create more steam. FYI - don't lift the lid of your slow cooker to check on it. It will break the moisture seal as well as cool the pot down rapidly and you'll need to cook longer.
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2009
To burg60: The slow cooker method doesn't need added liquid because it is a moist cooking environment. You'll notice that the lid of your slow cooker get all steamed up, well that moisture does two things 1) drips into the pot thereby adding liquid and 2) 'seals' the lid to the pot allowing it to create more steam. FYI - don't lift the lid of your slow cooker to check on it. It will break the moisture seal as well as cool the pot down rapidly and you'll need to cook longer.
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2009
How come there is no liquid in the slow-cooker method? I am going to add 1 cup of chicken broth just to make sure everything cooks well. Comments?
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2009
Wonderful recipe! So delicious and soooo easy.
Martha Stewart Member
02/27/2009
I made this using the oven method. It turned out fantastic!! Definitely will make again. The only things I changed were adding more garlic (3 more cloves - my husband loves garlic)
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