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An overhead photo of lemon, chicken and saffrom couscous served on a fancyblack plate with a tea towel around it.

Lemon, Saffron and Chicken Couscous

A beautiful quick and easy chicken couscous recipe that is packed with flavour. You will love it!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Not Specific
Keyword lemon chicken couscous, moroccan chicken couscous, saffron couscous
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 603 kcal
Author Nicolas

Ingredients

  • 750 ml of chicken stock
  • A pinch saffron
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
  • The zest from 1 lemon
  • 500 g of couscous
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper
  • 500 g chicken thighs
  • 2 tablespoons a light oil such as vegetable oil or rice bran oil.
  • 150 g of sweet potato washed and diced into small cubes
  • 1 medium-large carrot peeled and diced into small cubes
  • 150 g of frozen peas
  • 30 g of baby spinach
  • 5-10 g of fresh parsley chopped
  • 100 g of sultanas
  • 50 g of feta cheese

Instructions

  1. Add your chicken stock, saffron, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large pot and bring to a boil. As soon as the stock starts boiling, turn the heat off.

  2. Add the couscous and mix through the hot stock, place a lid over the pot and let the couscous absorb the stock and cook for 10 minutes.

  3. Mix the spiced ground cumin, ground ginger, ground turmeric, ground coriander, paprika, salt and pepper together and then rub the Moroccan spice mix over your chicken thighs along with half of your vegetable oil.

  4. Preheat a griddle pan over high heat (turn the fans on and/or open the windows) for about 1-2 minutes.

  5. Once the griddle pan is nice and hot, place your chicken thighs in the pan, making sure they are flattened out. Grill for 3 - 3.5 minutes on each side until cooked through.

  6. Transfer the chicken thighs onto a clean board, then cut them into cubes.

  7. Preheat a wok over medium heat, then add you vegetable oil. From there add your sweet potato and carrots, fry them for about half a minute and then place a lid on top of the wok and let the vegetables cook for 2 minutes.

  8. Take the lid off, then add your peas, put the lid back on and cook the vegetables for another minute and then turn the heat off.
  9. Add your couscous, the chicken, sultanas, fetta cheese and mix thoroughly. Then add your spinach and parsley and mix through again! Serve and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

  • If there are any other ingredients you want to use up in you pantry, feel free to use them for this recipe.
  • Use whatever spices you like when making the spice mix for the chicken.
  • Make sure the griddle pan is nice and hot before you add the chicken.
  • If you don't have a griddle pan, use a frying pan instead, but make sure you add some oil to the pan before adding the chicken.
  • Remember that ratio for couscous is 1 part couscous to 1.5 parts boiling hot liquid.
  • To make this recipe vegetarian, replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. And replace the chicken thighs with something else like tofu, mushrooms, tempeh etc.
  • To make this a vegan recipe, you need to replace the feta cheese with something else, you can buy some vegan cheese or you can make your own vegan feta cheese by using Candice's recipe: Vegan Feta Cheese Recipe
  • Feel free to use this recipe as a meal prep recipe. The couscous should last for about 3-4 days in the fridge, but you can freeze as many portions as you want.
Nutrition Facts
Lemon, Saffron and Chicken Couscous
Amount Per Serving
Calories 603 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 13.5g84%
Cholesterol 82mg27%
Sodium 871mg38%
Potassium 637mg18%
Carbohydrates 79.4g26%
Fiber 7.3g30%
Sugar 6.6g7%
Protein 38.6g77%
Calcium 105mg11%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.