Inspired by Joey’s restaurant and the spices of Morocco, this Moroccan chicken soup uses a combination of chickpeas, chicken and carrots for a healthy and deeply flavourful soup.
In our house, especially during the winter, there is always homemade soup in the fridge and my newest creation; Moroccan chicken soup got rave reviews from my soup-loving family. There is just something about soup, don’t you think? It’s so comforting and is the perfect recipe to make on the weekend and grab for lunches or quick-dinners throughout the week.
When I was a kid, chicken noodle soup was a staple weeknight dinner and my Mom makes the absolute best chicken noodle soup on the planet, I’ll have to share her recipe one day. But you see, having a soup almost weekly means that it can get boring pretty quickly. I’ve found that it’s pretty impossible to mess up a soup so experimenting with different flavour combinations and techniques can be a lot of fun. You can roast all your vegetables first to create a sweeter and more robust flavour like in my roasted sweet potato soup, or you can create a lighter Asian-inspired soup using ginger, rice noodles and mushrooms.
This Moroccan chicken soup was inspired by a soup I had at a restaurant back in December. I was doing some Christmas shopping with my mom and we stopped for a quick bite, I ordered the Moroccan soup and fell in love with the depth of flavours. The broth was delicately spiced and the chickpeas were a nice textural component.
After enjoying the warm, aromatic soup, I knew right away that I had to recreate it for all of you. For this version, I leaned on the classic combination of carrots, celery and onion for the vegetables. The flavours come from a combination of spices; cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric are spices often used in Moroccan cuisine that create a lightly spiced broth with a beautiful colour. I also use a touch of cayenne in this recipe for a bit of heat, but you can always leave this out or add more.
A little process photo that I Instagrammed while making the soup!
I’ve started using Instagram more often for the site, so be sure to follow me on there for lots of behind-the-scenes shots, a little taste of the recipes I’m working on, and just general fun things I’m up to around Toronto. I’m LivingLou over there, let’s follow each other? The above photo is a process shot of the spice combination from when I was finessing this chicken soup recipe.
This recipe is also more on the budget-friendly side of things because it a combination of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (which can be quite pricey) and chickpeas. I also don’t use any store-bought broths in this soup because you will be poaching the chicken in the water, which creates a flavourful broth while it cooks.
Yields 4-6
A hearty soup packed with Moroccan flavours it will definitely be a staple this winter.
10 minPrep Time
55 minCook Time
1 hr, 5 Total Time
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more to taste if you want something spicy!)
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 7 cups water
- 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-19oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- chopped cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, remove from pot and set aside.
- Add the onion to the pot, stirring occasionally until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and spices, stirring until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in carrots and celery, return chicken to pot. Add water and crushed tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove chicken from soup and shred with two forks.
- Return chicken to pot. Add chickpeas and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with chopped cilantro.
We loved this Moroccan Chicken Soup and I hope you love it too, let me know if you try it in the comments.
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