Moroccan Chicken Traybake with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon

# Moroccan Chicken Traybake with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon

A traybake that actually tastes like you made an effort — without the washing up pile to match. This Moroccan-inspired dish brings warm spice, tender chicken, and creamy chickpeas together in one pan, and it's the kind of meal that makes your kitchen smell incredible.

The Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded, skin finely sliced
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400g cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp turmeric
• Salt and black pepper
• Fresh coriander and natural yoghurt to serve

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180°C fan. 2. In a large roasting tin, combine the chickpeas, red onion wedges, cherry tomatoes, garlic, preserved lemon, and olive oil. Toss everything together with the spices and a generous pinch of salt. 3. Nestle the chicken thighs on top, skin-side up. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and season well. 4. Roast for 40–45 minutes, until the chicken skin is golden and crisp and the chickpeas are starting to catch at the edges. 5. Scatter over fresh coriander and serve with a spoonful of yoghurt.

What Makes This Work Nutritionally

This dish earns its place in a balanced weekly rotation for several reasons — and none of them involve it being "light" or "virtuous."

Chicken thighs are often overlooked in favour of breast meat, but they're actually easier to cook (far more forgiving in the oven) and bring more flavour. They're a solid source of protein and contain a useful amount of zinc and B vitamins, including B12.

Chickpeas are doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Each 100g serving contributes around 7–8g of protein and a meaningful amount of fibre — the kind of fibre that feeds gut bacteria and supports steady energy levels. They also absorb the spiced cooking juices beautifully, which means flavour and nutrition in one.

Preserved lemon adds more than a salty, tangy brightness. It contains polyphenols and contributes a distinctive depth of flavour — and a small amount goes a long way, so a little jar from the supermarket will last you weeks.

The spice blend here isn't just for flavour. Cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon each have decent evidence behind them for anti-inflammatory properties when consumed regularly as part of a varied diet.

Why Traybakes Fit Real Life

There's a reason traybakes appear in virtually every practical nutrition conversation: they remove friction. One tin, one oven temperature, minimal prep — and the result is a complete meal with protein, carbohydrate, and plenty of micronutrients already built in.

This recipe in particular is well-suited to batch cooking. It reheats brilliantly the next day, and the flavours actually deepen overnight. Serve it with flatbreads, couscous, or just on its own if you're keeping things simple.

A Few Easy Swaps

The recipe is flexible by design. Bone-in thighs give the best result, but boneless work fine — just reduce the cooking time to around 30 minutes. If you can't find preserved lemons, a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice plus a little extra salt gets you most of the way there.

For a vegetarian version, swap the chicken for a 500g block of firm tofu (pressed and cubed) or a large cauliflower broken into florets. Reduce the oven time to around 30–35 minutes and keep an eye on things from 25 minutes in.

Practical Takeaway

• Double the batch and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days
• The spice mix can be made in bulk and stored in a jar — it works on lamb, fish, and roasted vegetables too
• Serve with a dollop of yoghurt to add a little extra protein and balance the warmth of the spices
• Preserved lemons are widely available in larger supermarkets and most Middle Eastern or North African grocery shops

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> Macrology tip: Add this recipe to your Macrology meal plan and the app will automatically calculate the macros per serving, adjust portion sizes to your targets, and suggest complementary meals for the rest of the week.

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