Not your basic tomato chicken thigh recipe! This easy one-dish dinner gets upgraded with juicy baharat and turmeric-spiced chicken thighs on a bed of pearl couscous and vegetables. No pre-boiling required, the pearl couscous cooks perfectly in the oven in a deeply savory tomato, tarragon, and lemon sauce.
This tomato chicken recipe was inspired by the many one-dish chicken dinners that came before it. I love roasting chicken thighs with something to soak up all the flavor—be it potatoes, orzo, rice, or couscous. And what’s not to love? It’s simple to prepare, doesn’t compromise on flavor, and minimizes the kitchen tidy-up after a glorious feast!
To build the flavor, I rub the thighs with a warming baharat spice blend and turmeric, then roast them on a bed of pearl couscous and vegetables. Everything cooks until tender in a sauce made of vegetable broth, tomato paste, lemon, garlic, and fresh tarragon.
The chicken drippings enrich the tomato sauce, making it irresistibly savory and delicious. And, with the combination of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean ingredients, this easy dinner recipe brings a restaurant-quality flavor worthy of a dinner party or special night in.
Table of Contents
What is in this Tomato Chicken Recipe?
Your local supermarket should house all these ingredients. If you are having difficulty finding the more specialty ingredients, such as high-quality olive oil, Baharat spice blend, or pearl couscous, you can find them in our online shop.
- Extra virgin olive oil: A good quality variety makes all the difference to your cooking.
- Vegetables: Red and yellow bell pepper, red onion, celery, carrot, leek, and cherry tomatoes add a wholesome flavor and nutrition to the dish.
- Garlic: An essential aromatic for all Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking helping to elevate the flavor.
- Chicken thighs: Opt for skin on and bone in, which stays juicier and richer as it cooks. If you’re using skinless boneless chicken thighs adjust the timing as they tend to cook more quickly.
- Spices: Ground turmeric adds an earthy and vibrant flavor to the chicken thighs, while baharat spice adds a warming note (see Ingredient Spotlight below for more).
- Tomato paste: Combines with the vegetable broth for a rich cooking liquid to bring a bold tomato flavor.
- Pearl couscous: This Middle Eastern staple may look like a grain, but it’s actually a type of pasta! It is made of tiny spheres of toasted semolina flour. You can purchase pearl couscous from our online shop, or find it at select grocery stores. Just be aware that it’s different from the smaller variety which is often labeled simply “couscous.” Make sure to source those larger pearls. If you don’t have pearl couscous then orzo or rice are great alternatives.
- Vegetable broth: Make homemade vegetable broth with leftover vegetable scraps or homemade chicken broth. Store-bought is also fine, just try to use low sodium or seasoned lightly as you cook.
- Fresh tarragon packs a powerful herb with an aniseed flavor.
- Fresh lemon complements the sweetness of the fresh tarragon and savory chicken.
- Salt and freshly ground pepper: used to season the dish.
Ingredient Spotlight
Baharat spice is a Middle Eastern spice blend that layers the chicken thighs with sweet, earth, spicy flavors and a delicate floral note.
The exact blend depends on the seller, with our version containing paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg.
- LEARN MORE: All About Baharat: The Warming, Spicy, Sweet-and-Savory Wonder Spice
- TRY IT: Find our favorite baharat spice blend at our shop.
- BEST SUBSTITUTE: Ras el hanout. Although they have different flavor profiles, it will still be delicious. Alternatively, omit the baharat and just use the turmeric. Again, equally delicious.
How to Make Tomato Chicken
It’s amazing how easy such a flavorful, texture-rich dish can be. Here’s how to make this jazzed up tomato chicken:
Roast the Chicken and Veggies
- Get ready. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Finely chop 1 small bunch of tarragon and set aside for later.
- Prep these veggies and place them in a large baking dish (about 15×12-inches) as you go. Chop 1 red and yellow bell pepper, 1 red onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, and 1 leek. Quarter 8 ounces of cherry tomatoes and mince 4 garlic cloves. Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Toss until everything is evenly coated with the olive oil.
- Season the chicken and roast. Pat 6 large bone-in chicken thighs dry with paper towels, then season well all over with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon each baharat and turmeric. Rub the seasoning and spices into the chicken thighs until evenly coated, then tuck the thighs into the vegetable mixture with the skin side down. Place in the hot oven to roast (uncovered) for 30 minutes.
Make the Tomato Sauce and Cook the Couscous
- Add the couscous. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the chicken to a rimmed plate. To the baking dish, add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 cups pearl couscous, and 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth. Zest in one lemon, then squeeze in its juice. Set aside a sprinkle of tarragon for garnish, then add the remaining tarragon to the dish and stir to combine.
Finish and Serve
- Finish the chicken. Place the chicken thighs skin side up on top of the pearl couscous and vegetable mixture. Make sure the flesh is mostly tucked into the couscous mixture but the chicken skin is exposed–this will allow the skin to brown and get crispy.
- Finish baking the chicken. Return the dish to the hot oven to roast until most of the liquid has absorbed into the pearl couscous and the chicken has crispy skin, about 30 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven, garnish with the reserved tarragon and serve.
What to Serve with Tomato Chicken
This is a complete dish with vegetables, chicken, and pearl couscous so simply serve straight out of the oven with a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh tarragon to garnish.
Should you fancy a side salad with it, I heartily recommend a simple salad such as Healthy Cucumber Salad or Persian Salad-e Shirazi to complement the citrus and delicate aniseed flavor profile.
Storage and Reheating
If you have any leftovers, store them in tight-lid glass containers in the fridge for about 3 days. Reheat either in a microwave or in a medium oven, covered in aluminum foil so it doesn’t dry out.
More One-Dish Chicken Recipes
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Baked Tomato Chicken Thighs with Couscous
Ingredients
- 2 bell peppers (mix of red and yellow), chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 medium leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and sliced into 1/2-inch half moons
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 6 large bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon baharat spice
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups pearl couscous
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 small bunch (1oz) tarragon, finely chopped
Instructions
- Get ready. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
- Season the veggies. In a large baking dish (about 15×12-inches), stir together the bell peppers, onion, celery, carrot, leek, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Toss until everything is evenly coated with the olive oil.
- Season the chicken and roast. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, then season well all over with salt, pepper, baharat, and turmeric. Rub the seasoning and spices into the chicken thighs until evenly coated, then tuck the thighs into the vegetable mixture with the skin side down. Place in the hot oven to roast (uncovered) for 30 minutes.
- Add the couscous. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the chicken to a rimmed plate. To the baking dish, add the tomato paste, couscous, broth, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Set aside a sprinkle of tarragon for garnish, then add the remaining tarragon to the dish and stir to combine.
- Finish the chicken. Place the chicken thighs skin side up on top of the pearl couscous and vegetable mixture. Make sure the flesh is mostly tucked into the couscous mixture but the chicken skin is exposed–this will allow the skin to brown and get crispy.
- Finish baking the chicken. Return the dish to the hot oven to roast until most of the liquid has absorbed into the pearl couscous and the chicken has crispy skin, about 30 minutes.
- Serve: Remove the baking pan from the oven, garnish with the reserved tarragon and serve.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil, pearl couscous, and baharat spice blend used in this recipe.
- Should you fancy a side salad, I heartily recommend a simple salad such as Healthy Cucumber Salad or Persian Salad-e Shirazi to complement the citrus and delicate aniseed flavor profile.
- The nutrition in this recipe is calculated with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. If you remove the skin and choose not to eat it, the calorie content per serving drops to 453.
Nutrition
Baharat Spice Blend
Try our signature Baharat Spice Blend with cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and more.
In this dish what else can be substituted for Couscous as it’s not a favorite of ours? You suggested Orzo, is there anything else?
Hi, Larry. Really any small pasta that is similar in size to pearl couscous and orzo will work.
I made this recipe with a couple of tweaks on 11/4/24. Instead of cous cous, I substituted baby potatoes. My hubby is British and is meat and potatoes mostly. Also, I added a quarter cup of pomegranate molasses because I love that flavor. I didn’t have tarragon so we went without. It turned out wonderfully. My hubby ranks my TMD recipes I cook from 1-5, and he gave me 4.5 for this. I personally give it 5.0 stars. 😋
Yay! Thanks so much for the great review!
This recipe was delicious! I made it as is except substituted dried Dillmfir the fresh. It was very hearty and warm. Easy to make.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review!
Delicious recipe! The chicken was very juicy, and love having the couscous and vegetables together and soak in the flavours. The only revision I would add is to add more lemon juice and to create the chicken spice mix separately with salt and then rub it evenly across so the flavour blends better.
Delicious flavor. I had a hard time with the top layer of couscous not getting soft. But otherwise a very savory and healthy dish.
I wonder about making this with tofu
Sounds interesting! If you decide to give it a try, please stop back and share your thoughts!
I have a question for you about the recipe: Is the couscous added to the pan uncooked? I assume so, since the couscous will absorb the liquid as it cooks, but I wanted to confirm that point. Also, a second question after all: If I don’t have the baharat spice mixture, what would be a good substitute – e.g., paprika, cumin, etc.?
Thank you.
Hello! Yes, the couscous here is added here uncooked. If you don’t have baharat on hand, you can definitely use a combo of other spices to add those warm and sweet undertones. Things like cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, black pepper.