Moroccan Chicken Dumplings Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Ana Sortun

Adapted by Amanda Hesser

Moroccan Chicken Dumplings Recipe (1)

Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(196)
Notes
Read community notes

Featured in: Recipe Redux; 1966: David Eyre's Pancake

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Ingredients

Yield:6 appetizer servings

  • Cooking-oil spray
  • ¾cup cooked, shredded chicken (from about half a chicken breast or 2 thighs)
  • cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • teaspoons harissa
  • 2teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • 1lemon
  • Pinch of saffron
  • ½cup flour
  • teaspoon nutmeg
  • teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ½cup whole milk
  • 4tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, to garnish
  • Chicken broth (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

251 calories; 19 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 275 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Moroccan Chicken Dumplings Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with 6 half-cup molds with cooking-oil spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, almonds, harissa and olive oil. Season with salt.

  2. Step

    2

    Juice half the lemon. Cut the remaining half into 6 wedges and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the saffron in 2 teaspoons lemon juice; let sit for 10 minutes.

  3. Step

    3

    Place the muffin tin on a sheet pan and put it in the oven to heat, about 5 minutes. In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center, add the eggs, milk and saffron mixture and beat gently, leaving the batter a little lumpy.

  4. Step

    4

    Remove the muffin tin from the oven and distribute the melted butter evenly among the molds. (It is important that each cup has enough butter, as the batter will fry in it when baked.) Divide the batter among the molds, no more than halfway up each. Drop about 2 tablespoons chicken filling into the center of each. Bake until the edges are browned and the batter is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Top with cilantro and serve with lemon wedges. Eat as is or with homemade chicken broth poured on top.

Ratings

5

out of 5

196

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Jeanne

This was unusual, easy to make and delicious! Would be a perfect compliment to soup for dinner.

Ryan B

Made these with whole-wheat pastry flour since that's all I had at the time and it worked well. Next time I might reduce the butter to 3Tbsp. These were just a little greasy for my liking and some of the butter overflowed the pan while baking, making a mess in the oven. Still, I enjoyed these and more importantly so did my 2yo son (who called them chicken pies). Would be curious to sub in other flavors in the future.

Laura

These were delicious though I agree with the other comment I would reduce the butter to 3 tbs next time. It overflowed for me too. But the flavors were spectacular. I served them with soup. We ate 3 each so the portion of 6 appetizer size ended up being enough for 2 as a dinner option.

Eva Tackett

Reminds me of the taste of Bistilla without the sweet and crispy elements. Very tasty.I think a heaping teaspoon of butter would be sufficient to cook each of the dumplings. I will add additional cinnamon and nutmeg to the chicken mixture next time. I would not add additional saffron.Add all the chicken mixture to the muffin tins. The chicken mixture not covered by the batter as it rose became crispy and was good.The dumplings took 25 minutes to brown in my oven.

SPark0101

I didn't have a muffin pan so instead made one large dumpling in a pie pan. It worked beautifully and was delicious. I agree with suggestions to reduce the amount of butter to make it less greasy. I served the portions with sautéed broccoli which was a nice complement.

Janet

Wonderful during COVID times since everyone gets his/her own and no one goes near a serving dish. Leftover Costco rotisserie chicken is perfect for this.

KatieM

So delicious. I loved the saffron flavor. The chicken was moist and flavorful. The batter really puffed up. Fun, easy recipe. Good idea to put a tray or baking sheet under the muffin tin. It seemed like a lot of butter but the recipe worked perfectly as written -- I would not change anything.

Sara

Instead of pouring melted butter into each muffin compartment, I cut slivers of unmelted butter and then put the muffin tin in the oven a few minutes. It is still necessary to spray the muffin tins (tried it without spraying the tins and had difficulty getting pies out). Second time I made these, I added sautéed mushrooms and spinach with garlic and thyme instead of the chicken and harissa and other seasoning.

Georgia

I served these with soup and they were absolutley delicious. I think my muffin tins were a bit smaller than those the recipe called for so I had more batter than fit 6 molds. I put my tin on a cookie sheet and, yes, the butter overflowed. The next time I make them (soon I hope) I'll prepare a 12 mold pan and decrease the amount of butter in each one.

Madame Professor

One of the more delicious and unusual dishes I have cooked in a long time. I served the dumplings in a shallow soup bowl surrounded by a rich chicken broth studded with cooked onions, carrots and celery. Sublime.

Micah

Cook for a full 15 minutes, halve the almonds, reduce butter (5 tablespoon for double batch), double the harissa and add other spices to chicken to spice it up more

Brett

When I initially made these I thought they were delicious but a bit bland. The second time I made them I used rotisserie chicken and spices similar to bastilla. 1/4t Tumeric, 1/8t cinnamon, 1/4t powdered ginger, pinch of saffron and a pinch of sugar. The next time I make them I will try mini muffin tins to see if that will work for appetizer portions.

A cook

don't bother with melting the butter--just put a thin slice of cold butter into each muffin well and then put the muffin tin in the preheated oven for a few. i left out the $$$affron and it was fine. This is a GREAT way to use up the boiled chicken out of a soup. way tastier than any other use ever for boiled chicken. Genius!

Madame Defarge Kept a List

What kind of soup would go well with this?

Carrie

Went to my local spice store for saffron and harissa which I never cook with. I wanted a vegetarian version so just sautéed veggies I had in the fridge, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, spinach, and dolloped the mix over the batter (which I halved). Thawed some frozen homemade chix broth poured it over two muffins. Amazing. The muffins held up in the broth. Loved the novel seasonings. A keeper.

Jennie

Essentially chicken-studded baby Yorkshire puddings. Lovely in hot chicken broth--like a mutated kreplach.

Jblundell

has anyone used anything other than whole milk to make it? I can get away with butter but milk causes issues.

Madame Professor

On my regular rotation with leftover chicken and homemade stock. To die for. So simple.

Karen Esther

This got thumbs up from my whole family, including picky 5 year old. I paired with a big green salad.I reduced the butter to 3 TB and it still overflowed quite a lot. I would cut back to 2 TB the next time and see how that works.I also think the batter could do with a pinch or two of sugar - the flavors here are similar to Moroccan pastilla and that benefits from the sweet/savory combo.Great way to use up leftover roast chicken!

Sara

Instead of pouring melted butter into each muffin compartment, I cut slivers of unmelted butter and then put the muffin tin in the oven a few minutes. It is still necessary to spray the muffin tins (tried it without spraying the tins and had difficulty getting pies out). Second time I made these, I added sautéed mushrooms and spinach with garlic and thyme instead of the chicken and harissa and other seasoning.

KatieM

So delicious. I loved the saffron flavor. The chicken was moist and flavorful. The batter really puffed up. Fun, easy recipe. Good idea to put a tray or baking sheet under the muffin tin. It seemed like a lot of butter but the recipe worked perfectly as written -- I would not change anything.

Janet

Wonderful during COVID times since everyone gets his/her own and no one goes near a serving dish. Leftover Costco rotisserie chicken is perfect for this.

SPark0101

I didn't have a muffin pan so instead made one large dumpling in a pie pan. It worked beautifully and was delicious. I agree with suggestions to reduce the amount of butter to make it less greasy. I served the portions with sautéed broccoli which was a nice complement.

Micah

Cook for a full 15 minutes, halve the almonds, reduce butter (5 tablespoon for double batch), double the harissa and add other spices to chicken to spice it up more

Michelle

Does anyone know if these can be made in advance and frozen? I'm thinking of making mini-muffin size as a passed h'ors d'oeuvres for a party. Thoughts? I may just try it out and see how it goes. Hoping I can freeze them and then re-heat them in the oven just before serving.

Madame Professor

One of the more delicious and unusual dishes I have cooked in a long time. I served the dumplings in a shallow soup bowl surrounded by a rich chicken broth studded with cooked onions, carrots and celery. Sublime.

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Moroccan Chicken Dumplings Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to know when dumplings are cooked in chicken and dumplings? ›

Drop the dumpling mixture by large spoonfuls of dough over the surface of the chicken stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Check the dumplings with a toothpick to see if they're done; if they are still doughy in the middle, flip them over, cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Why are my chicken dumplings not fluffy? ›

Baking powder is the leavening agent of choice for fluffy dumplings. It is important that the right ratio of baking powder to flour be measured. Too little and the dumpling will not rise adequately; if there's too much baking powder, then the dumplings will rise and fall.

What can I add to my chicken and dumplings to make it thicker? ›

How can I thicken stove top chicken and dumplings? You can thicken this dish by adding more flour, or even cornstarch. Create a slurry with either of these ingredients and milk or water, then stir into your broth base until you get your desired consistency.

What is the secret to perfect dumplings? ›

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

Are dumplings supposed to be doughy in chicken and dumplings? ›

You can test a dumpling to check they are done — The center should look cooked through and fluffy, not doughy. When cooking the dumplings, keep the pot at a gentle simmer. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart.

Do you cook dumplings with lid on or lid off? ›

Once your water is boiling, let your dumplings cook in the steam for about ten minutes. Don't remove the lid as letting the steam escape will disrupt the cooking process and result in undercooked dumplings, so keep that lid on!

How do you keep chicken dumplings from falling apart? ›

The steam that builds up by covering the pot is what cooks the dumplings. Don't boil or stir the dumplings. Vigorous boiling and stirring will cause the dumplings to fall apart.

How long should I steam dumplings for? ›

Steam dumplings for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Combine ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and coriander in a bowl.

Can I use water instead of chicken broth for chicken and dumplings? ›

Chicken Broth Substitute: Salted Butter + Water

If you don't have broth on hand and want a little more flavor than just plain water, try subbing in 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of butter for every cup of chicken broth in your recipe. The butter will help create a richer flavor than just water alone.

Why are my chicken and dumplings gummy? ›

Next, it's time to make the dumplings! The best dumplings, in my opinion, have a mix of cornmeal and flour. Without the cornmeal, the dumplings can become gummy and overly glutenous and then your life can completely fall to pieces if you're not careful.

How do you keep dumplings from getting gummy? ›

The second secret to making really good dumplings is to keep the lid closed while the dumplings cook. With the soup simmering over a low flame and the dumpling dough ready, you'll drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the surface of the simmering broth, then cover the pot with a lid.

Which flour is best for dumplings? ›

These dumplings start with all-purpose flour, which creates structure and holds the other ingredients together. Baking powder is a leavening agent, which means it releases gas that makes the dough expand. It's responsible for the dumplings' light and fluffy texture.

What are the 3 components of dumplings? ›

What are dumplings made of? The dumpling dough is made of three main ingredients: flour, water and salt.

Can you use plain flour for dumplings? ›

For dumplings made with wheat flour, all purpose or plain flour will suffice. If your recipe calls for leavening, you'll need to add baking powder and salt. Alternatively, you can use self-rising flour which has the leavening included. For a lot of dumplings, plain flour is all that is required with no baking powder.

Should chicken dumplings be pink inside? ›

Color is not a reliable indicator of safety or doneness. Safely cooked poultry can vary in color from white to pink to tan. All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (73.9°C) as measured with a food thermometer.

Why are my chicken and dumplings doughy? ›

Simmering broth might not be hot enough to raise the dumpling dough. Remove or tilt the lid after they've cooked so the dumplings don't over-steam and get soggy and dense. At least, that's the way I was taught and dumplings come out fluffy and delicious.

Should chicken dumplings be pink? ›

Most likely you'll be fine. If the chicken was slightly pink, but didn't have a noticable raw texture, it was likely cooked enough not to cause problems, just reheat the rest to a safe temperature before eating any more. Sometimes chicken that's boiled in anaerobic environment turns pink.

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