One-pan chicken couscous

One-pan chicken couscous

By Emma Lewis
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(62 ratings)
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Prep: 15 mins Cook: 15 mins

Easy

Serves 4
This satisfying yet superhealthy recipe is all cooked in one pan for minimum washing up

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition:

  • kcal281
  • fat6g
  • saturates1g
  • carbs41g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre3g
  • protein20g
  • salt0.48g
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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 200g chicken breast, diced
  • good chunk fresh root ginger
    Ginger

    Ginger

    jin-jer

    Mainly grown in Jamaica, Africa, India, China and Australia, ginger is the root of the plant. It…

  • 1-2 tbsp harissa paste, plus extra to serve
  • 10 dried apricots
    Apricots

    Apricot

    ay-pree-kot

    A relative of the peach, nectarine, plum and cherry, apricots are fragrant, with a soft, velvety…

  • 220g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 200g couscous
    Couscous

    Couscous

    koos-koos

    Consisting of many tiny granules made from steamed and dried durum wheat, couscous has become a…

  • 200ml hot chicken stock
  • handful coriander, chopped, to serve

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion for 1-2 mins just until softened. Add the chicken and fry for 7-10 mins until cooked through and the onions have turned golden. Grate over the ginger, stir through the harissa to coat everything and cook for 1 min more.

  2. Tip in the apricots, chickpeas and couscous, then pour over the stock and stir once. Cover with a lid or tightly cover the pan with foil and leave for about 5 mins until the couscous has soaked up all the stock and is soft. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and scatter over the coriander to serve. Serve with extra harissa, if you like.

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Comments (79)

emx05's picture
emx0516th Jun, 2016
5

Made this a few times now as it's so quick and easy to make and tastes delicious. Instead of apricots I used raisins and they work just as good, and I've had no problems with needing more stock for the recipe. Would say don't freeze leftovers, I've previously found that couscous doesn't freeze very well.

NotDanDan's picture
NotDanDan24th Apr, 2016

Pretty good for lunch on a daily basis. I like to use more chickpeas to get the protein content even higher... And use a mountain of harissa paste! I've seen a few people say the recipe calls for more stock but I found it to be about right.

CHS's picture
CHS12th Feb, 2016

Hi, does anyone know if this freezes well? Thank you

amberjack's picture
amberjack15th Nov, 2015

reduced everything for just us two and only 2 teaspoons of harrisa, plenty warm enough but need to soak dried apricots first as they were still hard and they are better squidgy and sweet. Super one pan meal.
Pearl

mbatson's picture
mbatson8th Jun, 2015

This was ok, but missing something. Definitely need more stock. Served with mango chutney to add a bit more flavour.

tfs's picture
tfs26th Jan, 2015
3.75

Delicious! Used 1 tsp only of harissa in the cooking - which you could hardly taste - but perfect for kiddies. Added more to my own serving. Also added a few rashers bacon and red pepper. Used 400ml stock which seemed just right.

RhiShads14's picture
RhiShads147th Nov, 2014

I'm confused as to whether this recipe requires you to make up the cous cous with some water and wait to soak in, before adding to the pan? Or is it purely the liquid in the stock that is to soak into th dry cous cous?

mrsmop007's picture
mrsmop0072nd Nov, 2014
5

gorgeous added more harissa, i would defintely recommend

Tinny29's picture
Tinny2917th Oct, 2014
3.75

Really easy to make. I always use chicken thighs and plenty of ginger and garlic. Definitely needs 2-3 tbsp of Harissa. Very tastey.

npnp's picture
npnp26th Aug, 2014
3.75

Well I enjoyed it... But...
1. Used trip the chick
2. Much more stock/water
3. Added carrots celery and courgette
4. Added garlic, salt
Still a bit bland but i will do better next time

It fed us well with plenty left over

clairesastar's picture
clairesastar11th Jul, 2014
5

Tasty, quick and easy recipe. Swapped chicken for Quorn (as I had some in the fridge) and added some spinach at the end. Really nice, satisfying meal under 300 cals.

saiz's picture
saiz17th Jun, 2014

Delicious!! Soon to be making it again.

Candy7's picture
Candy712th Jun, 2014

Very tasty, quick and easy to make. I made this dish for my husband and I and used a 400g tin of chickpeas. The ratio of stock to couscous needs adjusting. For 2 people I used 100g couscous to 400ml of stock which seemed about right. 2 tablespoons of Harissa paste was perfect, definitely not too spicy. I chopped the ginger instead of grating which worked perfectly. Definitely a recipe I'll be making again and again.

Sopski01's picture
Sopski016th Apr, 2014

I halved the ingredients (used 1 small onion) and substituted the chickpeas and apricots for courgettes and red pepper, it was absolutely delicious! I used 3/4 tspn of Harissa and it was just right. Definitely making more next time!

JustChuckItAllIn's picture
JustChuckItAllIn11th Apr, 2014

Agreed about harissa. 1-2 tbsp is mouth burning. Spoilt the dish for me. 1-2 tsp might be better. And as to adding more harissa to serve - Emma who submitted the recipe must be asbestos mouthed

Miss FunnyFace's picture
Miss FunnyFace24th Mar, 2014

I made this dish for me and my boyfriend this evening. Replaced the chick peas for peas as he's not fond of the former, added just a little garlic and chopped up some chili for the tomato paste as I hadn't found any harissa in the shop. Fantastic dish! Will definitely make this again. Yum!

JustChuckItAllIn's picture
JustChuckItAllIn11th Apr, 2014

Sainsburys have it - tiny little jar only about 8cm tall. It took a while to find; I think it was in the indian cookery section (but I've slept since then).

Miss FunnyFace's picture
Miss FunnyFace24th Mar, 2014

I made this recipe for the first time this evening for me and my boyfriend. I swapped the chick peas for peas as he's not too fond of the former, and added chopped chili to the tomato sauce as I couldn't find any harissa paste in the shop. This dish was a big hit! We both really enjoyed it. Will definitely make it again. Yum!!

angelaosei's picture
angelaosei23rd Mar, 2014

I love this recipe & usually make it for lunches. I use a 400g tin of chickpeas and 500mls stock as suggested by someone else.

kasiakoczwara's picture
kasiakoczwara15th Jan, 2014
4

1-2 tsp of harissa more like it!
Oh, and 500ml of stock is a must.

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Questions (3)

JustChuckItAllIn's picture
JustChuckItAllIn11th Apr, 2014

How do you prepare this in 15 minutes? The recipe says 5 min prep, 10 min cooking.

BUT, you have to get everything out and ready, chop the onions, open and drain the chickpeas, measure the couscous, heat the stock in 5 minutes.
Then you add 1-2min, 7-10 min, 1 min, 5 min, and you get 14-18 mins, if you can manage the bits between without any time passing.

In reality, it is a good half hour and a bit to prepare this dish.

Also, by adding cold couscous and cold chickpeas, the dish is only luke warm when served. Personally, I'd suggest heating the chick peas in the stock before adding it all to the dish.

goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam28th Apr, 2014

Hi there, thank you for your comments, we think perhaps in reality the timings are a little optimistic, we will change the prep time to 15 miniutes and the cooking time to 15 minutes as well. Please remember all prep timings should be taken as a guide as people work at different speeds.

npnp's picture
npnp26th Aug, 2014
3.75

Id ignore ridiculous estimates like this. And your revised ones too

Tips (1)

animals's picture
animals15th Oct, 2015
2.5

Overall I was disappointed with this recipe after trying it today. It was too dry & bland. I suggest adding chopped celery & half each of red, green & orange peppers, peas (instead of chick peas) crushed garlic & a dash of soy sauce along with more chicken stock