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This Chicken with Couscous comes together in a single pan with just 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking time, making it ideal for busy weeknights! With juicy pan-seared chicken, tender pearled couscous, and a little bit of Mediterranean flair, it’s sure to become a fast favorite.
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I love this chicken and couscous recipe, not only because it’s so good but it comes together in a single skillet! Even as an experienced cook, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed when I’ve got two or three pans on the stovetop and another in the oven at the same time. This skillet chicken with couscous is a stress-free dinner that’s delicious and family-friendly too.
Those of you who’ve tried and loved the Mediterranean couscous with shrimp recipe will definitely want to try out this couscous with chicken recipe. It also has very basic ingredients and instructions with flavors that everyone will enjoy!
Recipe At a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: Mediterranean
Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop and oven
Dietary Info: Protein-rich
Key Flavor: Savory, with a finish of bright citrus
Skill Level: Easy
Summary
- Complete Dinner in a Skillet: The couscous and chicken are enough for a light meal all by themselves—you can add a vegetable side or salad if you’d like, but you don’t have to!
- Kid-Friendly: While this chicken couscous recipe is flavorful, there’s nothing especially bold or spicy in the dish, which means it’s picky eater approved. Plus, kids love pearled couscous. It has a chewy texture that’s fun to eat!
- Perfect for a Weeknight: This chicken and couscous is on the table and ready to eat in just 30 minutes. The prep is very easy, and so is the cooking, so it’s great for those days when you just want something simple for dinner.
- An Ingredient List of Pantry Staples: The ingredient list might look long at first glance, but you probably won’t have very much to buy at the grocery store since it mostly relies on kitchen staples!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless chicken thighs: I like chicken thighs in this recipe because it’s harder to overcook them! They’re practically guaranteed to be tender and juicy. If you prefer to use chicken breasts, you can. Just be careful not to overcook them
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Olive oil: I like to use olive oil for this chicken couscous recipe, but another oil you like to cook with is fine if you’ve run out.
- Pearled couscous: Pearled couscous is chewier than regular couscous—a little more like pasta. I’ve also made this skillet chicken recipe with quinoa and orzo. Both are a great option if you can’t find pearled couscous or simply prefer something different!
- Garlic: Using garlic powder and fresh garlic makes this skillet chicken and couscous extra flavorful.
- Fresh thyme leaves: Using fresh herbs adds a more vibrant flavor to this dish. If you need to use dried instead, use 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.
- Chicken broth: You can use homemade chicken broth or store-bought.
- Lemon: For a bright, citrusy finish.
Popular Additions
- Add greens. Just before the cooking time is done, stir in several handfuls of baby spinach. Baby spinach wilts quickly, adding some extra nutrition to your couscous and chicken without having to alter the recipe or extend the cooking time.
- Give it some contrasting textures. Try adding chopped dried apricots and almonds just before serving. They’ll add flavor and some more layers of texture to the dish.
How to Make Skillet Chicken With Couscous
My Best Couscous and Chicken Tips
- Make sure your spices are fresh. When you open the bottles, they should be fragrant. If you smell nothing or the spices smell stale, they won’t add much flavor to your food—it’s time to replace them.
- Uses a heavy bottom skillet for best heat distribution. Sometimes the skillet you use in cooking doesn’t matter much. Here it does. That’s because a skillet with a thick heavy bottom will give you even heat throughout the cooking process, and can handle being finished off in the oven. If you don’t want to finish the cooking in the oven, you can use a stainless steel or nonstick skillet with a lid and continue cooking on the stovetop.
- Dab the chicken dry before seasoning. This step will help to get that beautiful golden color on the exterior of the chicken without it sticking to the pan. If there is leftover moisture on the chicken, it creates steam, which prevents browning.
- Check the internal temperature of the chicken for best results. The time estimates I provide in the recipe below are simple estimates based on the size and thickness of the chicken I used. For the best accuracy, I would highly recommend using a quick-read thermometer and cooking the chicken to 165°F. Be sure not to go over that temperature or the chicken will become too dry.
What to Serve
- Lebanese Rice
- Healthy Mashed Potatoes
- Green Beans with Almonds
- Brussel Sprout Salad
- Fresh Garden Salad
Recipe Help & Common Questions
Yes! Depending on the brands your grocery store carries, you may only be able to find tri-color couscous. That is absolutely fine for this recipe.
As mentioned above, you can add baby spinach to this recipe, but I would be cautious about adding other vegetables, as they may release excess moisture into the pan, making your skillet couscous with chicken watery.
A cast iron skillet is safe to put in the oven, but other skillets that are made with aluminum or stainless steel are also oven-safe as long as the handles don’t have plastic, glass, or other non-metal materials on them. To be sure, check the manual for your cookware.
Store leftover skillet chicken with couscous in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can reheat it over medium heat in a covered skillet with a splash of broth, or in the microwave. If you’d like to freeze this dish, store it in an airtight container or freezer bag. It will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
More Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- Easy Butter Chicken
- Harissa Chicken
- Chicken Lettuce Cups
- Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Baked Za’atar Chicken
- Skillet Cilantro Chicken
- Lebanese Chicken and Rice
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feelgood Skillet Chicken with Couscous recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
This recipe was originally published on December 29, 2018. The recipe has not changed and it has been updated with new, fresh photos and step by step images!
Skillet Chicken with Couscous
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound boneless skinless chicken thighs 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup pearl couscous
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ lemon sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pat the chicken thighs dry using a paper towel.
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle generously over chicken thighs.
- Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Transfer the seasoned chicken to the cast iron presentation-side down. Cook until the chicken is golden brown and releases easily from the skillet, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- To the same skillet, add the couscous, garlic, thyme, and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the couscous is toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth to deglaze the skillet, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, place the lemon slices around the chicken and place the skillet in the oven. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the couscous is puffed, about 15 minutes.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Made exactly as your recipe states this has quickly become one of my teen’s favorite dinners. I love that it’s simple and quick but the flavors make it seem much more involved. It’s so nice to have a good go-to weeknight meal. Thanks!
Amazing!! So happy you and your teen love it! Thanks so much, Catherine!
Nice quick mid-week meal. I made it with orzo. I added pre-cooked onions and carrots to the dish before cooking because I wanted more vegetables without needing to make a side dish. I also added some halved cherry tomatoes that I had leftover. I thought the tomatoes might make the dish too watery when they broke down but they didn’t breakdown much in the 15 minutes that you bake it and I only used about 8 cherry tomatoes.
So happy you liked it, Beth! Love the tweaks you made. Thank you!!