The season’s changing, and every year around this time, I get a craving for dishes with warm spices. I knew I wanted to create a cozy chicken dish because I love the flavors in my golden milk recipe so much. This dish with fall spices and golden beets is like a chicken version of that—it feels so seasonal and smells like the best fall kitchen candle. It’s also incredibly easy, and while a tagine is a great way to cook this dish, you don’t need any fancy equipment.
A Note on Equipment
I love a large tagine pot, but a cast-iron enameled Dutch oven works just as well. I use my Dutch oven all the time because it’s a total workhorse and holds in moisture beautifully, making it perfect for this braise.
Overachiever Seasoning
I add my signature spice blend to almost every savory dish I create. Now available to purchase!
shop nowThe Secret to the Best Flavor
What takes this recipe to the next level is toasting the whole spices first. The smell that comes out of that is absolutely incredible and captures this season in a nutshell. I grabbed a bunch of spices that pair well with cardamom—like star anise, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. The aroma is just so much more potent than using their ground counterparts. Once the dish is done cooking, you can easily discard the more woody spices, like the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods.
All About the Chicken
I prefer to use bone-in, dark meat chicken like thighs or legs for anything with a long cook time. The connective tissues break down over time, making the meat incredibly tender and juicy. This recipe is also super forgiving. There’s no searing the chicken beforehand—you just toss it in! You can also use boneless, skinless thighs, and they’ll fall apart into a delicious, savory chicken gravy that’s perfect over rice.
How to Make It
This is a dump-and-go recipe, and it’s a dream for a busy weeknight. Simply arrange the chicken, beets, and dates in your pot. Then, add in your seasonings—I use fresh, sliced turmeric and all the other toasted spices. I prefer using coconut milk for its creamy richness, but chicken stock or bone broth (try my homemade recipe) work well, too.
Cover and cook at 325°F for an hour and a half. This steaming process breaks down the chicken and infuses all those amazing flavors. Then, you’ll uncover it for the last 30 minutes and turn the heat up to 350°F to develop some beautiful color on the chicken.
This dish is fantastic served over fluffy white rice or even cauliflower rice. I promise, your whole house will smell amazing.
Fall-Spiced Braised Chicken with Golden Beets
Ingredients:
- 10 chicken legs
- 1 13.5oz can coconut milk
- 3 cardamom pods or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1-2 whole star anise or 1/2 tsp ground fennel seed
- 1/2 tsp caraway seed
- 2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander seed or 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns or 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 4 whole cloves or 1/8 tsp ground clove
- 1/2 tsp allspice berries or 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 2in turmeric root, cut into long slices or 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp Hey Old Sport Overachiever seasoning or 1 1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 small handful of pitted dates
- 1 golden beet washed, peeled, cut into small wedges
Directions:
- If using whole seeds, add the cardamom pods, star anise, caraway seed, cinnamon sticks, coriander seed, black peppercorns, whole cloves, and allspice berries into a dry pan and toast on medium heat on the stove top until fragrant. Remove to a large bowl.
- Add to the toasted spices all of the ingredients except for the chicken legs. Toss to mix evenly. Add the chicken legs and mix by hand to coat. Add to a deep-bottom tagine or a dutch oven with a lid. Roast at 325 °F for 90 minutes covered, then remove the lid and roast at 350 °F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- If using whole spices you can either strain out all the whole spices or just remove the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods, and whole cloves, and set aside the chicken. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender for a smoother consistency. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or your favorite starch.
I’m excited to use this seasoning! If using chicken stock or bone broth instead, same amount as coconut milk?
This sounds amazing! If I use chicken thighs, how many (or pounds) should I use?
You can use about 2.5 to 3 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs or about 1.5 to 2 pounds of boneless.
What is the “Overachiever seasoning” listed in the recipe? I tried googling it and couldn’t find it.
It’s our new flagship spice blend that’ll be released this week for the waitlist: https://heyoldsport.com/
You can substitute salt & pepper if you don’t have it on hand.
Looks delicious. I will definitely try this. Just 1 question to make sure; the beets go in the pot from the beginning and will be blended in the sauce? Thank you for another great recipe.
The beets go in and are blended in the sauce or they can be taken out before blending to keep whole if you want.