Chicken Couscous Recipe with Bacon & Corn

By: Becky HardinPosted: 2/20/18Updated: 2/20/24

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Chicken Couscous with Bacon and Corn will be your new favorite one pot chicken dinner! I love that this one pot chicken and couscous recipe is a main course and side dish all in one, baked together in flavorful goodness. Thisdelicious chicken couscous recipe takes little effort to make and there’s virtually zero cleanup!

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Easy Chicken Couscous Recipe

Chicken Couscous with Bacon and Corn is an EASY one pot chicken dinner for any night of the week! You’re going to love this tasty chicken couscous recipe.

I love one pan dinners that all cook together, like myRanch BBQ Chickenor Chicken Con Queso Skillet…and this chicken and couscous recipe with bacon and corn is my new favorite.

Less cleanup, less fuss, more time with family, more flavor! Win win win!

This One Pot Chicken Couscous Recipe will be your go-to when you need a tasty and impressive meal!

One Pot Chicken and Couscous Dinner

It’s hard to believe this delicious Chicken Couscous Recipe is all made so easily in one pan!

I haven’t had couscous very many times but every time I do, I know I need to make it more. It’s such a sturdy and healthy side dish and is so comforting at the same time. It’s like rice or polenta and goes with almost anything. Couscous is better for you than rice, since it’s a lower calorie option that can replace rice in so many recipes.

This one pot chicken couscous recipe is the perfect example of what you can do with couscous for a simple and tasty dinner. The flavors are SO DELICIOUS.

This is the ultimate meal to make for guests or just for a quiet night at home. Heck, make it tonight! Your family is sure to thank you. We make this and Henry chows down on the couscous, bacon, and corn, and we devour all the chicken. It’s perfect!

How Do I Make Couscous More Tasty?

Couscous can take on any flavor, which makes it the perfect grain to mix in with your meals. The bacon and corn in this one pot recipe adds a hardy, savory taste. By adding all these flavors into one pot, you end up with a tasty chicken and couscous dish for any occasion!

In general when making couscous, be sure to add plenty of salt and seasonings to give it flavor. It’s almost tasteless on its own, so you’ll need to add something to make it taste good. But that’s easy to do!

How to Cook Couscous

The first step of this recipe is to cook the couscous!

One Pot Couscous Chicken with Bacon and Corn

4.45 from 43 votes

Author: Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 50 minutes minutes

Total: 1 hour hour

Serves6

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Ingredients

▢ ¾ cup original Moroccan-style Couscous
▢ 6 chicken thighs we used bone in with skin but you can use whatever kind you prefer
▢ Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
▢ 8 slices bacon cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces, divided
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 1 medium sweet yellow onion minced
▢ 6 cloves garlic peeled but left whole
▢ 2½ cups heavy cream or half and half milk can be substituted, but it can curdle
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
▢ 3 sprigs fresh thyme
▢ 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
▢ 2 cups frozen corn thawed (Green Giant Roasted Corn is great)
▢ 1 lemon (half will be used in the dish and half will be used as garnish)

Garnish:

▢ 2 radishes very thinly sliced
▢ Extra crisped bacon
▢ Chopped parsley
▢ Freshly squeezed Lemon juice

Instructions

Cook couscous according to package directions.
Season the chicken thighs, on both sides, with salt & pepper
In a large skillet, cook the bacon pieces just until lightly browned and just crispy. Transfer bacon, with a slotted spoon, to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon grease, and refrigerate the remainder for later use.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet with the rendered bacon fat.
Heat the bacon fat/oil, over medium heat until the oil has a sheen.
Place the thighs, top side down, in the skillet. Brown the chicken until golden, and transfer to another paper towel-lined plate.
Add minced onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté until onion is translucent and garlic softens.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cooked couscous; cook until couscous begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir often.
Add the cream, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper and all except 2 tablespoons crisped bacon; bring to a simmer. Stir.
Add chicken thighs, crisp side up. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in corn and thyme leaves. Drizzle with the juice from 1 lemon.
Cover and cook until liquid has almost evaporated, 15-20 minutes.
To serve:
Place a scoop of the couscous mixture on a serving plate and top with one chicken thigh. Garnish with radish slices, reserved bacon, parsley and squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Enjoy!

Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 907kcal (45%) Carbohydrates: 37g (12%) Protein: 29g (58%) Fat: 72g (111%) Saturated Fat: 32g (200%) Cholesterol: 265mg (88%) Sodium: 713mg (31%) Potassium: 625mg (18%) Fiber: 3g (13%) Sugar: 1g (1%) Vitamin A: 1610IU (32%) Vitamin C: 18.5mg (22%) Calcium: 100mg (10%) Iron: 1.9mg (11%)