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This easy and healthy harissa chicken is quick to make and perfect to serve over rice for a weeknight meal. Chicken breast is marinated in harissa paste for a sweet and spicy dish. Gluten free and low carb.
Although I’m biased towards Lebanese cooking, I love creating all types of Mediterranean recipes, and I’ve been experimenting with Harissa paste lately and adding it to flatbreads, fish and now chicken. This harissa chicken recipe uses harissa paste as the main ingredient along with fresh garlic paste, olive oil and a few other spices. It’s a quick and easy marinade that has a sweet and smokey flavor – perfect way to punch up any chicken recipe!
What is harissa?
But first, what is harissa? Harissa is a spicy North African chili pepper paste that originates from Tunisia. It basically brings alive any dish you’re making because of its zesty and aromatic flavor. You can make your own harissa sauce at home by smoking hot chile peppers and blending them with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and various spices, including cumin, coriander and caraway.
However, it’s so easy to find harissa in mass grocery stores these days that I opted for the quick route in creating my harissa chicken. I just used the store-bought condiment. I found mine at Trader Joe’s, and I’ve seen it at other local grocery stores like Meijer and Kroger. You can usually find it in a jar or tube sold in the Middle Eastern section of the International isle or sometimes in the condiment section.
A small jar goes along way! All I used was two tablespoons in this recipe with two pounds of chicken. It will totally wow your taste buds and transform any boring chicken dinner to a flavorful and bold one!
How do you make harissa chicken?
It starts out as an easy marinade that includes the following: harissa paste, olive oil, garlic cloves (preferably crushed to become paste-like), paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. You can play around with the measurements here to add more or less of certain ingredients as you like. But I think two tablespoons of the harissa paste for two pounds of chicken gives the perfect mild spice level!
I prefer to marinate the chicken in the morning and cook this in the evening. It also works really well if you prepare it overnight and allow the flavors to really get absorbed. When it’s time to cook it, it’s a simple pan-fry method that will take 8-10 minutes.
Top tips to make this harissa chicken recipe
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours and up to 24 for the best flavor.
- Use organic chicken breast that is raised without antibiotics.
- Leftovers will last in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to serve with harissa chicken?
When you’re done cooking the harissa chicken, serve it over white rice, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, flatbread, roasted acorn squash, salad or whatever you’re in the mood for. The classic way to eat is with over white rice, but it’s a flavorful chicken recipe that you can use in so many ways. My husband likes wrapping it up with pita bread, hummus and tabbouleh. He’s basically living his best life!! I also like to pair it with a veggie like air fried cauliflower or a vegetable medley.
Is harissa healthy?
Harissa has several healthy benefits, and it’s a great food to incorporate into your diet. It’s rich in vitamins E, C, B6 and K as well as iron and copper. It can help boost metabolism and is rich in antioxidants.
I love how easy it is to make this delicious chicken dish and it’s so versatile too! It’s a real punch of flavor that will spice up your weeknight meal!
For more chicken recipes, try these:
- Grilled Lemon Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Tenders
- Cilantro Chicken
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Shish Tawook
- Pan Seared Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Lettuce Cups
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Marinade Recipes
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
If you make this healthy-ish feel good Harissa Chicken recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! 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!
Harissa chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste
- 4 garlic cloves crushed or minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds chicken breast cut into 2 inch chunks
- Rice for serving
- Fresh mint for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine olive oil, harissa, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the spice mix and mix well to incorporate. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Heat a large saucepan on medium without any oil, then transfer the chicken from the bowl to the saucepan. Cook until the chicken is well done, about 8-10 minutes. When it’s cooked, squeeze some fresh lime juice on top of the chicken.
- Serve over rice with a lime wedges and fresh mint, if desired. Due to the spice level, plain yogurt also works really well with the recipe.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
I used this marinade to make pork chops. I marinated a big batch of pork chops and cooked them in two groups, the first group was cooked after marinating for 4 hours and the second group continued to marinate overnight for a total of 28 hours. I found that 4 hours was definitely not enough time to impart much (if any) flavor and I was a little disappointed, but the ones I marinated overnight were excellent. Lesson learned! I’ll definitely make this recipe again, but only when I plan ahead enough to be able to marinate my meat for a good long time.
Thanks for sharing your experience with pork! I don’t eat pork myself but it’s helpful for other readers to hear. So glad the marinade worked for you!
Hi Yumna, I started making this dish before I saw your recipe. I marinated 1lb chicken tenders in Mina brand spicy harissa paste 2 tbsp for 3 hours and cooked the tenders on medium heat for 5 minutes on each side with a lid on it. The tenders were very mild in flavor so I added two more tbsp sauce and cooked the tenders on low heat for 5-10 minutes more. From your recipe, I see that I should have chopped the chicken and also added other spices on top of harissa paste as well as marinated it longer. However, is there anything I can do to amp up the flavor now? I coarsely shredded the tenders after they were cooked.
Can I add more sauce and cook the chicken on low? Do you have any other ideas on how to increase the harissa flavor?
Hi Spandana, I would try adding more sauce and spices (I recommend paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper) and cooking in a saucepan on low. Hope that helps!
This recipe has become a go-to in rotation for meals for work. I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken thighs but I have also used chicken breast. It comes out delicious every time. If you meal prep, it’s a great option if you want something different.
Thank you, Char! I’m so happy you enjoy this recipe and love that you meal prep it for work—such a good idea!!
I never make comments on recipes, but I had to say that this was an amazing recipe! I used the Harissa paste from Trader Joe’s, which I bought because it looked good but I was totally stumped on what to use it with. I made a batch of this for dinner (using diced chicken thighs) and even my picky husband liked it! That’s rare. I made another batch and froze the raw chicken in the marinade and will defrost for an easy weeknight meal.
Yay, so glad it was a hit!
Wow – I absolutely loved this recipe. Incredibly easy and the chicken was so good. Will definitely make again for guests!
So glad to hear, thank you!
Easy recipe to follow, doubled it for leftovers. It was so good, tasty and not too spicy. I used the trader joes Harissa paste. Served with rice and roasted vegetables. This will definitely be added to our rotation.
Yay! I love when one of my recipes works it’s way into the weekly dinner rotation. Glad you loved it!
I added peppers and onions at the very end and still found the chicken bland. I loved your tawook recipe and it had lots of flavor so this disappointed…just my opinion
Hmm Harissa itself is very flavorful, I am surprised to hear that you found it bland. Do you make your own Harissa or use a ready made paste?
Made this recipe several times now, and it never disappoints! Followed as directed. It’s now in our rotation. Thank you, Yumna!
You’re so welcome! I am flattered that it made it to your rotation!
I love the recipes and this site and would give just about everything I’ve tried 5 stars.
This particular dish was a bit bland for me despite the harissa. I think it would have helped to have additional seasonings to give a bit more complexity.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Rob! You could up the harissa and also season with 7-spice if you’d like.
Yum! So good! I made a Greek yogurt sauce with some lemon juice, dill, coriander, salt and pepper to put on the side, so yummy!
I was wondering, does the nutritional info include the rice serving? Or just the chicken? Thanks!
Thank you! That sounds like a perfect combination. The nutritional information does not include the rice – hope that helps!
Do you recommend “smokey” paprika or “regular” paprika?
Thank you.
Either will work!
Like others i added peppers and red onion (chunky) and served with lightly spiced couscous and a white bean tabbouleh salad.
Chicken was fanastic and with the middle eastern theme running through the sides it all came together beautifully.
Next time i’m going to do some simple flat breads just to finish it off.
Thanks for this lovely recipe from a very happy Brit.
That sounds delicious! Happy to have shared the recipe!
I made this recipe tonight and it was great. Couldn’t be easier and very tasty. I added some yellow peppers/capsicum and red onion to the marinated chicken before frying off. This will be a new regular meal.
Yay!! Love the idea of the added veggies.
Looks great! Making this tonight. Can I add some veggies into this, like red onion or pepper for example and would I just add these to the marinated chicken and fry off? Thanks
Thank you! Of course. You could do that, but I need to make a little bit more of the marinade to make sure there’s enough for the veggies too.
Delicious Delicious Delicious!!
Thank you!!
I just made this chicken and it is amazing! I’ve known about harissa for several years but I’ve never seen it in my normal grocery shopping stores ot had any so I ordered some online. Once it arrived I had to make something with it, and with this recipe I found a winner! Simple, yet remarkably tasty! Thank you for this delicious dish!!
I’m so glad you chose to give it a try! Thank you!!!
Ok, just before I try this recipe just to clarify do you add plain yogurt as well as the Harissa sauce so that it won’t be too hot? Or one or the other?
The yogurt in my recipe is for dipping or serving the harissa chicken with. Although, you can definitely also marinate it with the yogurt too. It works both ways. Let me know how it turns out!
Hello there,
Can this dish be frozen?
Thanks so much
Tracey
Hi, Tracey! It can be frozen after made, but I recommend it’ll be freshest in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days.
Can the chicken be baked to reduce the amount of oil needed for frying?
Yes, I recommend 425°F for 15-20 minutes.
super easy to make and delicious. it’s my go to chicken dish now. I always let it marinate a full day before using and it’s perfect
That’s so great to hear! Thank you!!
Hi Yumna,
Just wondering, do you squeeze lemon or lime over chicken before serving?
Oh that was a typo and should be lime but either one works 🙂
Thanks!
Just want to say thanks. Cooked this last night and was delicious. Five out of five thumbs up!
I only have harissa paste. Can I sub this for the spice?
Thank you
Oh yes, that’s what I meant…harissa paste 🙂 I clarified that. Thank you!
I made this today for the first time , and I had to make myself stop eating it! Lol I almost ate the whole pot of chicken ? it was insanely delicious! Definitely will be making this again!! Thanks for the recipe!
Haha I know that feeling!! So glad to hear it!
made it at my school in french and everyone loved it
Oh wow, that’s awesome!
I want to try this recipe and was reading through the directions. At the end you talk about using plain Greek yogurt. I am trying to figure out if this is referencing it can be used as a ‘dipping sauce’ or is there something else that I am missing? I just bought my first jar of Harissa sauce from Trader Joe’s and excited to try it in a new dish. I used it with sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving (found a fun recipe that called for it) and now I’m obsessed.
Yay! I’m so glad you’re loving harissa! It’s so good with chicken. The yogurt in my recipe is for dipping or serving the harissa chicken with. Although, you can definitely also marinate it with the yogurt too. It works both ways. And now you got me thinking I need to make more harissa recipes!!
Recipe sounds wonderful. Question- can I bake it instead?
Yes you can bake it! I would recommend 375 and the time will depend on how thick you cut them – probably 15-20 minutes.
Chicken is marinating overnight. Planning on skewering and grilling these, serving with a salad. (Oh the low carb life… sigh.)
Ohhh, I hope you liked it! And this is definitely not a boring low carb recipe…so much flavor here! But I would miss the rice too lol
Made the recipe with chicken cutlets marinaded overnight.
Cooked in the air fryer three at a time at 390 for 7 min. Turn
Then 3 min. Served over a salad with ranch dressing and oven roasted cauliflower. Outstanding!
Oh wow I love that you made these in the air fryer and how you served them! So glad you liked the recipe!!
Excellent recipe
Easy to cook and delicious.
I added bar boiled chopped potatoes to the saucepan, as I can’t eat rice, and that worked really well.
So glad you enjoyed it! And I like that use potatoes instead of rice for serving it!
I just bought my first jar of Harrisa at Trader Joe’s and I’m excited to try your recipe!
Yay! So excited for you to try it and I hope you enjoy the recipe!!
Wonderful recipe. I worried it might be too spicy for us but it was percect! I followed the recipe exactly, marinating for about two hours. I will make it again!! I served with jasmine rice and green beans.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for sharing with me 🙂
we really enjoyed this!
So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
delicious!
Exactly the spiciness and texture I was looking to make in a chicken dish.
Thanks
So glad to hear that! Thanks so much!!
Easy recipe, spicy and flavorful.
This looks and sounds amazing! Love all of the spices. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks so much! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!