Harissa is a North African sauce that is packed with flavor and a little kick of heat. Making it at home to control the level of spiciness and use it as a marinade, a dip, or to add lots of flavor to your favorite dishes.
Where can I buy harissa?
Harissa is sold in the International section of many supermarkets. You can also buy a jar or two in a Middle Eastern grocery store where you can find a larger selection to choose from. The flavor varies depending on the brand as does the spiciness. Some brands are very spice and others are mild. I prefer the milder harissa that tastes more like sweet smoky bell peppers than hot spicy chilies.
My favorite brand is not always available at the grocery store so, I decided to recreate it at home. Now, I must admit that I did not grow up eating this sauce growing up so, I’m definitely not an expert harissa maker but, this recipe tastes pretty close to the one that I love so, it will do for now 😄
Ingredients for Harissa
Traditional harissa calls for a blend of chilies such as chipotle, Guajillo, New Mexico chilies, Ancho, Arbol, and/or Puya chilies. These chilies (at least a few of them) are available in my grocery store however, I do not normally use them in any of my recipes and I’m not of fan of making special grocery trips for just one ingredient.
Also, my favorite brand did not list any of these chilies on the ingredient label so, I opted to use crushed red pepper flakes (which I use all the time) instead.
Here is the list of ingredients that you will need to make my Harissa recipe:
roasted red peppers in the jar
garlic cloves
crushed red pepper flakes
ground coriander
ground cumin
salt
olive oil
How to use harissa in recipes
There are so many ways to use this flavorful sauce. Here are a few:
- as a dip: put it on a charcuterie board with pita chips, veggies, and other dips
- as a marinade for chicken, fish, and lamb
- add a few tablespoons in soups and stews for more depth of flavor and some heat
- add some to shawarma sauce, hummus, to mayonnaise, or to your favorite dips
- add a few tablespoons to your shakshuka
- stir some into pasta, couscous, and even rice
- add it to a hostess gift basket because the best gifts are homemade😊
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Watch the Full Tutorial:
If you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think in the comments section and share pics with me on social media. I read all of the comments and get back to them as soon as I can. I love seeing your recreations and hope that you enjoy this recipe. See you back here soon with another recipe worth sharing. Kali orexi! xxDimitra
Simple Homemade Harissa Sauce
Harissa is a North African sauce that is packed with flavor and a little kick of heat. Making it at home to control the level of spiciness and use it as a marinade, a dip, or to add lots of flavor to your favorite dishes.
Ingredients
- 4 roasted red peppers
- Crushed red peppers
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Add the garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt and red pepper flakes) if needed.
Transfer to a storage container and drizzle some olive oil on top.
Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
Notes
The harissa sauce can also be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
I made this today and served it tonight along side a bbq london broil. I never had this before and didn’t know what to expect. It is wonderful with the steak. I cut back on the garlic and glad I did as I’m thinking the garlic made this a lilttle bitter but not terribly bitter. I found in the supermarket something called harissa paste. It’s made with jalapeno peppers, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, caraway, olive oil, salt. I bought it but not sure how to use it. would you have any idea? Thanks for a really tasty sauce. I love it.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! You can add the paste from the supermarket in soups, stews, and even dips. Be careful because some of them are very spicy. xx
Really like this!! The first time I made it, the jar i bought had 4 peppers in it. The 2nd time i made it, it was a larger jar, but had only 2 peppers in it. Do you have a suggestion on how many ounces of peppers is the prime amount to use? The batch i just made w/ the 2 larger peppers doesn’t taste quite as good as the first batch. Although the 5 garlic cloves were REALLY big, so i wonder if that made it a little bitter. Thanks.
I made the harissa today and it is really good. Another great recipe! I am never disappointed. Thank you.