Harissa in a North African spicy sauce/paste that is perfect to spice up all kinds of savory dishes. Learn how to make Harissa in less than 15 minutes.
Using it as a condiment with grilled meat is my favorite, but you can also use it to add a smoky touch to your marinade or as a spread to your sandwiches.
What Is Harissa
Harissa is a spicy (red or green) sauce/paste but it is more commonly found red. Harissa originated in Tunisia and spread all over the world. One of my favorite Middle Eastern condiments.
You can buy it in jars or tins in most stores especially the Middle Eastern ones, but let me tell you homemade harissa is way better than store-bough. It is fresh, vibrant, adaptable and does not have this weird taste that preservatives give.
Harissa sauce is an amazing addition to any meal, especially when freshly made. I liked making my own harissa paste so I can control the heat level and spices. I sifted through so many Moroccan and Tunisian recipes and got back with the easiest harissa and lots of variations.
Why This Recipe Works
I wanted to make harissa that is not intensely flavored so you can use it as a base then go wild from there. Adding caraway, preserved lemons and coriander seems to be limiting. We can always add these later on when using it as a marinade or as a dipping sauce.
Using dried chili peppers seemed daunting for some people who cannot find the varieties we have here in the US. I wanted a recipe that can work for us all wherever you are in the world. Going through many Tunisian and Moroccan home cooks recipes, whom I really trust, almost all of them used fresh peppers and not the dried varieties.
And finally controlling the heat was one of my biggest goals as we are all in different stages in our lives. Some of us have elders at home others have kids so I will give you some ratios to work with and see what is best for your family or the people you feed.
Recipe Ingredients
What Chili Peppers To Use
Use any hot red (or green for green Harissa) pepper you like just be sure you know how hot it is. I liked using Fresno peppers they measure from 2,500 – 10,000 Scoville Heat. Scoville Heat is the scale to measure how spicy (hot) peppers are.
To help you get an idea of how hot your peppers are, note that bell pepper measure zero, jalapeno measures from 3,500 - 8,000 and Habanero is 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale.
I love staying in the neighborhood of the jalapeno which is actually the heat of the Tunisian baklouti pepper that is traditionally used. Here is a guide of peppers to help you choose.
Recipe Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- First you will need to clean all peppers removing seeds and white ribs from red bell peppers.
- Place all peppers and garlic in a microwave safe bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap and make some holes in the wrap. Microwave until tender.
- Cut up all the peppers in chunks.
- Place peppers, garlic, spices, oil and lemon juice in the food processor.
- Pulse until you reach desired consistency.
Expert Tips
- The ratio of bell pepper to hot pepper in harissa is up to you. Many Tunisian recipes use 1:1, few uses 1 :1/2 which is actually the ratio I used. A Tunisian woman noted that you can even make it all with just bell pepper if you cannot handle the heat. So it is actually all about you and what you like.
- It is better to use gloves when making the harissa to avoid what is called "jalapeño hands".
- If your sauce came out watery to your liking try running some through a sieve to take away some of the moistness. I've also seen some people cook it for like 5 minutes to thicken it.
- This recipe makes about 2 cups of harissa sauce to keep in your fridge for around a month. Make sure to seal it with a think layer of olive oil each time you take from it. Do not stir the olive oil in.
- I've noticed that the heat was intense right out of the food processor but as the harissa stayed in the fridge the heat subsided. You can kick it back up if you with a pinch of cayenne pepper or to your liking.
Recipe Variations
- You can actually make green harissa using green bell pepper and any green hot pepper like jalapeno.
- I've noticed that many Moroccan cooks also add preserved lemons without the skin in making harissa. Some also uses vinegar.
- Coriander. caraway. fresh cilantro. fresh or dried mint are among the warm spices you can add to the harissa.
How to use Harissa
Much like Szechuan sauce, harissa makes a great marinade for lamb or any meat, but you can also use it as a condiment. Try a dollop over your morning eggs or to give your hummus a bight color and a kick. I also add a bit to my tahini and baba ganoush. Use as a spread to your sandwiches or with couscous and Greek yogurt. Add it to your roasted veggies, it is an amazing addition to have in any meal throughout the day.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Harissa
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) red bell pepper
- 1/2 pound (225g) red chili pepper, Note1
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice juice of one lime.
- 1/4 cup olive oil more for drizzling.
Instructions
- Clean the bell peppers, core and seed then remove the white ribs. Cut in half.
- Clean the hot pepper and remove the green part.
- Place the peppers and garlic in a microwave safe dish, cover with plastic wrap. Make some holes in the wrap and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until tender and soft. Note2
- Let them stand a minute strain well then dice the peppers into smaller chunks.
- In your food processor, place peppers, garlic, and all other ingredients.
- Process until you reach the consistency you like. Note3
- Pour into clean jars, drizzle thin layer of olive oil on top and seal the jars.
- Refrigerate overnight before using.
Notes
- You can actually make green harissa using green bell pepper and any green hot pepper like jalapeno.
- I've noticed that many Moroccan cooks also add preserved lemons without the skin in making harissa. Some also uses vinegar.
- Coriander. caraway. fresh cilantro. fresh or dried mint are among the warm spices you can add to the harissa.
Thank you for the recipe. I'm sure that home made harissa will taste better than store bought. I visited Tunisia some years ago and fell in love with their cuisine, savory and sweet. I'm going to cook many of the dishes from your blog, starting with basbousa and harissa. Greetings from Sweden!
Thanks Minou, Morocco and Tunisia are on my top list of countries to visit once everything is back to normal :).
I love this recipe, very adaptable! Is there a chance you might be able to share some harissa recipes from Moroccan and Tunisian chefs? I want to get all the ideas I can 🙂
Thank you so much Min, working on that so stay tuned.
Wow, I've made a couple of other recipes and never really liked them, something was off and there is always some bitterness to my sauce. I think this was because they have used dried peppers. I had some red bell peppers in the fridge and decided to give this recipe a try. I did not even have any red hot pepper so used some jalapeño from the garden and a couple of minutes later my harissa was ready. So glad I have found this recipe, will never ever try another one.
So glad you liked it.. using jalapeño is great as well. Thanks for the feedback.