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Smoky roasted peppers, hot chilies, and silky olive oil come together to create an easy and delicious Harissa Sauce! This North African sauce is ready in under five minutes and packs incredible flavor versatile enough to pair with everything from beef to seafood!
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What is harissa?
Harissa sauce is a North African pepper paste from Tunisia, and a classic in Mediterranean cuisine. This flavorful sauce is made by roasting red bell peppers and blending them with red chili peppers, oil, garlic, and a mix of spices.
It's smoky, tangy, and a little spicy, making it a great sauce option for serving with dishes like roast chicken, grilled steak, blackened seafood, and even vegetables.
Harissa Paste
Like most people, my introduction to Harissa was Harissa Chicken. The instant I bit into that smoky, sweet, incredibly flavorful meal, I knew I'd stumbled across something truly special! What kind of sauce can give that much flavor?
Harissa is a paste of fresh garlic cloves, chile peppers, smoky roasted bell peppers and rich oil, and now, it's a condiment I almost always have in my fridge. You can use it for marinades, dipping sauces, or just as an extra shot of flavor to stews. It's a must-have!
My harissa sauce recipe is totally customizable, too. Add in lemon juice for freshness, cayenne for an extra little kick of spice, tomato paste, roast your own peppers, or even swap the crushed red pepper for soaked and blended guajillo. There are plenty of ways to make this sauce exactly how you like it!
Harissa Ingredients
- Roasted red peppers: Bottled or freshly roasted red bell peppers make the base of this sauce. Both are delicious, but roasting your own will truly make the flavor shine!
- Crushed red pepper: Crushed pepper or soaked and blended dried chilies will both work for this recipe. I use crushed red pepper in a pinch, and blended peppers when I have more time!
- Olive oil: A quality extra virgin olive oil will make a huge difference for this dish!
- Garlic: Make sure to use fresh garlic cloves, not powder. The difference in flavor is immense.
- Ground coriander seeds: You can grind your own, or use pre-ground.
- Ground cumin: Cumin adds earthiness to the paste.
- Sea salt: A quality flaky salt is going to taste much better than table salt, so use it if you have it!
- Optional: Cayenne, smoked paprika, lemon juice: While optional, these ingredients can make the flavor of this sauce deeper and fresher. If you can add them, don't skip out!
How to Make Harissa Paste
- Add all of the ingredients except the oil to a food processor or blender.
- Blend well until creamy and smooth, adding olive oil as it blends until the consistency is just right!
Homemade Harissa Recipe Tips
- Add the olive oil in gradually as the blender is running to help emulsify it and add silky texture to the sauce.
- You can use pre-made, jarred roasted red peppers or roast your own. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a guide on how to roast red peppers!
- Add more flavors as you see fit! Lemon juice, smoked paprika, and cayenne are great additions to bring out even more flavor.
- I recommend removing the hard stem cap off the garlic cloves before blending them.
- If using soaked dried chilies, make sure to wear gloves to avoid burning your skin.
Harissa Paste Recipe Substitutions
- Roasted Red Peppers: If you can't find jarred roasted peppers, you can roast your own bell peppers, too! I've included a simple guide at the bottom of the page for roasting your own. Or check out my Roasting Peppers guide!
- Crushed Red Pepper: For even more depth of flavor, use dried whole chilies. Just de-stem and de-seed them, hydrate them in hot water for 20 minutes, and add them to the blend! Any type of chili will taste great; variety is good!
- Spices: There are so many great spices that can be added to this paste. Feel free to add in smoked paprika, cayenne, and ground caraway seeds.
- Liquid: While not strictly necessary, adding in lemon juice can add brightness and zing to the sauce. Start with the juice of 1 large lemon and add more as needed.
How to Store Harissa Sauce
- Refrigerator: Store leftover harissa in a glass jar, then pour extra olive oil on top to form a protective layer. This helps keep it fresh and prevent molding; it will last several weeks! For best results, store it in the coldest part of the fridge, not the door.
- Freezer: Freezing harissa in an ice cube tray is my favorite way to keep it long-term. You can also freeze it in a glass jar with a small layer of olive oil on top, leaving at least half an inch of space between the layer and the lid to leave room for expansion.
- Thawing: Harissa can be thawed in the fridge overnight for best results. I don't typically recommend heating it, as it can cook the garlic and leave it less spicy and fresh.
Harissa Sauce Recipe FAQ
To form a proper paste, it's important to use flakes or whole dried chilies. Chili powder is too dry and dusty, and doesn't form up well into a paste form.
You can absolutely turn this harissa base into rose harissa! Just add a tablespoon or less of rose water to the blender. You can also add real rose petals, but they can be hard to find and add little to the flavor that rosewater doesn't add.
Depending on the peppers used, harissa can be anything from very mild to impressively hot! I recommend choosing pepper flakes or dried chilies based on the level of heat you prefer. For milder harissa, use dried ancho or guajillo peppers.
How to Roast Red Peppers
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. While it's heating, line a baking pan with parchment paper and slice the desired amount of peppers in half, removing the stems and seeds.
- Place the peppers sliced-side-down on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking often to ensure they don't overcook.
- Once the peppers have a nicely blackened skin, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Once cool, peel the blackened skin off of the peppers. Jar, or use immediately!
Gas Burner Instructions:
- Light the burner, then hold a sliced, seeded half pepper over the open flame with tongs.
- Keep held over the flame until the skin starts to blister and turn black.
- Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes, then peel the skin, jar, or use immediately!
Easy Sauce Recipes
- Peri Peri Sauce: One of my absolute favorites! Try it with Peri Peri Chicken!
- Remoulade Sauce
- Honey Buffalo Sauce
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Harissa Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Roasted red peppers
- 1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 4 cloves Garlic - crushed
- 1 teaspoon Ground coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the oil to a food processor or blender.4 Roasted red peppers,1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper,4 cloves Garlic,1 teaspoon Ground coriander seeds,1 teaspoon Ground cumin,1 teaspoon Sea salt
- Blend well until creamy and smooth, adding olive oil as it blends until the consistency is just right!2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Notes
-
- Add the olive oil in gradually as the blender is running to help emulsify it and add silky texture to the sauce.
-
- You can use pre-made, jarred roasted red peppers or roast your own. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a guide on how to roast red peppers!
-
- Add more flavors as you see fit! Lemon juice, smoked paprika, and cayenne are great additions to bring out even more flavor.
-
- I recommend removing the hard stem cap off the garlic cloves before blending them.
-
- If using soaked dried chilies, make sure to wear gloves to avoid burning your skin.
-
- Roasted Red Peppers: If you can't find jarred roasted peppers, you can roast your own bell peppers, too! I've included a simple guide at the bottom of the page for roasting your own.
-
- Crushed Red Pepper: For even more depth of flavor, use dried whole chilies. Just de-stem and de-seed them, hydrate them in hot water for 20 minutes, and add them to the blend! Any type of chili will taste great; variety is good!
-
- Spices: There are so many great spices that can be added to this paste. Feel free to add in smoked paprika, cayenne, and ground caraway seeds.
-
- Liquid: While not strictly necessary, adding in lemon juice can add brightness and zing to the sauce. Start with the juice of 1 large lemon and add more as needed.
Frank Campos says
How long will the Harissa keep in the refrigerator and can I also freeze it for longer storage?
Isabel Laessig says
Hi Frank! I would recommend storing it in a jar with a thin layer of olive oil over the top for about 2 weeks or so. You can also freeze it and it should last about a month. If you freeze it make sure to leave room at the top of the jar (about a half inch) to account for liquid expanding when it freezes. Enjoy!