North African Harissa Paste Recipe

An open jar of harissa paste on a board.

5 from 2 votes

Harissa Paste is one of those condiments you could easily pick up from the store, but why not make it yourself to suit your personal taste and preferences? This recipe is simple and straightforward, allowing you to control the heat and flavor profile. Use this homemade harissa as a vibrant marinade for chicken, vegetables, or even tofu.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: condiment

Cuisine: North African

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $5

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

3-4 Dried chiles - Use Pasilla, Guajillo, Ancho or a blend of chilies
2 Large roasted red peppers - Jarred in oil works just fine
4-5 Garlic cloves
2 tbsp Tomato paste
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Ground cumin
2 tsp Ground coriander
2 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Caraway seeds
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp Cracked black pepper

Instructions

Soak the dry chiles. Using scissors, cut open the dry chiles and discard the seeds. Roughly chop the chile pods and place them in a glass measuring cup or bowl and add boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Prepare the ingredients. To a blender, add the roasted red peppers, garlic cloves, tomato paste, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, paprika and caraway seeds. Add a big pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. By now the dried chiles should have softened. Drain and add the softened dried chiles to the blender.
Blend. Blend on high until you have a rough paste. Add a splash of water only if your blender is struggling to process the ingredients. Keep the paste coarse or make it smooth, it's your choice.
Trasnfer. Transfer the paste to a clean mason jar. Cover and refrigerate.

Notes

Refer to the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient notes:

Hot Peppers: If you have access to authentic dried North African peppers, use those of course. But they aren’t easy to come by. So I like using dried guajillo peppers as they aren’t too spicy. You can also use dried pasilla chiles, dried chile de arbol or dried ancho chiles.
Sweet Peppers: To balance the hot chiles, I like to use fire-roasted red bell peppers that are packed in oil.
Spices: This recipe uses common Middle Eastern and North African spices like ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika and caraway seeds. Caraway seeds are a challenging ingredient because they aren’t that heavily used in most cuisines.

Nutrition