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Home » Spices & Condiments

Moroccan Harissa (both roasted & raw)

Made by Anastasia - Serves: 48 Filed Under: Spices & Condiments

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Add some spice to your meals and try our incredible Moroccan Harissa Recipe. Great as a marinade, a steak rub, or add to stews and salads. We will show you two versions – raw and roasted; which will you try?

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Raw harissa paste in a white bowl with cut chillies on the right.
RAW MOROCCAN HARISSA PASTE

Tunisian Harissa is one of my family's favourite spice pastes, we use it a lot on barbecued lamb cutlets as well as on roasted meats and poultry – sensational!

While it is now readily available from supermarkets (try the international food aisle) and delis, we still like to make our own. This recipe is our version of this Tunisian hot chilli pepper paste that we have used in our Tossed Salad, our Roast Carrot Salad and our Eggplant Salad.

Table of contents

  • What is Harissa Paste Made With
  • Let's Talk Ingredients & Substitutions
  • You Will Need
  • What's the Difference Between Raw Harissa and Roasted Harissa?
  • How to Make Raw Harissa
  • How to Make Roasted Harissa
  • What can I use, Harissa Paste On?
  • Common Questions (FAQs) & Tips
  • More Spicy Blends & Other Condiments to Try
  • Recipe Card

What is Harissa Paste Made With

There are many versions of harissa; they all contain chillies, garlic, olive oils and various spices.

The spices used can be salt, cumin, coriander, caraway seeds or a combination of any of the three. Some versions may also include some acid, such as lemon juice or red wine vinegar.

Our version includes chillies, garlic, olive oil, cumin and coriander. 

Let's Talk Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Chillies - used for their heat and colour, use your favourite red-coloured variety. If you prefer a milder harissa paste version, feel free to substitute with red capsicum/peppers or use half and half.
  • Garlic - for its distinctive pungent taste, you can adjust quantities to your liking, but I don't recommend leaving it out altogether as the paste will be a bit bland. To mellow it out, you can try roasting it.
  • Cumin - used for its slightly sweet, warm earthy flavour.
  • Coriander - used for its mildly floral, lemon-like taste. 
  • Salt - acts as a preserving agent; you can leave it out if you prefer; you just need to add some oil to the top of the jar, so it keeps longer in your fridge.
  • Olive Oil - we used extra virgin; this is what will bring your Harissa paste together. As a substitute, you can try avocado oil but avoid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower or safflower oil as they are tasteless.

You Will Need

Labelled ingredients needed to make Moroccan Harissa Paste.
MOROCCAN HARISSA INGREDIENTS

What's the Difference Between Raw Harissa and Roasted Harissa?

Roasted Harissa has an earthier, richer taste than raw Harissa, and I will usually use it in things that do not require any additional cooking, such as dips, dressings, or to stir through dishes after they have been cooked.

I will use Raw Harissa when I am going to use it for cooking, such as a rub for meat or when roasting veggies and meat in stews and soups. I find that the roasted harissa loses some of its flavour when added to dishes that require cooking.

Moroccan roasted harissa paste in a clay pot with a spoon and chillies at the bottom.
ROASTED MOROCCAN HARISSA PASTE

How to Make Raw Harissa

  1. Wearing gloves (so you don’t burn yourself), slice your chillies in half lengthwise.
  2. Remove the seeds by pushing them out with your finger or with a paring knife. For an extra hot and spicy harissa, don’t remove the seeds.
  3. Rinse them in a colander under cold running water.
  4. Roughly chop them and pat them dry.
  5. Add them to the bowl of your food processor with the remaining ingredients (we use just under a quarter of a cup of salt).
  6. Blitz your paste well to combine, and depending on the consistency, you may need to add some more oil and water.
  7. We deliberately keep our harissa paste on the dry side to use as a rub, and if we need it a little runnier, then we will add some oil or water.
SLICING CHILLIS IN HALF LENGTHWISE ON A WOODEN BOARD WITH A RED KNIFE
HANDS WEARING GLOVES REMOVING THE SEEDS FROM CHILLIS
REMOVE THE SEEDS
HANDS WEARING GLOVES RINSING CHILLIS IN A COLANDER IN THE SINK UNDER COLD RUNNING WATER
RINSE WELL
ROUGHLY CHOPPING CHILLIS ON A WOODEN BOARD WITH A RED KNIFE
CHOP ROUGHLY
CHOPPED CHILLIS IN THE BOWL OF A FOOD PROCESSOR
ADD TO FOOD PROCESSOR
JUST UNDER QUARTER CUP SALT IN A MEASURING CUP
USE JUST UNDER ¼ CUP SALT
ALL INGREDIENTS FOR HARISSA PASTE IN THE BOWL OF A FOOD PROCESSOR
ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS
BLITZED HARISSA PASTE IN THE BOWL OF A FOOD PROCESSOR
BLITZ WELL TO COMBINE

How to Make Roasted Harissa

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C/360F.
  2. Place your spices in a lined baking tray, and use two separate sheets so that you can easily transfer them to a spice blender later on. You will need to grind them separately as they are different sizes.
  3. Put your spices in your hot oven and roast until golden (approximately 10 minutes or so).
  4. When cool, add your spices to a spice grinder (separately) and grind them into a powder.
  5. Wearing gloves (so you don’t burn yourself), slice your chillies in half lengthwise.
  6. Remove the seeds by pushing them out with your finger or with a paring knife. For an extra hot and spicy harissa, don’t remove the seeds.
  7. Rinse them in a colander under cold running water.
  8. Place them on a lined baking tray with some oil and sea salt. Roast in a hot oven until soft (approximately 10-15 minutes).
  9. Put the chillis in the bowl of your food processor with the remaining ingredients (we use just under a quarter of a cup of salt).
  10. Blitz your paste well to combine, and depending on the consistency, you may need to add some more oil and water.
  11. We deliberately keep our harissa pastes on the dry side to use as a rub, and if we need it a little runnier, then we will add some oil or water.
HANDS WEARING GLOVES REMOVING THE SEEDS FROM CHILLIS
REMOVE THE SEEDS
HANDS WEARING GLOVES RINSING CHILLIS IN A COLANDER IN THE SINK UNDER COLD RUNNING WATER
RINSE WELL
HALVED RED CHILLIS ON A BAKING TRAY WITH OIL & SALT
PLACE CHILLIS ON A TRAY
ROASTED CHILLIS ON A TRAY
ROAST UNTIL SOFTENED
CUMIN AD CORIANDER SEEDS ON A LINED BAKING TRAY
PLACE SEEDS ON A TRAY
ROASTED CUMIN AND CORIANDER SEEDS ON A LINED BAKING TRAY
ROAST SPICES UNTIL GOLDEN
CUMIN SEEDS GROUND TO A POWDER IN SPICE BLENDER
GRIND CUMIN TO A POWDER
CORIANDER SEEDS GROUND TO A POWDER IN SPICE BLENDER
GRIND CORIANDER TO A POWDER
ROASTED HARISSA INGREDIENTS IN A FOOD PROCESSOR BOWL
BLITZED HARISSA PASTE IN FOOD PROCESSOR BOWL
10-BLITZ TO COMBINE

What can I use, Harissa Paste On?

  • Great on lamb cutlets with lemon.
  • On roasted meats and poultry.
  • Great to use as a rub on chicken wings or ribs.
  • Try it on roasted veg such as carrots, potatoes, cauliflower or broccoli
  • Stir it through some yoghurt with lemon and fresh mint, or stirred through your hummus to use as a dip for crudités and pita bread.
  • Rub it on corn with oil and then grill or barbecue.
  • Stir it through pasta with prawns, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.
  • Use it in your next meatball or burger mix.
  • Add it to bean, lentil or chickpea dishes.
  • Add it to dressings for a bit of heat 

Common Questions (FAQs) & Tips

What are the best chillies to use?

Usually made with African chilli such as Tunisian baklouti peppers, but harissa can be made with any of your favourite chilli varieties, habanero, scotch bonnet, or Jalapeño.
I usually use long red chillis as they are larger and easier to handle.

How to adjust the heat.

If you are not a fan of hot spicy food, you can use half red capsicum and half hot chilli. Alternatively, if you would like it extra hot, just add a teaspoon (or more) of chilli powder. But also add another tablespoon of oil so that the consistency remains the same.

How much Harissa paste does it make?

It will make one small jar of approximately 250ml consisting of approximately 48 teaspoons. The nutritional information is calculated for each teaspoon.

Storage Tips

Keep it in a tightly sealed glass jar with oil on top to prevent it from spoiling, and it should keep for approximately six months (if it lasts that long!).

Recipe Note

I deliberately keep my harissa paste on the dry side to use as a rub, and if I need it a little runnier, then I will add some oil or water.

More Spicy Blends & Other Condiments to Try

Our Authentic Tzatziki Recipe in a blue bowl with cucumber slices and dill sprig on the bottom left and sitting on a wooden board.

TZATZIKI DIP

Keto-friendly taco seasoning in a black bowl with a silver spoon.

TACO SEASONING

Whipped feta in a bowl with fresh basil and olive oil in an aqua bottle on top.

WHIPPED FETA

Recipe Card

Raw harissa paste in a white bowl with cut chillies on the right.

Moroccan Harissa Paste

Add some spice to your meals and try our incredible Moroccan Harissa Recipe. We will show you two versions – raw and roasted; which will you try?
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
* Times are an estimate and will depend on your skill level
Course: Paste
Cuisine: Moroccan, Tunisian
Keyword: chilli, harissa, spice rub, spicy
Difficulty: Easy
Diet: Suits all diets and eating styles
Servings: 48 teaspoons*
Calories: 30kcal
Author: Anastasia
Ingredients
For the raw Harissa Paste
  • 105 grams red chillies* (approximatley 3.7 ounces)
  • 3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
  • ½ cup ground coriander
  • ⅓ cup ground cumin
  • ⅔ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup salt not quite full
For the roasted Harissa Paste
  • 320 grams red chillies* (approximately 11.3 ounces)
  • 3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
  • ½ cup ground coriander
  • ⅓ cup ground cumin
  • 1 ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup salt not quite full
Metric - Imperial
Instructions
For Raw Harissa
  • Wearing gloves (so that you don’t burn yourself) slice your chillies in half lengthwise.
  • Remove the seeds by pushing them out with your finger or with a paring knife. For an extra hot and spicy harissa don’t remove the seeds.
  • Rinse them in a colander under cold tuning water.
  • Roughly chop them and pat them dry.
  • Add them to the bowl of your food processor with the remaining ingredients (we use just under a quarter of a cup of salt).
  • Blitz your paste well to combine and depending on the consistency you may need to add some more oil and water.
  • We deliberately keep our harissa paste on the dry side to use as a rub and if we need it a little runnier then we will add some oil or water.
For Roasted Harisssa
  • Preheat your oven to 180°C/360°F.
  • Place your spices in a lined baking tray, use two separate sheets so that you can easily transfer to a spice blender later on. You will need to grind them separately as they are different sizes.
  • Put your spices in your hot oven and roast until golden (approximately 10 minutes or so).
  • When cool add your spices to a spice grinder (separately) and grind into a powder.
  • Wearing gloves (so that you don’t burn yourself) slice your chillies in half lengthwise.
  • Remove the seeds by pushing them out with your finger or with a paring knife. For an extra hot and spicy harissa don’t remove the seeds.
  • Rinse them in a colander under cold tuning water.
  • Place them on a lined baking tray with some oil and sea salt. Roast in a hot oven until soft (approximately 10-15 minutes).
  • Put the chillis in the bowl of your food processor with the remaining ingredients (we use just under a quarter of a cup of salt).
  • Blitz your paste well to combine and depending on the consistency you may need to add some more oil and water.
  • We deliberately keep our harissa pastes on the dry side to use as a rub and if we need it a little runnier then we will add some oil or water.

Notes

  • The quantities in this recipe will make one small jar, approximately 250ml, consisting of approximately 48 teaspoons. The nutritional information is calculated for each teaspoon.
  • RECIPE NOTE: I deliberately keep my harissa paste on the dry side to use as a rub, and if I need it a little runnier, then I will add some oil or water.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 590mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @salads_with_anastasia or tag #salads_with_anastasia!
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About Anastasia

Anastasia is a home cook introduced to cooking at a young age (8 years old) and hasn’t gotten out of the kitchen since! She had her own coffee shop and ran her own catering business for over a decade. Her love of salads developed as she was always the one responsible for making the salads for family get-togethers and friends functions.

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