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Got 20 minutes and some yummy chili peppers on hand? That’s about all you need to make this harissa sauce recipe, which is about to take your Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes wayyy above the upper echelons of smoky and spicy.
Your tired jar of store-bought harissa will now have to wear a dunce cap and sit in a corner collecting cobwebs forevermore. Sorry 🤷♀️
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Harissa is a North African chili paste that's got crave-able heat, and citrusy aromatic depth of flavor. After testing different harissa recipes with over a dozen types of dried chiles and fresh peppers, I happily settled on this specific balance of dried guajillo and arbol chiles with roasted red peppers that I dare say has the perfect balance of heat and mild, natural sweetness that I have found.
It pretty much steps up about anything you use it in, from Moroccan carrot salad to vegan shawarma and Turkish lentil soup. Plus it'll stay good for hella long (if it even lasts that long) when stored in an airtight container.
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🥰Why you’ll adore this harissa sauce recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Middle Eastern recipes, this harissa has no honey, no anchovies, and no cholesterol. Plus, it’s perfect for any gluten-free vegan recipes you’re whipping up!
⏱️ Ready in 20 Minutes: This harissa recipe uses super--simple ingredients. From dried chiles to flavor-packed spicy sauce in less time than it takes to drive off to the grocery store and back to buy some. One pan, one blender, hardly any prep effort at all.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all the vegan recipes I share, this one’s been fine-tuned and successfully recreated by a team of hundreds of recipe testers from all around the world.
🤘Learn to make killer vegan Middle Eastern food
This guide to my most popular plant-based Middle Eastern recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🥫Harissa sauce ingredients
Guajillo chiles
Guajillo chiles are dried Mexican chiles with a medium heat and a smoky, slightly sweet flavor that adds serious depth of flavor to this harissa sauce. They're the same chiles you'll find in recipes like adobo sauce, salsa macha, and salsa verde.
If you can’t find them, hatch chiles (the same ones you’d use for New Mexico red chili sauce) work as a very solid sub.
Arbol chiles
Arbol chiles pack a punch with their small size and clean, yummy heat, perfect for adding the flavorful fire that harissa sauce is known for. You can swap them out for dried Thai chilies, which are what I use in my nam prik pao and nam jim jaew. Of course, feel free to play around with the spice level to suit your taste!
Cumin seeds
Cumin seeds bring that earthy flavor that balances out the smoky chiles. My absolute favorite are the Wild Mountain Cumin seeds from Burlap and Barrel—these little guys are more slender and fragrant than regular cumin, and the blend up better than regular cumin seeds too because they are less fibrous.
Of course, ordinary cumin seeds work fine, and if you don't have any, you can use ground cumin. Just be sure not to toast it as long, or you'll risk losing that toasty essence.
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Aleppo Pepper Flakes
Aleppo pepper flakes are the secret sauce in harissa, giving it some nuanced mild heat with a fruity, earthy vibe. You’ll find them in recipes like ezme (and this awesome autumnal cranberry ezme) as well as zhoug.
Can’t find Aleppo? Don’t be shocked, but gochugaru is a pretty great substitute. This seedless Korean chili powder, which you might already have on hand if you ever make vegan kimchi or Korean carrot salad, packs a similar very similar flavor.
Kashmiri red chili powder
Kashmiri red chili powder is a total winner—mild heat, super fragrant, and that gorgeous bright red color. It's a must for your pantry if you are down with Indian classics like aloo gobi, chana masala, or tikka masala. If you can't track this down, smoked paprika (or sweet paprika if you want less heat) is your best plan-b.
Roasted red peppers
Roasted red peppers are the secret sauce behind flavorful, but not absurdly-hot harissa. If you're going with jarred, just watch out for long ingredient lists—some have corn syrup, which’ll mess with the flavor, or weird preservatives you'd probably rather skip. I always have a jar of these in my pantry for whipping up muhammara, which I basically breath.
Of course it's even more authentic (but way less convenient) to just roast your own. Blacken red bell peppers over an open flame, let 'em cool, and peel off the char. You'll get all the smoky goodness with no weird stuff. Plus, homemade roasted red peppers are one of the best smells you can make in your kitchen.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Harissa Chickpeas
Harissa chickpeas are packed with smoky, spicy flavor and crispy edges, making them the perfect addition to bowls, wraps, or to include in a mezze spread. It’s packed with jammy cherry tomatoes that explode in your mouth, garlicky chickpeas, and a swirl of lemony harissa. Sounds fire, am I right?
Citrus Harissa
Citrus harissa gets a flavor boost from fresh orange rind and a generous splash of fragrant orange blossom water. It’s an absolute MVP when slathered on sumac potato and leek-stuffed Afghani bread, bolani—trust me, you’ll want to dunk, scoop, and spread that goodness all day long (I did, and now I am basically 500 lbs and very happy. so there’s that…)
📖 How to make harissa sauce
Nail this saucy situation on your first time by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Netflix and Chile:
Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo and arbol chiles. Place them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 20 minutes until softened.
Step Two
A Stir is Born:
Meanwhile, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, Kashmiri chili powder, Aleppo pepper flakes, and ground cloves in a small skillet over low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly until fragrant. Take it off the heat.
Step Three
In Drain in the Membrane:
Drain the hydrated chilies and discard the soaking water.
Step Four
Blend Me Your Ear:
Add the soaked chiles, toasted spices, roasted red peppers, garlic, tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt into a blender or food processor. Blend for 1–2 minutes, scraping the sides as needed, until smooth and thick.
Step Five
Olive You Need Is Love:
If the harissa's too thick, add 1–2 teaspoons of extra olive oil to reach the perfect spreadable consistency.
Step Six
Your Fave Guy from Star Wars- Jar Jar Binks:
Transfer your harissa to a clean jar or container. Store it in the fridge and use within a week.
💡Serving Ideas
Harissa's got a pretty divine mix of heat and flavor that plays off all kinds of sides, like Turkish kisir, stuffed cabbage, and swirled on top of vegan labneh.
Use it in different ways: as a dipping sauce, in salad dressings, or even as a pasta sauce for your favorite dishes. For something smoky, pair it with mutabal, and scoop it all up with fresh, fluffy kuboos.
👉Top tips
- Don’t Use Untoasted Spices That Are Old AF: Toasting the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and other spices isn’t just a step—it’s a flavor cheat-code. It brings out their essential oils, making the flavor pop. Keep it low and slow, and stir constantly to avoid burning and the development of bitter, nasty flavors.
- Hydrate, or Die-Drate: Make sure the chiles soak for at least 20 minutes. This softens them up for smoother blending, which is especially important if your blender kinda sucks.
- Use a Powerful Blender: Use a beast of a blender, like a Blendtec or Vitamix. Don’t just dust off that old antique one with wires sticking out that you found in your grandpa’s attic; we’re going for smooth, not “what is that weird burning smell?”
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
If you’re out of tomato paste, reach for some mild Turkish pepper paste (tatli biber salcasi)—it’s got the sweet, smoky vibes you need. Want to turn up the heat? Go for aci biber salcasi and reinforce that fier!
Harissa is a versatile, flavorful condiment! It can be used in stews, on roasted vegetables, as a marinade for tofu or tempeh, or simply as a dip for bread. Some people even call it the "sriracha of North Africa" because of its versatility.
❄️Refrigerating:
Store your homemade harissa in an airtight container in the fridge, and it'll stay fresh for up to 8 days. Just make sure to give it a little stir before using.
🧊 Freezing:
Freeze it in tablespoon portions using an ice cube tray. Once solid, pop those cubes into a freezer bag so you can thaw just what you need whenever the craving hits. Store it in an airtight container, and it'll keep for up to 3 months. To thaw, just let it sit at room temp for a couple of hours or pop it in the fridge overnight.
✌️You'll love these vegan Middle Eastern recipes too:
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Harissa Sauce
Equipment
- food processor optional
Ingredients
- 8 Guajillo chiles
- 2 Arbol chiles or more for extra heat
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons Aleppo pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup roasted red peppers rinsed
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoons salt or to taste
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo and arbol chiles. Place them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 20 minutes, until softened.
- Drain the chiles, discarding the water, and set aside.
- In a small skillet, toast the cumin seeds, coriander, Kashmiri red chili powder, Aleppo pepper, ground cloves over low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Remove from heat.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the soaked chiles, toasted spices, roasted red peppers, garlic, tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Blend for 1–2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth and thick. If needed, add 1–2 teaspoons of additional olive oil to achieve a spreadable consistency.
- Transfer to a clean jar or container. Store refrigerated and use within 1 week.
Notes
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Reshyll says
Made this once and now, I can't stop thinking about it!! Will definitely make another batch for the week.