A Homemade Harissa Chicken Marinade That’s Easier Than It Sounds!
This grilled harissa chicken might just be one of the simplest, best chicken recipes we’ve ever created. With a harissa-inspired marinade made quickly and easily in a high-powered blender, we were able to take some humble chicken pieces and create a truly praise-worthy meal. If you are looking for a way to amp up your weeknight chicken game, and love our Sheet Pan Harissa Meatballs and Cabbage, then this is the recipe for you.
What is Harissa Made Of?
Harissa is a spicy North African chili paste traditionally made out of roasted red peppers, chili peppers, baklouti pepper, serrano peppers, and other hot chili peppers. It also often contains garlic paste, coriander seed, saffron, rose, or caraway. Olive oil rounds things out and often citrus is in the mix, too. In other words harissa paste is delicious in every way and takes whatever it touches to the next level. We wanted to make a simple harissa-inspired marinade that would be a perfect go-to for any night of the week, so we created a pared-down harissa-inspired sauce recipe for marinating chicken thighs. Simply blend together:
Roasted red peppers
Lots of fresh garlic
Caraway and coriander
Smoked paprika
Cayenne
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
What Cut of Chicken Should I Use to Make Grilled Harissa Chicken?
While you can use this marinade to make harissa chicken breast, or bone-in, skin-on harissa chicken thighs, our favorite for making grilled harissa chicken is boneless, skinless thighs! Not to toot our own horns, but they taste delicious (we’ll take dark meat any day of the week), plus you can often find them on sale. You could even use this quick harissa marinade on a whole roasted chicken. Whatever this marinade touches is destined to be delicious.
How Do You Make Harissa Chicken?
Our delicious grilled harissa chicken recipe could not be quicker (really!) or more simple. That smoky, lightly spicy, creamy harissa marinade makes basic grilled chicken truly dinner party worthy! Here’s how it’s done:
Make the harissa marinade. You could even do this a day or two ahead of time, if you’re trying to work ahead.
Coat the chicken pieces with the harissa marinade and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, or as long as overnight. Before you toss the chicken with the marinade, save about 1/4 cup of the harissa sauce, because you’ll need it later to...
Make a quick harissa mayo to serve with the grilled chicken by mixing together that reserved harissa sauce and some mayonnaise. YUM.
Grill the harissa chicken! Grill over high heat until you see an internal temp of 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Then your chicken is done and it’s time to dig in!
Tools You’ll Need
What to Serve With Grilled Harissa Chicken
This grilled chicken is so full of flavor that it doesn’t need much accompaniment! That said, if you’re in the mood for a Mediterranean feast, or making a big meal for company, round it out with:
So, Is This Everyone’s New Favorite Grilled Chicken Recipe?
When you decide to give this grilled harissa chicken recipe a try, we’d love to hear about it! Be sure to snap a photo, add it to your Instagram feed or stories, and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Also feel free to leave a comment on this post and be sure to tell your friends where you discovered the recipe.
