Homemade Harissa Paste: Your New Favorite Condiment
A vibrant red chili paste from North Africa featuring smoky roasted peppers, aromatic spices, and garlic. Customize the heat level to your preference!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: undefined
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: No-Cook (except soaking/toasting)
- Cuisine: North African/Tunisian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup dried red chilies (guajillo, ancho, or arbol), stems/seeds removed
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted and peeled
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for storage)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Optional:
- 1–2 tsp cayenne pepper (for extra heat)
- 1 preserved lemon, peel only (for tang)
Instructions
- Rehydrate chilies: Cover dried chilies with boiling water. Soak 30 mins until soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup soaking liquid.
- Toast spices: In dry skillet, toast coriander, caraway, and cumin seeds 1-2 mins until fragrant. Grind to powder.
- Blend: In food processor, combine soaked chilies, roasted pepper, garlic, spices, tomato paste, lemon juice, oil, salt, and paprika. Process until smooth, adding reserved soaking liquid as needed.
- Adjust: Taste and add cayenne or preserved lemon if using. Blend again.
- Store: Transfer to jar, top with 1/2″ olive oil. Keeps refrigerated 1 month.
Notes
- Heat control: Use milder chilies (ancho) for mild paste, or add ghost peppers for extreme heat
- Shortcut: Use 2 tbsp pre-ground spices (skip toasting)
- Freezing: Portion into ice cube trays, freeze 3 months
- Traditional touch: Some recipes include rose petals or mint
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tbsp
- Calories: 25
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Find it online: https://us.recipesfood.org/homemade-harissa-paste-recipe/
