Quick Summary: Harissa is a North African chile paste made with dried peppers, cumin, coriander, caraway, and cinnamon. Use it to add smoky, complex heat to proteins, vegetables, eggs, and stews. Slow carb compliant when made without added sugar. Includes both paste and dry spice blend recipes. Prep: 20 min | Cook: 5 min | Makes: 8 servings
Jump to: RECIPE | What is Harissa | Harissa Paste | Harissa Spice Blend | Other Low Carb Sauces | FAQ
At HeathGlen Farm, I grow the chile peppers I use in my harissa blends, and I sell both the paste and a dry spice version at the St. Paul Farmers
Market. Harissa is one of my favorite ways to add complex heat to simple proteins and vegetables. If you’re following a slow carb diet, harissa is a perfect flavor enhancer. It’s robust in flavor with no sugar and minimal carbs.
If you are not used to cooking whole foods, the protein world of a slow carb diet can get monotonous very quickly.
Romesco Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, or Harissa sauces are a great place to start, and here’s why:
- Classic sauces that have stood the test of time
- They can introduce you to some global cuisines without intimidating recipes
- Compliant with a wide range of diets
- No sugar, but still robust flavor
- Easy to make with readily available ingredients
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What Is Harissa?
Harissa is a North African sauce or condiment made with chile peppers, cumin, coriander and caraway. It is made and used in either a paste form or a powdered spice form.
Harissa is used to flavor many different kinds of dishes. It is frequently used to flavor couscous and grilled dishes. It is also used as a relish or condiment with all kinds of proteins.
If you enjoy making your own spice blends, try making some herb infused salts with fresh herbs from your garden. The same principle applies: combining fresh ingredients with salt preserves their flavor for months.
Homemade Harissa Paste (or Sauce)
The full instructions are in the recipe card below. In short: Rehydrate dried chile peppers in hot water for 20-30 minutes. Toast cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds, then grind with cinnamon and salt. Blend the drained peppers with the ground spices, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil until smooth.
Harissa Spice Blend Recipe (Dry Rub Version)
Sometimes a dry spice blend is more practical than a paste, especially for rubs on sheet pan dinners, roasted vegetables, or grilled meats. I sell a harissa spice blend at the St. Paul Farmers Market, and this is the basic formula:
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons ground caraway
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered chile peppers (I use a mix of guajillo, pasilla, and arbol)
- Salt to taste
Mix everything together and store in an airtight jar. It keeps for several months. Use it as a rub on chicken, salmon, or pork before roasting, stir it into soups and stews, or mix it with olive oil for a quick paste when you don’t have time to start from dried whole chiles.
You can also purchase a pre-made harissa spice blend, but you won’t have the option of customizing the heat level.
Other Slow Carb Sauces to Try
Romesco Sauce
Romesco sauce is an Spanish (Catalan) sauce made with peppers, tomatoes, vinegar and ground almonds. You can easily make a homemade version with this Romesco recipe.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri sauce is an Argentinian sauce made from finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and red chili flakes. Check out this easy chimichurri sauce recipe.
FAQ
Yes. Harissa made from dried chiles, spices, garlic, and olive oil contains no sugar and minimal carbohydrates. It’s compliant with slow carb, low carb, and keto diets.
It depends on the chiles you use. This recipe using guajillo, pasilla, and arbol is medium-hot. For milder harissa, reduce or omit the arbol chiles. For more heat, add more arbol or substitute hotter dried peppers.
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, harissa paste keeps for 3-4 weeks. The dry spice blend keeps for several months in a sealed jar.
Harissa paste is made from rehydrated chiles blended with oil and is ready to use as a sauce or marinade. Harissa powder is a dry spice blend you can use as a rub or stir into dishes. Both deliver similar flavor profiles.
Grilled meats, roasted vegetables, scrambled eggs, salmon, hummus, soups, stews, and as a marinade. It works anywhere you want smoky, complex heat.
Yes. Mix harissa powder with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a splash of water until you reach the consistency you want. It won’t have the same depth as starting from whole dried chiles, but it works well in a pinch.
No, they’re three distinct sauces from different cuisines. Harissa is a North African chile paste with cumin, coriander, and caraway. Romesco is a Spanish pepper and almond sauce. Chimichurri is an Argentinian parsley and garlic sauce. All three are low carb and work well as flavor enhancers for simple proteins.
Harissa has a smokier, more complex flavor than most hot sauces. You can substitute it where you want heat, but the cumin and caraway give it a distinct North African flavor that’s different from sriracha or Tabasco. Start with half the amount and adjust.
Check out this slow carb diet recipe catalog for over 50 recipes that are slow carb compliant and also delicious.
Harissa Sauce (Paste and Spice Blend)
Equipment
- Spice grinder Can use coffee grinder
- Blender Or food processor
Ingredients
- 12 dried chile peppers I used a combination of guajillo, pasilla and arbol but you can mix and match
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- juice from 1-2 lemons
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- De-stem chile peppers and soak dried chile peppers in pot of water that has just been turned off after being brought to a boil. Soak for 20-30 minutes to hydrate.12 dried chile peppers
- Toast seeds 2-3 minutes in small, dry pan over medium heat, until aromatic. Let cool before grinding.1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp caraway seeds
- Add cinnamon, salt and toasted spices to a coffee bean grinder and grind to a fine grind or powder.1 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon, 1 tsp salt
- Drain peppers, reserving chile water, and add chiles, spices lemon juice, garlic and oil to blender or food processor. Process until smooth, thinning with chile water if necessary.juice from 1-2 lemons, 5 cloves garlic, 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Notes
- 2 Tbsp ground cumin,Â
- 2 Tbsp ground caraway,Â
- 2 Tbsp ground coriander,Â
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon,Â
- 1 cup Powdered chile peppers (mixed)
- salt (to taste)
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Love your blogging, Dorothy!!
Thank you Mr./Ms. Anonymous! I hope to keep it up and am encouraged when people get something out of it. Thanks!
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How would you rate each of these sauces in terms of spicy or not? TexMex, So Calif, rest of US or Minnesotan?
The Romesco and Chimichurri are not really designed to be really spicy, whereas the harissa traditionally is quite hot. I like spice and I smoke my own chipotles, which is what I used in these. The amount of the chipotle powder in the Romensco and Chimichurri would probably make them rank as medium. The harissa would rank as hot as I used quite a few arbol peppers.