Harissa Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes- just 15 minutes of hands-on time, before baking on a sheet pan the oven. Smoky, earthy, and fragrantly seasoned with North African Spices. Video included.
Looking for more one-pan meals? Check out our 25+ Delicious Sheet Pan Dinners!
Here’s a quick and flavorful meal that will fill your home with deliciousness – Harissa Chicken. It can be easily made vegan by substituting tofu (or even fish!) for the chicken, which, seriously is just as good, if not better. The best thing is, it only takes 15 minutes of prep before going into the oven to bake. When it comes out, mouths will water!!! Give it a try, I think you will like it.
Earthy, smoky and just a little bit spicy, the chicken pairs deliciously well with the roasted sweet potatoes. Of course, you can add other veggies to this as well – carrots, parsnips, red bell pepper – all would work nicely.
Harissa Chicken | 60-second video
For more delicious Sheet Pan Recipes go here!
What is Harissa?
Hailing from North Africa, harissa is a spicy chili paste, often used as a marinade or condiment for meats and vegetables. It varies greatly from region to region across Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, but most variations include chilies, earthy spices and onion and garlic blended up into a flavorful hot paste that can be used in a multitude of ways- as a marinade or chicken or other meats, or a flavorful base for curries, soups and stews.
Mildly spicy, earthy and smoky, harissa paste adds flavor to just about anything- and this version of quick harissa marinade is easy and simple — just stir it up in a bowl, no blender or food processor required!
How to make Harissa Chicken
- Make the Harissa Paste.
- Marinate the chicken.
- Place on a sheet pan and bake with the veggies.
- Serve!
Just place everything on a sheet pan and bake.
Easy, peasy!
Clean-up is simple too!
When your Harissa Chicken comes out it will be oh so flavorful!
There is an optional Green Harissa Yogurt sauce you can add to this- it’s not necessary, I don’t always make it, especially if in a hurry, but if making for a special occasion or when entertaining, I’ll whip up a small batch to serve alongside.
Leftovers make for a tasty lunch.
Give this quick Harissa Chicken with Sweet Potatoes a try this week!
More recipes you may like:
- How to Make Authentic Harissa Paste in Two Easy Ways!
- Sheet-Pan Chicken with Crispy Potatoes, Lemon and Thyme
- 25 Flavorful Sheet Pan Recipes
- Moroccan Eggs with Harissa Yogurt
- Smoky Harissa Red Pepper Dip
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries with harissa!
- Green Harissa Sauce
Harissa Chicken Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main, Chicken,
- Method: Roasted, Baked
- Cuisine: North African
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ingredients
Harissa Chicken
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 2 medium-sized) – diced into 1/2 inch cubes, unpeeled.
- 1 large red onion- sliced into 1/2 inch wedges
- 4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone-in (or substitute 1 lb boneless thighs or chicken breasts)
Garnish: Cilantro sprigs
Harissa Marinade:
- 2 garlic cloves- finely minced or crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder ( optional, or sub chili flakes )
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds ( optional, but good)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Quick Green Harissa Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Stir marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Dice the sweet potatoes into ½-¾ inch cubes and place in a medium bowl with half the marinade and toss to coat. Place them in a single layer on one side of a parchment lined sheet pan.
- Cut the onion, and place next to the sweet potatoes, drizzle with a little oil if you want (or not), saving room for the chicken.
- Pat the chicken dry, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and place in the same medium bowl and add the remaining marinade, coating all sides well.
- Line the chicken up next to the onions. If using very small sheet pans, you may need to use two. Do not overlap!
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake 30 minutes but check after 20, rotating the pan if necessary. If using boneless thighs or breasts- they will cook faster ( feel free to remove if potatoes need more time)
- While baking, make Green Harissa Sauce, blending all the ingredients in the blender.
- Double-check that the chicken is cooked through before serving, and for extra crispy skin, broil for a few minutes at the end.
- Divide the roasted sweet potatoes among 4 bowls and top with the chicken. Garnish with cilantro and serve with the Green Harissa Yogurt Sauce.
Notes
If using boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast, it will most likely cook faster, so make sure to check after 20 minutes. If done, take off the sheet pan, and let the sweet potatoes continue cooking until fork tender.
For vegans, sub a tofu filet about 1 inch thick.
If substituting with fish, check after 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick the cut.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 thigh with 1 cup sweet potatoes
- Calories: 464
- Sugar: 5.5 g
- Sodium: 722.7 mg
- Fat: 33.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.9 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 21.2 g
- Cholesterol: 111.3 mg
Wow this was amazing! I actually used avocado oil Mayo instead of yogurt because I didn’t have it on hand and it made a delicious aioli. I’m so happy I recently found your website. I love the way you cook, great flavors and presented so beautifully. Curious how you feel about baking with olive oil. These days you hear about it smoking at high heat and you are not supposed to bake with it, taking a healthy oil making it unhealthy. I remember Giada saying don’t worry people have been cooking this way for thousands of years. Curious about your take on it since you are very health conscious in a wholesome way.
Glad you enjoyed. I am on the fence about the oil. I kind of feel the same as Giada! But I do try to mix it up- and use other oils too. Just not seed oils or vegetable oils- those are the worst. Avocado, coconut, olive.
This was a huge hit with my family! So easy to make! I used chicken legs and thighs, and it came out great. Thank you, Sylvia!
Highly recommend! Easy week night meal with ingredients that you probably already have in the cupboard. This is on my family’s weeknight rotation. Agree that the Quick Green Harissa sauce is a must! My mother-in-law asked us for this recipe a week after she had it at our house = win!
Hi! How much is 1 bunch chopped cilantro? Thanks!
About one cup packed, thin stems are ok to add.
I would love to make this next week, I have never had harissa! How much is “1 bunch cilantro”? What kind of vinegar did you use?
About 1 cup packed!
oops! I couldn’t find your response – I am sorry I just asked again. I see it now! I am making it now and the flavors smell divine!! Can’t wait to eat it!
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! The flavors complimented each other so nicely. I can’t wait for leftovers – and to make it again!! Thank you for an awesome recipe!!
I’m confused as to when you peel the sweet potatoes? Do you eat the skin? Has anyone tried peeling them first?
I normally don’t peel- just scrub and dry. So many nutrients in the skins! 🙂 Feel free to peel if you prefer though.
Great, thank you for the info!
This recipe is simple and delicious. The sauce is so good and easy to make, don’t leave it off unless you have to! I used the leftover veggies for a sweet potato hash the next morning a topped it with a fried egg. Mmm mmm good.
Looking forward to trying this, but the recipe says that the sweet potatoes should be 1 lb each; that seems too heavy
Yes, or 2 lbs total. 😉
A huge hit with my family, even the picky eaters. The green harissa sauce is a must. Delicious!
Oh good!
My family really enjoyed this. It was great comfort food for lunch as the weather gets colder. Don’t skip the harissa sauce!
I love this recipe! I’m a vegetarian and I appreciate that your recipes are adaptable.
Thanks so much Taylor!
This was delicious- even our picky teen like it and went for seconds.
Would regular potatoes work here? Probably not? Thank you!
I think they would cook in about the same time, but the sweetness of the sweet potatoes complement the flavors well here.
This was super delicious. I have loved all of your recipes that I have made so far. I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years and I was in a food rut before I discovered your blog.
Amazing recipe! The chicken was so tender (has to be the marinade, yum) and everything together really compliments each other. This would be good for a casual dinner party if you don’t have time to fuss. It was a great Monday dinner for us. We will 100% make this again.
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
Made the Harissa Chicken last night and loved it. My adult daughter deemed it “Fabulous”! Didn’t make the sauce, only because I didn’t have yogurt but will try it another time. I used boneless, skinless thighs and did use chipoltle powder but not caraway. This will be made often at our house and I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Great to hear and happy you liked it!
This was delicious all by itself! I like the sauce too but next time will leave it off because the original marinade and natural flavors of the sweet potato and red onion were divine!!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Delicious! Even my picky toddler came back for seconds. This will be a regular in our house.
Another big hit with the family. Absolutely delicious
Omg! This was divine!!! I’ve made four of your recipes this week and it’s only Wednesday! The combination of spices combined with the sweet potato piqued my curiosity. Wow! The combination of spices with the sweetness of the red onion and sweet potato…so scrumptious! It even looks so fancy. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks so much Dianne! You like to cook! Thanks for all your comments and ratings. I appreciate you so much. xoxo
Hi, I made this tonight and it was great! I was specifically looking for sheet pan meals and am so happy I found your site. Bookmarked a few more to try. Thanks!
Great to hear!
I read this recipe and developed a base idea from it (I do this often), and then made it and it was wonderful. I made my own harissa ( this may not be feasible for most but I wanted to experiment with the flavors) and used some of this combined with lemon juice and olive oil for the marinade. I also added Brussels sprouts and swapped chicken breast chunks for the thighs. Thank you so much for the great idea and beautiful site!
I have a jar of Pre-made harissa- how do I use it here?
All jars are different -with differing levels of heat. I would use it first in the yogurt sauce – just spoon some in, taste, add more to taste. Start conservatively.
Wonderful flavors, especially with the yogurt cilantro dip. Definitely one of my favorite recipes so far! Thank you, Sylvia.
Thanks Kati! Glad you enjoyed!
Hi. I am new to using tofu. I have extra firm tofu. Does it need to be pressed before marinating and roasting? Thank you
Place the block of tofu on a folded paper towel and just blot each side (lightly pressing down) with another paper towel. You don’t have to get out every drop of water. 🙂
Thank you