Pan-Roasted Chicken with Harissa Chickpeas

This was a great weeknight dish!. Easy and tasty. I used 6 large thighs for 3 servings and cut back on the harissa since I wasn't sure about the heat level. Marinating the chicken thighs with the harissa was a great tip and resulted in tastier chicken - especially the crispy skin since the thighs cook on top of the chick peas. I actually made this in my large toaster oven and baked it at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. I browned the chicken thighs in my cast iron Dutch oven first, then made the chickpea sauce and then transferred to my Corning ware dish. Adding extra broth gave us more delicious sauce to serve with the jasmine rice we love! I'll definitely be more generous with the harissa next time and add another diced vegetable or beans to the sauce.

• Anonymous

• MARLBORO, NJ

• 3/3/2023

As stated by others, this is a tasty and versatile recipe. I have made it several times. Tonight, I added diced fire roasted tomatoes and apricots. Other times I have added pitted prunes and sweet potato. Sometimes, I toss in green olives at the end. I let them warm up before serving. Next time, I will try the suggestion to marinate the chicken using the harissa, salt and cumin. That sounds like a great idea.

• gioia_m

• Annapolis

• 3/16/2021

I really wanted to like this dish. I like all the components parts. In my opinion it just didn’t come together. It lacked depth or complexity. It was just hot from the harissa paste. The only change I made was to add cauliflower as some others had suggested. In terms of the heat, chick peas and cauliflower held most of the heat as others noted. It was too spicy for one of my kids to enjoy; you might cut back if cooking for kids (even those that normally like heat).

• tiamalk

• Downingtown, PA

• 4/15/2019

I was actually pleased on how well this dish turned out. I didn’t have any Harissa so I substituted with Sambal Oelek chili paste. The spice was very subtle yet easy to prepare and tasted very delicious. Will be making this dish again.

• gqueja

• Orcutt, CA

• 7/15/2018

I love this recipe! I always return to it when I've been away traveling for work and want get back into cooking. I've made this recipe for friends and it's always a hit. I like to cut this recipe in half since I'm usually cooking for 1 or 2 people. Wanted to share that if your grocer doesn't carry harissa (Trader Joe's sometimes doesn't carry it for me), you can also substitute the harissa paste with the same amount of chili paste (sambal oelek or garlic chili patste) with sprinkles of coriander and cumin. General rule of thumb is: for every cup of chili paste add 1/4 teaspoon of coriander and cumin. Since I halve the recipe, I eyeball the amount of coriander and cumin I add to the chili paste.

• Anonymous

• San Francisco, CA

• 3/29/2018

Pretty easy. Definitely had kick to it. That said, I accidentally put in double the tomato paste, so I then threw in a little extra broth and harissa, so may have had more kick than as written. For my group that was fine, more went than I expected, but I would not recommend if you are serving anyone that doesn't like spicy food. I only have a small piece of chicken and a fair bit of the chickpeas. I think they will make good leftovers alone with leftover brown rice.

• auntierahrah

• Atlanta, GA

• 3/26/2018

Truly excellent recipe. Very nice blend of flavours. Easy and fast to make. Suggest not getting canned Harisa since cans are hard to store if you don't use all of it. One my local mideast shops had Harrisa in a squeeze tube. Don't forget to use the lemon wedges. They add a nice burst of flavour to the dish.

• cook from mesa

• Mesa, AZ

• 3/22/2018

I made this last week, it was so good I'm making it again! A big hit with my kids too! I did not have chickpeas (I know, I know) but used butter beans instead and it was fantastic.

• jackiek1

• Long Island, NY

• 1/23/2018

I make this all the time and everybody is so impressed. It's so easy... I serve it with a pot of yoghurt slathered in olive oil and some pita, and everybody goes mad!

• moniquevanni

• São Paulo, Brazil

• 10/20/2017

This fairly simple recipes has amazing flavors and is good for a crowd. I added much more chicken stock than called for and served it with couscous that I beefed up with sauteed red onion, slivered almonds, sliced dried apricots and lemon zest. Harissa is great for soups as well and I've stocked up with tubes of it from the deli. You know it's a success when even the non-cooks want the recipe. But it is on the mid to high range in spiciness--great for winter.

• mjanack2

• Victoria, BC

• 9/19/2017

I'm obsessed with these chickpeas....

• ullie

• Toronto, Canada

• 7/11/2017

This is incredible! Even my hubby raved about it. Can't find Harissa, so used a garlic chili paste from the grocery Asian section. Also added a splash of white wine to the sauce before oven roasting. Started oven at 425 for about 20 minutes, but seemed to be drying out, so reduced temp to 350 for 30 to 45 more minutes. Chicken skin came out crispy, the thighs juicy and very tender. Didn't have fresh parsley so skipped it. Served over brown jasmine rice. Nicely spicy, tangy, and super yummy! May up the chili paste next time for extra heat, since we love spicy. Will definitely make again.

• bonniemj

• Texas

• 6/26/2017

Absolutely delicious. My husband loved it. So easy. First time trying harissa. Out of the jar, mine is quite fiery, so I added less than called for. But it dissipated some in the cooking, so next time I will add more. I was going to add cauliflower, per suggestions, but noticed I had a sweet potato that wasn't getting any younger, so I peeled it and cut into 1/2 inch cubes and added that. Perfect! I served the dish with a green salad with fresh oranges, red onion, a little bit of shredded purple cabbage, and pistachios. Very colorful, and it went with the chicken dish very well.

• debnev

• Redding, CT

• 3/27/2017

I just made this dish over the weekend and it was a huge success!! I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs, one can chickpeas, twice the amount of harissa, a little extra of the tomato paste, and the rest of the recipe as instructed. I served it over couscous with a slice of lemon, it turned out spicy and delicious! I will definitely save this recipe for the future.

• Anonymous

• Los Angeles, CA

• 3/20/2017

Absolutely delicious! I had never made anything with harissa before, but I will be making this over and over!

• curtiswynn

• Ballard in Seattle

• 1/26/2017