We’ve had Honey Harissa Chicken Bowls on repeat over here for the better part of a month! And I’m telling you, once you give these a try, you’ll be adding them to the weekly rotation too. It’s something about the combination of Harissa (a North African pepper paste) and honey that makes the chicken so flavorful. And how do you take something like that and make it a full meal without having to make sides? By adding it to a bowl with veggies, sauces, and a base. You can turn this into a salad or a rice bowl. Chicken breasts or chicken thighs marinated in a quick, fuss-free harissa marinade seared in a hot pan until it’s golden-brown. Drizzle it with that honey, and it’s a little spicy and a little sweet. I love pairing the CAVA-inspired chicken with a homemade crazy feta sauce, roasted corn, Persian cucumbers, and quick pickled red onions. You can serve this chicken as a salad over lettuce or with fluffy basmati rice. Trust me; the fam is going to love this one!
Ingredients for Honey Harissa Chicken Bowls:
Chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs for this recipe.Olive oil: The olive oil is a critical ingredient. We’ll combine it with harissa paste, lemon juice, and dry spices to create the marinade.Harissa Paste: is a chili paste or condiment from Tunisia that is now sold in lots of mainstream grocery stores. TJ’s carries one that works well for this recipe. You can also find it online here.Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice is the acid used in the honey harissa chicken marinade.Seasonings: These are all easy-to-find ingredients like dried thyme, garlic powder, ground cumin, onion powder, and cayenne. Feel free to omit the cayenne if you’re worried about the heat level. Harissa already has a kick to it as well!Honey: Is drizzled in once the chicken is cooked. This helps tone down the heat in the chicken. Mixed Greens: I use this in my bowl with a combination of rice. However, you can omit the greens if you want to serve this as just a rice bowl!Rice: Fluffy basmati rice is the perfect base for these bowls. You can prepare the rice a couple of days ahead of time as well to cut down on prep time.Toppings: I love adding prepared hummus, roasted corn, Persian cucumbers, diced avocados, pickled onions, and my homemade feta sauce to this recipe. You can use as many or as few of these ingredients as you’d like for your bowl. The feta sauce is made with garlic cloves, Greek yogurt, crumbled feta, kosher salt, mint, and lemon juice. It’s almost like a feta and mint raita if you’re familiar with the Indian condiment! The mint really helps cool down the heat from the harissa and adds the most delicate flavor.
How to Make Harissa Honey Chicken:
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Harissa Paste: Taste the harissa paste before using it in the marinade to make sure it isn’t too spicy! The one I have linked is mild, but if you get the one from Trader Joe’s, that one definitely has a kick to it, and I don’t recommend using 2 tbsp unless you enjoy a heavy amount of heat!Feta sauce: add 1 garlic clove, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, a pinch of black pepper, ½ cup Greek Yogurt (or labne), 2 ounces feta, 1 tablespoon chopped mint, 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust with more lemon or salt as desired.
