Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken! If you’re unfamiliar with harissa, it’s a mix of chilies, spices, garlic, and olive oil. It livens up easy chicken and veggies in this sheet metal dinner!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
The main ingredient here isn’t the chicken or the veggies, but rather a warm, light-colored paprika paste from North Africa, which goes both hot and smoky Harissa.
Harissa is a red paste made from chilies, spices, garlic and olive oil. Almost every family in their region of origin has their own recipe.
Think of harissa as a cross between your favorite hot sauce (especially if that hot sauce is sriracha) and ketchup (if ketchup was made with peppers instead of tomatoes).
A little goes a long way, so I like to stir olive oil and a little cumin and coriander into harissa to stretch it out. I dabbed harissa on top of this chicken, carrot, and cauliflower sheet pan; It mixes with the gravy to make the dish warm and slightly spicy.
Where to buy Harissa
You can buy harissa in a tube or a jar and they are all different. It can be lipstick red or so dark it’s almost burgundy. It is also available in powder form. If so, follow the label directions to rehydrate it.
Look for it in the condiment section of any store that stocks many specialty ingredients, such as: B. Whole Foods, or order it online.
How to make this sheet pan chicken
- Purchase bone-in chicken pieces for this recipe— Whole legs, thighs or breasts with bones. They work best because they take longer to cook than boned (which helps finish cooking everything at the same time) and their juices baste the veggies as they cook.
- Before preparing the chicken, rub it with some harissa sauce and leave in the fridge for as long as you have. An hour is fine, but the longer the better – up to 12 hours.
- Give carrots, cauliflower, sweet onions, and lemon slices a head start Bake in hot oven, covered with foil, until almost tender, about 20 minutes. Then uncover them and give them another 15 minutes or so. Finally add the chicken and cook for another 30 minutes.
That seems like a lot of time to roast veggies, I get it! But by the end of the cooking process, these slow-cooked veggies are incredibly juicy and charred in places. The lemon and onions get very soft, allowing their sweet and tart flavors to blend into the dish, and the chicken skin is crispy with a nice heat.
Make-ahead tip
There’s no way to speed up the vegetable roasting time, but you can make them a day ahead, refrigerate, and let the pan come to room temperature before adding the chicken and finishing the recipe.
To partially prepare the dish in advance, cook the vegetables with foil and then without foil (until step 4). Let cool, cover with foil and refrigerate. Before serving, remove the foil and allow the vegetables to come to room temperature. Then add the chicken and finish frying.
More sheet pan recipes to try!
- Fish and chips from the sheet pan
- Spinach Artichoke Sheet Pan Pizza
- Sheet chicken with roasted broccoli and potatoes
- Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pork Chops
- Tin Chicken with Roasted Eggplant Caponata
Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower
If you can only find powdered harissa, add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and ground cilantro (skip the salt if your mix already has salt), then reconstitute with 2 tablespoons harissa powder and 2 tablespoons olive oil .
ingredients
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1/4 Cup Harissa Paste (See recipe note if using harissa powder)
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2 to 4 tablespoon olive oildivided
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1 teaspoon ground coriander
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1 teaspoon ground cumin
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8 with bone chicken pieces (Above 2 1/2 lb), thighs, legs, breasts or a mixture
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1 medium head cauliflower
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1 big sweet onion
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4 Middle carrots
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1 lemoncut very thin
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1 teaspoon Saltdivided
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1/2 Cup water
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2 tablespoon fresh corianderchopped
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Cooked rice or pasta (thin spaghetti works well), to serve
method
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Make the marinade:
In a bowl, mix the harissa paste with 2 tablespoons olive oil, coriander, and cumin. The mixture should form a paste that just drips off the spoon. Gradually stir in the remaining olive oil if needed.
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Marinate Chicken:
If using thighs or legs, trim off excess skin and fat; Transfer the thighs or legs or breasts to a bowl. Add half of the harissa mixture and turn the chicken until thinly coated throughout.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. Refrigerate the remaining marinade separately until needed.
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Prepare vegetables:
Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower, but do not deseed. Cut the cauliflower into florets and stalks and place on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Peel the carrots and cut into 2 cm pieces. Cut the thinner pieces in half lengthways; Cut the larger, thicker pieces into quarters. Peel and halve the onion and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.
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Cook Vegetables:
Heat oven to 425°F. Combine cauliflower, onions, carrots, and lemon slices on a sheet pan. Scatter dabs of the remaining harissa mixture over the veggies here and there. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the water to the edge of the pan.
Cover the pan with foil and cook the vegetables and sliced lemons for 20 minutes. Take out and toss gently. Continue cooking, uncovered, about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost tender when you pierce them with a skewer. Remove from the oven and turn carefully again.
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Cooking chicken and vegetables:
Increase the oven temperature to 450°F. Place the chicken, skin-side up, on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Cook uncovered for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through (breasts read 160°F on a meat thermometer; legs and thighs 180°F). The vegetables will be very tender and should be served quite soft.
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Surcharge:
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with coriander and serve with rice or spaghetti.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 549 | calories |
| 25g | Fat |
| 30g | carbohydrates |
| 54g | protein |
