Ultra juicy chicken thighs are tossed through a flavour PACKED harissa honey sauce and then grilled to perfection for an easy weeknight-friendly meal. It takes less than 25 minutes and can be served in multiple delicious ways.
Harissa paste is a flavour powerhouse and here it pairs beautifully with sweet honey and sour lemon to create a seriously delicious sweet, sour, spicy sauce you’ll love. Add juicy grilled chicken thighs and you have a wonderful, easy recipe that uses just six ingredients.
The great thing about this recipe is you can serve it in so many different ways, and it’s a great one for meal prepping, or for easy entertaining. The chicken can be marinated up to 24 hours ahead of time, and will last for 4 days in the fridge once it’s cooked. I love serving it piled on top of a creamy base, like white bean dip, hummus or sundried tomato feta dip, with garlic flatbreads and a couple of salads (smacked cucumber, crunchy Asian-style salad or green goddess salad are great options). But you could also toss it through pasta, pasta salad, a grain salad, or alongside grilled or roasted veggies.
This is the same sauce I use for my honey harissa glazed halloumi if you’d like to try a vegetarian twist on this recipe!
Ingredients
You need just SIX easy-to-find ingredients for this delicious grilled chicken.
- Chicken thighs. I’m using skinless, boneless, free-range chicken thighs here. I prefer thighs because they’re juicier and more flavourful than chicken breast, but you can use breast if you like, or tenderloin.
- Harissa paste. This fiery North African spice paste is loaded with chillies, lemon and garlic and is a flavour powerhouse. I’m using Belazu Rose Harissa paste here, but you can use any harissa paste you like. Different brands have different levels of heat, so give yours a taste before using it and reduce the quantity (use 1 tablespoon) if it’s very spicy.
- Lemon. I’m using fresh lemon because the flavour is better, but you can use bottled lemon juice if you like.
How to make it
Mix the harissa paste, honey, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat.
Transfer to a lined baking tray or roasting dish, then pop into the oven for 12 minutes. Spoon the juices over the chicken, then pop back into the oven and turn your broiler (grill) onto the highest heat. Broil the chicken for another 5 minutes until cooked through and it looks a little charred around the edges. Serve the chicken piled onto a serving plate with more cooking juices drizzled on top, or slice it and serve it on top of creamy white bean dip or hummus, with a selection of salads on the side.
Five ways to serve the chicken
- Slice it and pile it on top of creamy white bean dip or hummus, with green goddess salad on the side.
- Pair with skin-on roast potatoes, miso sweet potatoes, dukkah roast potatoes or crispy oven fries.
- Pile onto soft, garlic flatbreads and dollop sundried tomato and feta dip on top.
- Stuff into steamed bao buns with garlic aioli and a crunchy Asian-style salad.
- Turn the chicken into a loaded poke bowl, serve it on top of Caesar salad, toss through pasta salad (like this orzo pesto salad) or serve on top of risotto.
Got a question?
Yes, you can. Cut your breasts into about 3 pieces, then proceed with the recipe.
It will keep well once cooked for 4 days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also marinate the chicken in the harissa honey sauce up to 24 hours ahead of time.
I love using Belazu Rose Harissa when I’m in the UK, but any brand of harissa will do here.
It very much depends on the brand. Always taste before you use – if yours is super spicy, reduce the quantity in the recipe to 1 tablespoon.
Like this recipe? Here are more you might like
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Harissa Honey Grilled Chicken
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
Ultra juicy chicken thighs are tossed through a flavour PACKED harissa honey sauce and then grilled to perfection for an easy weeknight-friendly meal. It takes less than 25 minutes and can be served in multiple delicious ways.
Ingredients
- 400g/14oz chicken thighs, boneless, skinless and free-range
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Heat your oven to 220C/430F fan and line an oven tray with baking paper (or use a baking dish). Add 2 tablespoons of harissa paste, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 crushed garlic cloves to a mixing bowl. Using a fork or a small whisk, mix them together into a cohesive paste, then add the chicken thighs. Toss them through the marinate so they’re well coated all over.
- Cook the chicken. Transfer the tray into the oven, at cook for 12 minutes. After this time, remove the tray from the oven, and spoon the cooking juices over the top of the chicken. Turn your oven onto broil (grill) and set it to the highest setting (this is 250C/480F for me). Broil for another 5 minutes, until starting to char around the edges and the chicken is cooked through. Either use a probe thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh to ensure the chicken is at least 165F/75C. If you don’t have a probe thermometer, you can cut into the chicken to check – it should look white and the juices that run out when you cut in should be clear, rather than cloudy.
- Garnish and serve. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate, then spoon over the cooking juices. Serve with pomegranate seeds, scallions, mint leaves and dukkah sprinkled on top if you like.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: I prefer chicken thighs here, for superior flavour and for the juicy factor, but you can use chicken breasts. Slice the breasts into about three pieces, then toss with the marinade and continue with the recipe. Different brands of harissa have different levels of spice, so taste yours before you use it and if it’s super spicy, you can reduce the quantity to 1 tablespoon. I’m using Belazu Rose Harissa here.
SUBSTITUTIONS: If you can’t find harissa, you could use sriracha, sambal oelek, or another chilli paste (gochujang is also great here!).
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: You can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in advance if you want to get ahead. Once cooked, the chicken will keep well for 4 days, stored in the fridge in a covered container.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love piling the chicken on top of creamy white bean dip or hummus, then serving it with a salad (this green goddess salad is great), and some soft garlic flatbreads. But there is SO MUCH you can do with this chicken. Stuff it into bao buns with a crunchy Asian-style salad, toss through pasta salad or a grain salad, use as the protein in a poke bowl or enjoy it with a spread of salads (this butternut squash salad, broccoli crunch salad or peach and halloumi salad would be great), or serve with crispy roast potatoes, miso sweet potatoes or oven fries.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 17
- Category: meat
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken thigh
Keywords: grilled spicy chicken, grilled harissa chicken, honey glazed chicken
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