This chicken has soooo much flavor. If it wasn’t (kind of) a lot of work it’d probably be the only way I’d eat oven roasted chicken.

But if I’m being honest, this chicken is kind of a lot of work. It’s not hard per se, it’s just a lot of steps. You have to mix spices, then mix some of those spices with tomato paste, then mix some of that tomato paste with the chicken.

You’ve got a few things to keep track of.

But the good news is it’s really easy to make. And while the chicken marinates, you can prep everything else!

And another disclaimer: I’m not sure how “authentic” this recipe is. I was actually going to make this chicken using harissa paste and call it a day. However, this was the beginning of quarantine and for some reason, harissa paste was one of the first to go. I returned home determined to make harissa chicken. I found a bunch of recipes online but none of them suited the ingredients I had on hand or the taste I envisioned. My mind felt pretty jumbled and anxious at the beginning of quarantine, so this is what came out of my first frantic week of coping with missing ingredients.

I think authentic paste has vinegar and olive oil added….but this still turned out really good so I’ll take it!

For the chiles, there are a few different types you can use. Ancho, guajillo, chipotle, or Thai (or a mix of a few!). I didn’t give an exact measurement for the chiles because these chiles have a huge range of heat. Thai bird chiles can be painfully spicy. Also I admit with my half Thai-ness my spice tolerance is very different from others. So I gave a range for the chile amount and you’re really going to have to feel it out. I recommend just starting with a 1/4 cup of chiles, adding it to the spice mix, and tasting before adding to the tomato paste.

The shallots and chickpeas turned out really good as well. The chickpeas don’t get roasted to a crisp, but rather have a delightful firm bite to them.

And finally, the sweet potatoes with the leftover spice mix turned out great. Serve everything with yogurt sauce and garnish with parsley.

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Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas, Sweet Potatoes, and Yogurt Sauce

This chicken recipe is a few more steps than normal sheet pans meals, but it's well worth it! This dish is full of flavor with a lot of healthy ingredients.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, bone-in with skin
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds*, toasted and ground
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds*, toasted and ground
1/8-1/4 cup dried chiles, minced*
1 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons oil, divided
1 onion, diced
2 shallots, diced
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 cup chicken broth,
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Sweet Potatoes

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon siracha

Instructions

Cover chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle chicken with kosher salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a skillet on medium heat, toast the coriander and caraway seeds until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Grind in a mortar and pestle.
Combine ground coriander, caraway, chiles, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder.
Mix half of the spice mix with the tomato paste. Set aside the unused spice mix. Now take half the tomato paste mixture and rub it on the chicken. Next, rub half of the minced garlic on the chicken.
Let chicken sit for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, combine yogurt, garlic, and siracha to make the yogurt sauce. Let sit in the fridge as you prepare the rest of the meal.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Sear the chicken until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and place on lined roasting sheet pan.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Saute the onion for about 4 minutes, or until they start browning slightly. Sprinkle some kosher salt on the onions halfway through cooking. Add the shallots and the rest of the garlic, cooking for another minute or two. Then add the chickpeas. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Create a hole in the center of the skillet by pushing the vegetables and chickpeas aside. Put the other half of the tomato paste mixture in the skillet, as well as the chicken broth.* Mix the tomato paste and chicken broth so it forms a sauce. Then combine with the rest of the ingredients in the skillet.
Taste the mixture and add salt if necessary.
Place the contents of the skillet in the roasting sheet pan along with the chicken. Roast for about 25 minutes, checking around 20 minutes. The chicken is done when it reads an internal temperature of 185 F.* Garnish with parsley. Serve with sweet potatoes and yogurt sauce.

Sweet Potatoes

When finished roasting the chicken and vegetables, remove from the roasting sheet pan or line another roasting sheet pan. Coat the sweet potatoes in olive oil and the remaining spice mixture. Roast for 25 minutes.*°

Notes

Chiles: All I had on hand were Thai bird chiles. Those things can be painfully spicy. Depending on the chiles you use, adjust the measurement accordingly. I can’t give a good measurement for this one since I haven’t tried every chile. You’re just going to have to feel it out, sorry guys.

Spices: If you don’t have whole coriander and caraway, ground is fine. Reduce the measurements by half.

Chicken Broth: You can add up to a cup if the mixture seems too dry.

Chicken Temperature: The safe temperature to eat chicken is actually 165 F. But it will taste a LOT better if you cook it to 185 F.

Sweet Potatoes: You can also drain the chicken juices from the first round of chicken cooking and add it to the potatoes so they cook in the chicken juices.

Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas, Sweet Potatoes, and Yogurt Sauce