Harissa Honey Chicken Breasts (2024)

4.56 from 115 votes

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These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients; for a complete ingredient list, check out the recipe card below.

Chicken:The recipe calls for two skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut horizontally into four fillets (more details below). You can buy chicken fillets or escallops from the store or use chicken tenders.
Harissa Paste:This is originally from Tunisia and is a mixture of hot chile peppers, garlic, olive oil, ground cumin, coriander, and often caraway. The exact recipe varies from brand to brand. You can find it in most larger grocery stores these days.
Lemon:The zest goes into the marinade to add a fresh lemon flavor without any sour taste. Save the lemon to serve with the chicken as wedges.
Honey:This balances the spice of the harissa; I use runny honey.
Thyme:Use fresh or dried thyme. The recipe states fresh, so half the amount if you use dried.
Garlic:The recipe suggests 2 cloves, but as I always say, garlic quantities in recipes are just a guide, measure garlic with your heart!
Paprika:This adds color and flavor. You can use sweet, hot, or smoked paprika, depending on what you have and what you prefer.

We've tested this recipe at least 3 times to ensure it works well for you, have a look at our tips for getting the best dish you can!

• When making the marinade, if you alternate using the measuring spoon to measure the oil and honey, you should find that the oil helps the honey to slide easily off the spoon.
• The chicken can be kept in the marinade for as little as 30 minutes or left for 24 hours. I even added the marinade to a zip-lock bag and popped the chicken in the freezer for later in the week. This makes for an easy meal as you can remove the bag and let the chicken slowly defrost and marinate at the same time.
• When removing the chicken from the marinade, brush off any garlic slices as they burn in the pan.
• There is no need to add oil to the pan for the chicken as it has been marinated in oil.
• When cooking the chicken, it can be tempting to turn up the heat, but this can cause the honey to burn, so use a steady medium-high heat and turn the chicken regularly.

These are all just suggestions and things that have worked in our test kitchen, but it is your dinner, so adapt it to suit your family. That is the beauty of cooking; we can all create our own delicious meals.

• You can swap the chicken breasts for chicken thighs. They will need 20-25 minutes to cook at medium heat.
• The marinade is delicious; try using it on salmon fillets.
• Add extra spice with some cayenne pepper.
• If you can't find harissa, you can substitute it with a different chili paste (sambal oelek, gochujang, piri piri sauce, or hot sauce)

If you make these Harissa Honey Chicken Breasts, please come back and comment. You can also tag me on social media.

Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.

Harissa Honey Chicken Breasts

Claire | Sprinkle and Sprouts

These Harissa Honey Chicken Breasts are the perfect balance of savory and sweet with a bit of spice. The spice level is easy to adapt. My kids will happily eat this, especially if I serve it with creamy pasta! The chicken breasts are marinated in harissa, honey, oil, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, and paprika. You can do this step in advance and even freeze your marinating chicken. It makes a great midweek meal as it cooks quickly and is so versatile. You can serve it with salad, rice, veggies, potatoes, or pasta.

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 492mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition is per serving

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