If you’re looking for more flavor in your chicken, stop right there. These Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs are super flavourful, easy to put together and grilled to absolute perfection. Best of all, they can be on you dinner table in just 20 minutes!
Spicy, smokey, savory and rich harissa paste blends with the toasty nuttiness of sesame oil in one of the most beautiful marinades to ever be concocted in my kitchen. If you’re looking for an easy way to completely transform that mid week chicken supper, this recipe is it for you.
All you need to do is combine all those great ingredients together and marinate your chicken in it for at least 30 minutes for up to 4 hours. Now, the marination process is completely optional. I’ve been reading a lot about marinating meat and it seems that marinating is more of a myth, and doesn’t really affect the flavor of the chicken as the marinade doesn’t really penetrate the meat. So it’s up to you wether you marinate or not.
Whether you marinate this chicken or not it will still have tons of flavor. You should know that I’m crazy about sesame oil, I absolutely love the smell, the taste, everything about it.
What Is Harissa?
Harissa Paste is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made from roasted red peppers, serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers, spices and herbs. I’ve had this harissa paste in the fridge for quite a while now and have been meaning to use it but was trying to think of how. And believe me, these chicken thighs are the perfect answer to this question.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Chicken – Boneless and skinless thigh are what we’re using today but you can use breasts if you’d prefer. Just keep in mind that chicken breast cooks quicker than chicken thighs.
- Aromatics – Fresh minced garlic and ginger.
- Soy sauce – Low sodium as we want to control the salt content of our dish.
- Harissa paste – This red pepper/hot chili paste will give our dish tons of flavor, be sure to pick some up in the international aisle if you’re having trouble tracking it down in the grocery store.
- Sugar – Brown sugar is what we’re using to balance out the heat and savory flavors we’re going for today. Brown sugar will give us more dimension and some rich molasses notes.
- Sesame – We want both sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.
- Herbs – Fresh chopped green onion and parsley.
How To Make Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs
- Make the marinade: In a large bowl combine the chopped green onions, garlic, ginger, harissa, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Remove about 1/4 of the mixture to a small bowl or cup and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to the large bowl and toss making sure all the chicken is covered in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to 4 hours.
- Preheat your grill: over medium heat.
- Grill the chicken: Grill the chicken thighs for about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until cooked through and they start to char a bit. Transfer the chicken to a platter and drizzle with the remaining harissa mixture. You can also brush the harissa mixture over the chicken as you’re grilling it.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with fresh parsley if preferred and sesame seeds.
Can’t Find Any Harissa Paste?
There’s some substitutes you can use instead of harissa, although nothing will quite come close to the original.
- Fresh red chilies diced up fine with some caraway seeds, mixed with some olive oil to form an almost pesto like sauce
- Sriracha
- Chili oil
Can I Use Chicken Breast Instead?
Yes you can! Just grill the chicken breast for 6 minutes on each side, be sure to marinate the chicken breasts for just as long as you would the thighs, and be sure to choose boneless and skinless.
Don’t Have A Grill?
Maybe you don’t have a grill, or maybe it’s mid winter when you happen upon this recipe and there’s no way in this world that you’re about to scrape the ice off the BBQ. Well in that case you can most definitely bake these chicken thighs instead. You can bake this in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes instead of grilling.
How to Serve
I love serving my chicken with a great salad, especially if trying to eat a little healthier. If you’d like to whip up something a bit more elaborate here are some other great suggestions:
Leftovers
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Freezing
Absolutely! Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months!
More Must Try Chicken Recipes:
- Garlic and Paprika Chicken
- Chicken Schnitzel
- Parmesan Chicken Strips
- Chicken in a Hurry
- Coq au Vin
- Orange Chicken
- Mongolian Chicken
- Crispy Fried Chicken
- Baked Chicken Thighs
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Harissa Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
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Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 green onions cleaned and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 2 teaspoon harissa paste *
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 8 chicken thighs skinless and boneless
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Make the marinade: In a large bowl combine the chopped green onions, garlic, ginger, harissa, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Remove about 1/4 of the mixture to a small bowl or cup and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to the large bowl and toss making sure all the chicken is covered in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to 4 hours.
- Preheat your grill: over medium heat.
- Grill the chicken: Grill the chicken thighs for about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until cooked through and they start to char a bit. Transfer the chicken to a platter and drizzle with the remaining harissa mixture. You can also brush the harissa mixture over the chicken as you're grilling it.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with fresh parsley if preferred and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
- * Harissa Paste is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made from roasted red peppers, serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices and herbs.
- You can use chicken breast for this recipe.
- You can bake this in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes instead of grilling.
- Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This sauce is ridiculously good! I used it on bone-in chicken breasts and was mad at myself for not doubling the recipe so I could dip the chicken in it. I had leftover chicken so the next day I made another batch of sauce for dipping and to put on my noodles.
This was delicious! I made it tonight along with the Jalapeno-Garlic grilled corn and some grilled zucchini. The thighs were flavorful and moist, and the marinade was delicious!
Made these tonight, using breasts and Trader Joe’s harissa paste. So fantastic! Leftovers will go on a romaine and kale Asian salad later this week. Thanks so much!
Do you think I could bake this in the oven? I only have a charcoal grill and sometimes that’s too much to mess with, haha
Sure I don’t see why not!
My husband and yours must be grill clones……I only let him grill steaks and burgers….I have have harissa but I do not keep it in the fridge….am I wrong?
I think it’s one of those things where if you open it you have to keep it refrigerated, I might be wrong though but that’s what I usually do, just to be safe.
I have all ingredients but do not have sesame oil:( could I use olive oil or vegetable oil instead?
Sesame oil has a very distinct flavor, very earthy and nutty. I would sub it with something like walnut oil or olive oil.
I bought harissa, but have not used it yet, so this marinade sounds perfect. I don’t like thighs, so I’ll try it on chicken breasts, fish and steak.
Steak would be awesome with this marinade!
When do you use the sesame oil?
It’s in the marinade Betty! 🙂
Oh ok thanks? Also it says rose harissa. Is rose the kind of harissa?
Thanks ?
From my understanding rose harissa has rose petals in it, so I mentioned rose harissa because that’s what mine says on the jar. 🙂
Awesome, thanks! I am definitely going to try this!