Name: Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 green onions (cleaned and chopped); 4 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tsp fresh ginger (grated); 2 tsp harissa paste (*); 3 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium); 2 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp sesame seeds (toasted ); 8 chicken thighs (skinless and boneless); 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

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!

a plate full of Harissa Sesame Chicken garnished with sesame seeds

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.

Harissa Sesame Chicken marinating in a bowl

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.

overhead of harissa sesame chicken topped with parsley and sesame seeds

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!

Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs