This honey harissa chicken recipe is easily one of my favorite chicken recipes to make. It's sweet from the honey, spicy from the harissa marinade, and it tastes just like CAVA.

a white plate full of sliced harissa chicken with a sweet honey glaze on a teal tablecloth.

What is Harissa Chicken?

Inspired by CAVA's honey harissa chicken, this homemade version is easily one of the most delicious chicken recipes you can make.

It's the perfect recipe for an easy dinner or for meal prep. But honestly it's an excellent choice any night of the week when you're craving something bold and spicy.

In this recipe, tender chicken is marinated in a vibrant african chili paste that's packed full of bold flavor. After a few hours of soaking up all that harissa marinade, you can cook it on the stovetop or on the grill.

To serve, I like to make big rice bowls topped with delicious sauce and tons of colorful ingredients - just like CAVA.

a fork holding a slice of harissa chicken dunking it into white garlic sauce.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - If you wanted to swap chicken breasts for skinless chicken thighs you could totally do that. You could also break down a whole chicken if you were into that. The cooking time will vary drastically if there's bones involved.
Harissa Sauce: Besides chicken, this is the main ingredient in this recipe. Harissa chile paste, which originated in North Africa, is made of red chili peppers, olive oil, garlic cloves, lemon zest, and a variety of spices such as ground cumin, caraway seeds, coriander seeds. I always have a jar of Trader Joe's Harissa Paste in my cabinet. But if I don't feel like going to TJ's, I order Mina Harissa. You can alsomake your own homemade harissa to control the heat level.
Olive oil - You could absolutely use another neutral oil such as avocado oil.
Lemon juice - I recommend using fresh lemons when it comes to this recipe. Not only do fresh lemon juice have more flavor but it makes the most tender chicken while also making it the most juicy chicken.
Kosher Salt - If you've read my blog before, you probably have heard me preach about kosher salt. If you use another type of salt, you will have to decrease the amount. I prefer and recommend kosher because it makes the food taste more like itself rather than just salty.
Garlic Powder - If you would rather use fresh garlic - go for it! Just be sure to mince up the garlic cloves super fine.
Smoked Paprika - This spices adds great depth and earthiness with a smokey background. You could also use regular paprika but something smoky is preferred.
Ground Cumin - Ground cumin also adds earthiness and umami to this recipe. I do not recommend swapping it for anything.
Honey - Honey is optional if you're not trying to copy CAVA... but I think the it balances out the spice of the harissa perfectly and I recommend it.

a silver spoon holding a spoonful of homemade harissa marinade over a glass bowl.

How to make the Marinade

As with most delicious chicken recipes, the key to getting the most tender chicken is all in the marinade.

To make this harissa marinade, simply grab a large bowl. Add the harissa sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and one tablespoon of the honey and mix.

ingredients in homemade harissa sauce in a glass bowl.

Once that's all mixed together, give it a taste and add more salt and even some black pepper if desired.

Then it'll be time to prep the chicken breasts. I recommend trimming the fat off then cutting each one down into smaller chunks - about 4 thin pieces per breast to ensure that the chicken cooks evenly.

If you're making harissa chicken thighs rather than breasts, you do not need to cut them down into smaller pieces.

chunks of harissa marinated chicken in a glass bowl.

For the best results, I recommend marinating it for at least four hours if you can... Although one hour works just fine, too.

When you're ready to cook it, allow the spicy chicken to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes to get the most tender chicken imaginable.

a golden fork holding a piece of honey harissa chicken.

How to make on the stovetop

Making harissa honey chicken on the stovetop is a good idea if you want little to no hassle.

All you need to do is heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is smoking, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and move it around to coat the cook surface.

pieces of seared harissa chicken cooking in a large green cast iron skillet.

Carefully add half of the chicken and space them evenly apart. Cook the meat for a about 5 minutes on each side so that there is a nice sear on the outside.

I recommend turning it down to low heat for the last few minutes to ensure that the chicken is cooked through.

Once the meat thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165F degrees, then it's time to pull the chicken out of the frying pan and let it rest.

pan seared harissa chicken sitting on a cutting board.

After a few minutes of resting, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and drizzle with the remaining honey.

Toss everything together and taste - seasoning with more kosher salt and black pepper if needed.

grill marked harissa chicken cooking on an outside grill.

How to cook it on the grill

Making this easy harissa chicken recipe on the grill is definitely one of my favorite ways to do it. The spicy chicken sears up beautifully, stays moist, and has an extra smoky flavor that is unreal.

This method begins the same way as the stovetop since we're also preheating our grill over medium-high heat.

chopped up grilled spicy honey chicken on a white cutting board.

Once the grill has come to temp, add the chicken (depending on the size of your grill, you can do this all at once). Allow it to cook for 5 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear and an internal temperature of 165F degrees has been reached.

After it's pulled from the grill, let it rest for a few minutes then cut the chicken into bite size pieces and drizzle with the remaining honey. Toss everything together and taste - seasoning with more kosher salt and black pepper if needed.

harissa chicken drizzled with garlic sauce and cilantro with a side of coconut rice on a white plate.

What goes with Spicy Chicken?

My go-to method for serving this easy harissa chicken recipe is to make a bowl with some brown rice. You could also make cauliflower rice or even my rice cooker coconut rice if you'd like. Then drizzle with some of my white garlic sauce for shawarma.

Sometimes I even add pickled red onion, some cherry tomatoes, a scoop of my CAVA crazy feta cheese dip, a simple tomato salad, and some chopped up fresh herbs.

It's also delicious with my air fryer crunchy potatoes or served nacho style with my pita bread fries and a small bowl of my homemade tzatziki or even some garlic yogurt sauce.

Recipe