Honey Harissa Chicken and Chickpeas

The flavors and textures of the honey harissa chicken and chickpeas together are out of this world! It's hot, it's sweet and it's tangy. The best thing about it is that the flavors come together with just a few ingredients! And they're pantry items too! These honey harissa chicken and chickpea pea flatbreads are so easy to make. Does it get any more perfect than that! This is definitely one of my favorite, super flavorful weeknight meals!

What is Harissa?

Harissa is a hot chili pepper paste originating from North Africa, specifically from Tunisia. The paste is usually made with dried red chili peppers and olive oil. Depending on the brand of paste sometimes it is also flavored with garlic, lemon or citrus zest. It ranges in spiciness from mild to very hot. But it can also be paired with yogurt, hummus, honey, or coconut milk to bring the heat down. Tomatoes pair beautifully with the harissa as well! Together they make a delicious sauce that has heat and tang! Serve it with some rice and chickpeas and that's a nice meal right there!

Honey Harissa Chicken and Chickpeas

This honey harissa chicken and chickpea dish is so simple. The only ingredients you need are: honey, harissa paste, chicken thighs, canned chickpeas and canned diced tomatoes! Season with salt and black pepper. That is it!! It will take you maybe less than 10 minutes to get this dish into the oven. How great is that right?!

I like to take half of the harissa paste and half of the honey and make a quick glaze or marinade for the chicken. I use about 2 tablespoons of each for the marinade. The remaining harissa and honey just gets mixed into the tomatoes and chickpeas as the flavorful sauce. That's all you need to do for prep. Toss it a large 9 x 13 baking dish into the oven for 40 minutes until its done! The chicken will be golden brown and chickpeas and tomatoes will make an amazing sauce with the harissa honey.

Vegetarian Alternatives

If you're looking for a vegetarian alternative, my recommendation is to simply omit the chicken. For additional heartiness, you can double the amount of chickpeas or add some complimentary vegetables to roast alongside it. Roasted carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes would all work wonderfully with the tomato honey harissa sauce, as well as provide a complimentary texture and taste to the chickpeas.

Building the flatbreads!

The honey harissa chicken and chickpeas are really a complete meal on its own. But if you're like me and always looking for the layers of flavors and texture, build a flatbread! Here's what I used, other that a generous helping of the honey harissa chicken and chickpea:

• Buttery, soft naan - I love the Stonefire mini original naan for these, found these at Costco.
• creamy cool tzatziki
• crispy peppery salad greens - spring greens or arugula are perfect with this!
• a heavy drizzle of hot honey vinaigrette

OH WAIT!! I have been sidelined by this amazing honey harissa sauce that I completely forgot to even mention this hot honey vinaigrette. Its super simple: olive oil, vinegar, hot honey, salt & pepper. Hot honey is honey that is infusion with chilli-peppers and its amazing on many things, especially in this vinaigrette! If you can't handle the heat or have run out of it, just use regular honey. Add everything to a jar, close the lid tightly and shake it up until completely combined, drizzle over the flatbread and enjoy! Also I highly recommend making a big batch of this hot honey vinaigrette to keep on hand for the rest of the week. It will completely change the way you look at all your lunch salads from now on!

You might also be interested in Weeknight Masala Chicken, Spicy Spinach and Artichoke Naan Pizza, Spicy Lemon Herb Tuna Wraps

Honey Harissa Chicken & Chickpea Flatbreads

This honey harissa chicken and chickpea is perfect: hot, sweet, tangy. The best thing about it is that the dish comes together with just a few ingredients!

5 from 38 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 8 servings

Calories 662 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 naan
• 1 cup tzatziki
• 2 cups salad greens

Honey Harissa Chicken & Chickpeas

• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes drain about half of the water
• 4 tablespoons harissa paste divided in half
• 4 tablespoons honey divided in half
• 8 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
• 1 teaspoon salt

Hot Honey Vinaigrette

• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hot honey
• salt & pepper as needed

Instructions

 

Honey Harissa Chicken & Chickpeas

• Preheat oven to 400° F.
• In a large bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of harissa, 2 tablespoons of honey. Add chicken thighs to the marinade and make sure it is thoroughly coated. Set aside.
• In a large baking dish (9 x 13), add tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, remaining harissa and honey. Stir to combine. Add marinated chicken thighs to the pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Optional step for easier serving on a naan: Allow the dish to cool for at least 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the pan and chop into bite size pieces. Return to baking pan. Serve on naan with salad greens, tzatziki, and hot honey vinaigrette

Hot Honey Vinaigrette

• Add all of ingredients of hot honey vinaigrette into a mason jar or any jar with a lid.
• Shake until oil and vinegar have combined. Taste for salt & pepper, adjust if needed. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 662kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 28gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 121mgSodium: 1327mgPotassium: 266mgFiber: 2gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 143IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1mg

Keyword harissa chicken, honey harissa, chickpeas,

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