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Harissa

Harissa is a North African hot chili paste used to season stews, sauces, marinades, and couscous.

Harissa — illustrative ingredient image

About Harissa

Harissa is a North African chili-based condiment made from ground or crushed chilli peppers with spices and a moistening medium such as oil. It seasons stews, soups, sauces, marinades, couscous, vegetables, grains, and meat or fish, and may be served at the table.

Its colour is commonly red to deep red. Flavour may be hot, sweet-peppery, smoky, garlicky, tangy, or earthy, depending on the peppers and spices. Texture ranges from smooth paste to coarse relish or spoonable sauce, with recipes differing in salt, acidity, and oil.

Harissa is sold fresh, jarred, tubed, or otherwise preserved. It may be stirred into a dish, spread or spooned alongside food, or diluted with oil, water, or cooking juices. Dry or smoked peppers create a deeper flavour than fresh, bright peppers.

Ingredient type
paste

Forms & related ingredients

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Where harissa appears

2 linked foods

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Salads

Street food

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for harissa

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Harissa

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Harissa nutrition & diet

Harissa nutritional value

Reference: Harissa chilli sauce, packaged

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the explicitly named reference food.

Calories
76.4kcal
Protein
2.7g
Carbs
7.3g
Fat
2.9g

Per 100 g edible portion. ANSES Ciqual 2025; energy and protein follow EU Regulation 1169/2011 (protein = nitrogen × 6.25); carbohydrate excludes fibre. Values describe this food form, not every brand or recipe. Reused under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0: https://www.etalab.gouv.fr/licence-ouverte-open-licence/.

Portions & preparation

Use the prepared harissa paste as served, distinguishing a thick condiment from a diluted sauce or marinade. Record the pepper variety, oil, salt, acid, spices, and any tomato or sweetener, since recipe differences can substantially change the ingredient mixture and the amount used.

Compare the right form: Reference should match the named harissa recipe and its ready-to-eat paste form, including oil, salt, acid, vegetables, spices, and additives.

Diet considerations

Generally plant-derived when made from peppers, oil, spices, and acidic ingredients, but the recipe must be checked. Compatibility changes with dairy, animal fat, stock, sweeteners, or cereal-containing thickeners. Its carbohydrate pattern depends on added vegetables or sugars and on the portion used as a condiment or cooking ingredient.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: ANSES Ciqual 2025 — Harissa (sauce au piment), préemballée ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .