Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken: The One-Pan Dinner That Works Any Night of the Week
- 32 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Chicken roasted in one pan with campari tomatoes, onions and fresh coriander. Bold, minimal effort, and entirely worth making any night of the week.
By: HF Kitchen
Harissa is the kind of ingredient that does not require much else. It is already complex — dried chillies and roasted peppers, cumin and coriander seed, garlic and olive oil, ground together into a paste that carries heat and depth and a faint smokiness that no other condiment quite replicates. Put it on a whole chicken cut into pieces and slide it into a hot oven, and the result is a sheet pan dinner that tastes as though it has been cooking for considerably longer than it has.
Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken
This is the weeknight dinner you make when the day has been long, and the appetite for complexity is low, but the appetite for something genuinely satisfying is not. It is also the dinner you serve to guests on a Saturday evening with warm flatbread and a bowl of yogurt on the table, and let the pan come straight from the oven to the centre of the table. The chicken stays moist because the bone does its work throughout. The onions turn sweet and collapse into the harissa-stained juices at the bottom of the pan, which is where the flatbread earns its place. Fresh coriander at the end. A squeeze of lemon. Nothing else required.
A Few Notes Before You Begin
The harissa brand matters more than most people expect. Rose harissa — particularly Belazu, which is widely available across Canada — has a floral complexity that standard harissa does not. If you are making your own, a 30-minute homemade version will outperform most jarred alternatives. Either works here; just taste before you add salt, as harissa brands vary significantly in salinity.
Marinate the chicken for at least two hours if you can. Four hours is better. Overnight is the best result — the harissa penetrates the meat and the finished dish has a depth that a short marinade simply cannot produce.
Use a large sheet pan with low sides — a roasting pan with high sides will trap steam and prevent the edges of the campari tomatoes and onions from caramelizing. The caramelization is the flavour. Do not sacrifice it.
Do not crowd the pan. If the pieces are too close together, everything steams rather than roasts. Use two pans if necessary and rotate them halfway through.
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken, approximately 1.6 kg, or chicken legs & thighs equivalent to 1.6 kg, cut into 8 pieces
4 tbsp rose harissa paste such as Belazu
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon sea salt
0.5 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
6 Campari Tomatoes
2 large red onions, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil for vegetables
0.5 teaspoons sea salt for vegetables
1 large bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges to serve
1 cup full-fat yogurt, to serve
STEPS
1. Marinate the chicken: Combine 4 tbsp rose harissa paste such as Belazu, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, finely grated, 1 lemon, juiced, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and 0.5 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground in a large bowl. Add 1 whole chicken, approximately 1.6kg, cut into 8 pieces and turn to coat thoroughly in the marinade, working it under the skin where possible. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Preheat and rest: When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F). Allow the marinated chicken to come to room temperature for 20 minutes.
3. Prepare the vegetables: Toss 6 Campari Tomatoes and 2 large red onions, cut into wedges, with 2 tablespoons olive oil for vegetables and 0.5 teaspoons sea salt for vegetables on a large sheet pan. Spread into a single layer across the pan, leaving space for the chicken pieces.
4. Assemble the pan: Nestle the marinated chicken pieces skin-side up among the vegetables. Scrape any remaining marinade from the bowl over the top. Make sure nothing is crowded — use a second pan if necessary.
5. Roast: Roast for 40–45 minutes until the chicken skin is deeply golden and charred at the edges, the juices run clear when the thickest piece is pierced, and the peppers and onions are caramelized. If the skin is not charred enough at 40 minutes, switch to the grill setting for the final 3–4 minutes.
6. Finish and serve: Remove from the oven. Spoon the pan juices over the chicken and vegetables. Scatter 1 large bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped, generously across the top. Serve with 1 lemon, cut into wedges to serve and 1 cup full-fat yogurt, to serve alongside — and warm flatbread to catch the pan juices.
NOTES
Rose harissa gives the best result here — Belazu is the most widely available quality brand in Canada. Taste before adding salt as harissa brands vary significantly in salinity. Marinate overnight for the deepest flavour. Use a large low-sided sheet pan and do not crowd the pieces — use two pans if necessary. The pan juices are the best part; spoon them over the chicken and vegetables before serving and use flatbread to catch the rest.
SHOP
Ingredients
Cookware — Sheet Pans
The benchmark sheet pan. Aluminum construction distributes heat evenly and produces the caramelization the recipe depends on.
Heavy-gauge aluminized steel with a corrugated surface that promotes airflow beneath the ingredients.
The considered option for anyone who wants ceramic non-stick with no PTFE or PFOA.
Serveware
Wide shallow bowls that work as both plating vessels and serving pieces — the right proportion for a sheet pan dinner served family style.
An earthy, organic-finish platter that suits the North African register of the dish — warm tones, handmade quality.
A matte stoneware platter large enough to hold the full chicken and vegetables transferred from the pan for a more composed table presentation.
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