This Harissa Vinaigrette is a slightly spicy and flavorful dressing that adds a North African twist to your favorite salads. It's also great as a marinade for grilling, or as a finishing drizzle for roasted vegetables and grain bowls.
If you're unfamiliar with Harissa, it's a red chili paste or spice blend that's a very popular condiment throughout North Africa (it's the national sauce of Tunisia) and the Middle East. In addition to the chili peppers, harissa also often contains spices like cumin or coriander, hints of garlic, and sometimes lemon, tomatoes, or bell peppers.
Harissa paste is more common than the powder, but we prefer using the powder here as it creates a smoother, less chunky dressing that coats greens and vegetables more evenly.
This harissa vinaigrette is slightly spicy and smoky, but still has a bright, fresh flavor, which makes it the perfect dressing to add flavor to green or veggie-packed salads. It's also great as a marinade for grilling meats and vegetables.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Super simple: This harissa vinaigrette has just a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand, like olive oil, lemon juice, and some spices. Best of all, you just need to whisk or shake everything together, so it only takes about 5 minutes to prepare.
- Unique: This harissa vinaigrette is a great way to shake up your salad rotation, and is a spicier and more complex alternative to a balsamic vinaigrette.
- Versatile: This harissa vinaigrette is more than just a dressing for salad! It makes for a great marinade, a sauce to spice up grilled or roasted vegetables, and as a finishing drizzle for rice pilafs and grain bowls.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this Harissa Vinaigrette:
Ingredient Notes
- Harissa: If you can't find Harissa powder, you can easily sub in 2 tablespoons of harissa paste or a harissa sauce. We love using Mina brand Harissa sauce, which has chili peppers, red peppers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed is always best, and we would definitely recommend it in this vinaigrette to help highlight the tanginess of harissa.
- Olive oil: This is a great time to use a higher quality extra virgin olive oil. We typically stick with less expensive olive oil when using it to sauté or as the base for a dish, but a quality olive oil will shine through in this vinaigrette.
- Oregano: We used regular dried oregano, if you have Mexican oregano on hand, that will work too.
- Cumin: This is key to reinforcing the smokiness of the harissa. If you don't have any on hand, you could try ground coriander, caraway seeds, or even chili powder (which will make your dressing spicier).
- Kosher salt: Be sure to use kosher salt and not regular table salt, or else your vinaigrette will end up being too salty! If you only have table or sea salt on hand, start with less and taste before adding more.
- Agave: We like the neutral flavor of this sweetener, but you could also use honey or maple syrup.
How to Make Harissa Vinaigrette
(1) Add all ingredients to a small jar or mixing bowl and whisk to combine. You'll need to whisk again before serving, as the spices will settle to the bottom.
Serving Suggestions and Ideas
- Salads: We'd recommend using this dressing on a simple green salad and then topping with a bit of feta cheese. It's also great on vegetable-heavy salads like this Carrot Cucumber Salad, this Lentil Carrot Salad or this Vegan White Bean Salad. You can really use it anywhere you would use a Greek or Mediterranean-spiced dressing, like this Greek Chickpea Salad.
- Use it as a dipping sauce for grilled or roasted vegetables.
- Use it as a pre-grill marinade for meat and fish. It's also great as a tofu marinade for vegans and vegetarians.
- Drizzle over the top of grain bowls or rice to add a bit of North African flair.
Tips and FAQs
- Storage: This harissa vinaigrette keeps well stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, but make sure to shake or stir it well before serving since the spices will settle to the bottom of the dressing over time.
- Wait a bit before serving: If you have the time, let the dressing sit for 15-20 minutes before serving. During this time, the olive oil will become infused with the harissa and other spices. Stir again before serving and enjoy!
- Easier prep and storage: You can add all of the ingredients to a mason jar, and just shake them up to make your dressing. Then you can put the mason jar in the fridge for easy storage.
- Whisk before serving: Since we're using all natural ingredients (and no stabilizers), the dressing will separate as it sits. Be sure to shake or whisk the dressing before serving to make sure all of the spices are evenly distributed.
- Adjust your heat level: If you'd like to add some extra spice, you can add more harissa in half teaspoon increments, tasting in between, until you've reached your desired spice level.
- Asian-inspired variation: Harissa is definitely the star of the show, but you can put an Asian-inspired twist on this recipe by using 2 tablespoons of sambal or sriracha instead.
As long as you use agave instead of honey, this recipe is 100% vegan.
Most powders aren't too spicy, but if you're using harissa pastes, you should be mindful to pick one that aligns with your spice preference. Most brands sell spicy and mild versions of their harissa paste.
Harissa paste and powder should be available at places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. If you can't get ahold of it, you can also make it at home.
Yes, you can! Just blend fresh hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, and cumin to create a thick paste.
More Dressings & Dips to Enjoy
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Print📖 Recipe
Harissa Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About 1 cup (236 mL)
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Harissa Vinaigrette is a slightly spicy and flavorful dressing that adds a North African twist to your favorite salads. It's also great as a marinade for grilling, or as a finishing drizzle for roasted vegetables and grain bowls.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon agave (or honey)
- 1 ½ tablespoons harissa seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- Optional: 2 teaspoons tahini (helps emulsify the dressing)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small jar or mixing bowl and whisk to combine. You'll need to whisk again before serving, as the spices will settle to the bottom.
Notes
Harissa: If you can't find Harissa powder, you can easily sub in 2 tablespoons of harissa paste or a harissa sauce. We love using Mina brand Harissa sauce, which has chili peppers, red peppers, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
Whisk before serving: Since we're using all natural ingredients (and no stabilizers), the dressing will separate as it sits. Be sure to shake or whisk the dressing before serving to make sure all of the spices are evenly distributed.
Adjust your heat level: If you'd like to add some extra spice, you can add more harissa in half teaspoon increments, tasting in between, until you've reached your desired spice level.
Storage: This harissa vinaigrette keeps well stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, but make sure to shake or stir it well before serving since the spices will settle to the bottom of the dressing over time.
Wait a bit before serving: If you have the time, let the dressing sit for 15-20 minutes before serving. During this time, the olive oil will become infused with the harissa and other spices. Stir again before serving and enjoy!
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It may vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dips, Dressings, and Sauces
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: North African
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 216
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 320.5 mg
- Fat: 22.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.9 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
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