5-Minute Homemade Harissa Paste

5-Minute Homemade Harissa Paste is a garlic-chili condiment with a complex smoky flavor...use it any way you'd use sriracha or even ketchup!

When you’re trying to clean up your eating (and honestly, who isn’t trying to eat a little healthier now with summer upon us?), it’s easy to see the big picture. (We all know to cut back on things like greasy fast food, right?) But sometimes there are sneaky little foods that add gluten or sugar in unexpected places...like condiments!

Now, I’m a condiment girl through and through, so it’s not like I’m going to just cut ketchup out of my life, which is why I’ve started making homemade versions of a few of my favorite condiments.

Some condiments are a process to make, requiring a passel of obscure ingredients and/or a drawn-out cooking time (yup, ketchup, I’m looking at you again). I’m happy to say, my homemade harissa paste is not one of those recipes. For this, an assortment of spices (most of which are probably already in a well-stocked pantry) and a couple other things get a quick whir in a food processor.

If you’re not familiar with harissa, like sriracha, it’s a garlic-chili condiment. Harissa also has a smoky complexity that I find pretty addictive…and you can use it any way you’d use sriracha, or ketchup, for that matter. (It’s one of the star ingredients in my Harissa-Spiced Roasted Root Vegetable Medley Salad with Sweet-Spicy Date Vinaigrette.)

Here are a few other homemade sauces to satisfy all kinds of condiment cravings…

2-Minute Homemade Teriyaki Sauce {Paleo}

Chinese-Inspired Plum Sauce {Paleo}

10-Minute Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

And if spicy-hot sauces in particular are your thing, you won’t want to miss Bottled Heat on Cooking Light!

5-Minute Homemade Harissa Paste

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Yield: ¾ cup

5-Minute Homemade Harissa Paste is a garlic-chili condiment with a complex smoky flavor...use it any way you'd use sriracha or even ketchup!

Ingredients

¼ cup sundried tomatoes in olive oil
4 tablespoons (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
Water, as needed

Instructions

Add all ingredients (except the water) to a food processor and process until it comes together to form a paste, scraping down the sides as necessary, and adding water if needed to thin it out to your desired consistency.
Transfer to a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.