Spicy Harissa Couscous With Chickpeas Recipe

This recipe for harissa couscous with chickpeas uses fluffy couscous and loads it with nutritious ingredients such as vegetable protein and fiber. It also uses the popular Moroccan ingredient harissa. This recipe makes a great main course for a filling lunch or salad. 

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Cooking Moroccan Couscous With Chickpeas 

I visited Morocco a couple of years ago and learned a lot about their cuisine, cooking methods, and popular ingredients. We stayed in the beautiful town of Moulay Idriss, a Muslim village with brightly colored walls down every alley and historical architecture everywhere you look. 

During our stay, we enjoyed many Moroccan dishes cooked by the locals and our hosts, and one of them was a Moroccan couscous with chickpeas.

Our hosts taught us how to cook couscous to perfection, which seemed to involve a lot of steps, and was quite a lengthy process. Although I found her lesson fascinating, I thought I would try to make my own version of her authentic couscous at home in a bit simpler manner. 

Moroccan Recipe With Couscous and Chickpeas

Aside from tagine, couscous with chickpeas was one of the most popular dishes we came across during our visit. In fact, chickpeas were used in a multitude of meals and often even used as a garnish, just placed on top of the dishes. 

Many people are often put off by couscous because they think it can be bland and dull. However, there is a lot that you can do with it, and it’s terrific at taking on other flavors, with harissa being one of them. 

That’s why I came up with this couscous with harissa recipe; it gives the couscous vibrancy and zest.

What Is Harissa?

Harissa is a chili paste that is commonly used in North Africa. Most of the time, it is made using dried chilis, cumin, and coriander. It’s one of my favorite Moroccan ingredients. Although it isn’t particularly spicy, it brings a lovely warming heat to a dish, which is different from any flavor you would ever get from just dried or fresh peppers.

Harissa has become increasingly popular across other nations over the past ten years, to the point where it is now easy to get your hands on in most grocery stores, especially in the US and UK. It can be bought in a tube or a jar and looks similar to red pesto. I like the pesto by Mina, which can be picked up on Amazon. 

Check out some of our other harissa recipes, including Moroccan Harissa Stew With Pumpkin And Chickpeas and Spicy Moroccan Harissa Hummus Recipe.

Ingredients For Harissa Couscous And Chickpeas

As you can tell from the title, the main ingredients that you’ll need for this recipe are couscous, harissa, and chickpeas, but for the base of flavor in the dish, you will also need garlic, shallots, and cilantro stalks. Don’t add the leaves to the dish, as they darken and wilt, and don’t add much to the dish; however, keep them to one side as they make the perfect garnish for this dish. 

The flavor of your couscous will come from the harissa and cumin so that it will be earthy, rounded, and nutty. The heat will come from the harissa, so you can alter this amount depending on how much spice you like. 

The ingredients will all be mixed with a vegetable broth and some lemon juice for acidity. 

Also, be sure to drain and rinse your chickpeas before adding them to the dish.

Couscous With Chickpeas – Preparation 

Couscous is pretty straightforward to make and involves soaking in water, seasonings, or broth. It cooks quickly and absorbs the flavor as it cooks. 

Check your packet before cooking for the exact instructions, some can be simply left in boiling water to sit for 5 minutes with occasional fluffing, and others can be cooked in the pan but still only take 5 minutes. I like to add a small knob of butter or oil to mine and some vegetable or chicken stock powder, but you can just use salt. 

You can leave the couscous to cook while you prepare your harissa chickpeas. This doesn’t take long, and your couscous will reheat when it’s mixed into the final dish. 

Once you’ve prepared your couscous, warm olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and add garlic, shallots, and cilantro stalks. Cook everything until it’s coated with the oil and beginning to soften, but be careful not to get any color on it. 

Add in the harissa and cumin, and mix well. Then, add in the chickpeas and broth. Cook for about 10 minutes until the chickpeas have reached temperature, and stir occasionally. 

Fluff the couscous with a fork, and put the chickpeas in a bowl with the couscous. Stir everything together and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir in the fresh cilantro and serve with a little extra harissa on the side if you like a bit of heat. 

Harissa Couscous With Chickpeas