Harissa Chicken Wings

If you’re looking for some bolder chicken wing flavors, look no further! These Harissa Chicken Wings will blow your mind with their delicious combination of sweet, salty, and spicy.

Here’s my family’s favorite chicken wings recipe, which is super easy and guaranteed to make your family addicted. We’ve made it dozens of times now, and every time we do, we can’t stop eating them! The wings are tangy and spicy, with just enough sweetness to balance out the heat. You’ll love it!

Harissa Sauce

Harissa sauce is a chili paste from North Africa that’s packed with flavor. It is common mostly in Moroccan and Tunisian dishes. It’s made with chilies, garlic, coriander, cumin, and salt.

I used homemade harissa for this recipe, but you can buy ready-made harissa paste. I love the trader joes brand.

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Harissa Chicken

These Harissa Chicken Wings are hot and spicy, but they’re also packed with flavor. The perfect balance of sweet, salty, and spicy makes these wings stand out from the rest. They are also made in the air fryer and they take less than 30 minutes. ( you can also make them in the oven too!)

These chicken wings are crispy, spicy, and finger-licking good. The Harissa sauce gives them a great kick, but if you want more of a kick, add more harissa paste!

Ingredients for making Harissa Chicken

• Chicken wings – of course, this is the meat. Get fresh or frozen wings from stores around you.
• Salt and pepper for taste. You can also use a chicken seasoning blend to spice up the wings.
• Harissa sauce is the base ingredient, and it is sweet, hot, and spicy. You can check how to make it here or buy it on Amazon here.
• Honey – for ”stickiness” and extra sweetness
• Garlic powder – for a more garlicky flavor
• Salt and pepper – optional
• Butter or oil – you need it to coat the wings before marinating with harissa.
• Chicken stock – this is optional, but it will bring out the flavor of this recipe.

How to make Harissa Chicken

The harissa paste has been slowly infused with butter and sweetened with honey so that the flavors have time to blend together perfectly.

We first cook the wings in the air fryer or oven until they’re perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. We now fish up by coating the wings with the butter and honey-infused harissa sauce.

I recommend serving these alongside some ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing—they’re sure to be a hit!

Depending on the method you find convenient, you can either air fry or bake the harissa chicken wings.

Here’s how:

• Pat dry and season the wings. You can season them with salt and pepper or a chicken seasoning blend.
• Air fry the wings. Place the wings in the air fryer and let them cook for 10 minutes. Flip to the other side and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remember to preheat the air fryer at 400°F.
• Prepare Harissa Sauce Marinades. While the wings are in the air fryer, mix the other ingredients like Harissa sauce, honey, and oil in a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes. If you notice that the sauce is too thick, you can add chicken stock or red wine vinegar.
• Remove the wings and toss in the sauce. Once the wings are done, toss them in the sauce and ensure an even coating.
• Serve hot and enjoy. You can sprinkle the hot chicken wings with fresh herbs or chili flakes to serve.

Oven Method

The steps are the same. The only difference is the cooking method. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line the baking sheet with foil and place an oven-safe rack on the foil. Coat the rack with cooking spray. Pat dry the chicken and season, then arrange them in a single layer on the rack. Bake until crispy and golden brown. The total baking time is about 45 minutes. Toss the wings in the sauce and enjoy.

Tips

• When baking in the oven, don’t forget to flip half time for even cooking to prevent the chicken wings from burning.
• You can use the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the wings.

Storage

Cooked chicken wings should be placed in the coldest part of the refrigerator for up to 4 days provided your refrigerator is kept at 40 degrees F or lower at all times. However, if you choose to store them longer, you can keep them in a ziplock bag and store them in your freezer for up to 3 to 6 months.

Serving Chicken Wings

You can serve your wings as an appetizer or main dish. 

This recipe goes well with yogurt dip. You can serve as a side with rice and beans,  mashed potatoes to switch up your dinner game, Jamaican rice, and peas, white rice,  broccoli, or simple salad recipes like Kachumbari, Tomato Cucumber Salad, etc.

Other Chicken Wings Recipe:

• Air fryer frozen chicken wings
• Lemon Pepper Wings
• Air fryer Turkey wings
• Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Crispy oven-roasted turkey wings
• Jerk Chicken wings
• Smothered Turkey wings
• Baked Chicken Wings
• Oven-Baked Turkey Wings

Here is the air fryer I use COSORI smart wifi air fryer. It is big enough for a large family but you can also get it in smaller sizes if you prefer that.

Let’s connect on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. I love keeping in touch with you, and nothing brings me more joy than seeing pictures of your creations. Tag me @cheflolaskitchen on Instagram and Facebook.