This unique spicy-smoky harissa salsa is tasty, easy to make and uses store-bought fire-roasted tomatoes, harissa and roasted bell peppers.
Change up your salsa routine with this savory, spicy-smoky harissa salsa, which is a combination of typical salsa ingredients plus store-bought harissa sauce and jarred roasted bell peppers. The combination works and keeps you coming back for more!
Since harissa is often made with roasted chili peppers and bell peppers, it adds some heat and spicy undertones to the salsa. To enhance the flavor of the harissa, we add jarred roasted bell peppers, which takes the salsa up a notch.
Just as important, this savory harissa salsa is incredibly easy to make. After chopping a small amount of onion and mincing garlic, you throw all the ingredients together in a food processor and pulse. It's done in 5 minutes and is similar to restaurant-style salsa.
Of course, you can adjust the spice level in this salsa by using more or less of the jalapenos and harissa sauce. The salsa pairs well with the regular suspects like tortilla chips (we love pairing with these low-carb tortilla chips), tacos, scrambled eggs, stuffed peppers, and more.
What is Harrisa
Harissa is a spicy chili sauce from Northern Africa that livens up meats, veggies and sauces with a little heat. It's typically made with roasted red peppers, Baklouti peppers, garlic, olive oil caraway seeds, coriander seeds and cumin.
Key Ingredients
A few notes on key ingredients.
- Canned fire-roasted tomatoes: Fire-roasted tomatoes add to the smoky undertones and depth of flavor. If you don't have on hand, you could use regular canned tomatoes or even homemade roasted tomatoes.
- Harissa sauce: We use Mina Harissa, a well-known brand that uses clean and simple ingredients and is only 1 gram of net carbs per tablespoon. Be sure to check the ingredients and avoid getting a sauce with added sugar.
- Jarred roasted bell peppers: We love the flavor that roasted bell peppers add to the salsa. If you don't have a on hand, you could also roast a bell pepper.
- Jalapeño: Even though harissa adds some heat, we prefer to take it up a notch with jalapeño (and it's still only slightly spicy). To make it easy, we used jarred jalapeños, but you could also use fresh. For a milder salsa, you can skip.
- Yellow onion: You got to have onion in salsa! If you don't have yellow, you could use red onion.
- Fresh lime juice: Just a little lime juice brightens the salsa. Lemon could be used in a pinch.
- Fresh cilantro (optional): A few tablespoons of chopped cilantro freshen the salsa. You could also use parsley if you prefer. Or, you could skip all together.
How to Make
STEP 1: Chop onion and mince garlic. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until just blended and slightly chunky. Taste and add more salt and pepper or jalapeno as needed.
STEP 2: Immediately serve or refrigerate in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 or 7 days.
Tips for Making
Just a few tips for making the salsa...
- You can make the salsa as mild or spicy as you like. To take down the heat, you can omit the jalapeno or even use only 3 tablespoons of harissa. For more heat, add more chopped jalapeno.
- We recommend draining some juice from the fire-roasted tomatoes to get a chunkier salsa that isn't as watery.
- When done preparing, always taste! While you can't remove ingredients, you can add more to your liking. You can add more salt, lime juice, cilantro, or other ingredients. Just be sure to add in small amounts and taste again until you get it right. You don't want to add too much at once as you can't remove it.
Related Recipes
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Recipe
Easiest Harissa Salsa
Ingredients
- 14.5 ounces (1 can) Fire-roasted diced tomatoes, lightly drained of juices (we use
Muir Glen ) - ¼ cup harissa sauce, spicy (we use
Mina Harrisa ) - ⅓ cup jarred roasted red bell peppers (we use
Mezzetta Roasted Red Bell Pepper Strips ) - ⅓ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon jarred or fresh jalapeños, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons cilantro ,chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Combine ingredients: Chop onion and mince garlic. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until just blended but still slightly chunky. Taste and add more salt and pepper or jalapeno as needed.
- Serve and store: Immediately serve or refrigerate in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 or 7 days.
Notes
- You can make the salsa as mild or spicy as you like. To take down the heat, you can omit the jalapeno or even use only 3 tablespoons of harissa. For more heat, add more chopped jalapeno.
- We recommend draining some juice from the fire-roasted tomatoes to get a chunkier salsa that isn't as watery.
- When done preparing, always taste! While you can't remove ingredients, you can add more to your liking. You can add more salt, lime juice, cilantro, or other ingredients. Just be sure to add in small amounts and taste again until you get it right. You don't want to add too much at once as you can't remove it.
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