If you are looking for an easy and quick pasta dish, this spicy harissa pasta is packed full of flavors and comes together in less than 30 minutes. The harissa sauce is creamy, hearty, and incredibly delicious. We serve this vegan pasta dish with some crushed pistachios and finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a restaurant-like touch.
I discovered Harissa almost at the same time that I met my Husband. Him and Harissa paste go together. Astra loves spicy food, and when I started dating him, my place filled up with Harissa, tabasco, sesame chili oil, Valentina sauce, sriracha, and anything else that would make your food spicy. I never tried Harissa before, but this chili paste greatly surprised me. It not only adds spice to your dish but also has a really nice peppery, acidic, smoky flavor. I love adding some Harissa paste to this tomato and bean stew, to my peanut sauce, tahini sauce, and many other dishes.
When I decided to try this dish, you can imagine, my husband was all in! We actually tested this recipe for the first time while my in-laws were visiting, and they love both Middle Eastern, and spicy flavors, so I knew it was gonna be a winner meal.
We have all been making this dish ever since, and we decided to include this recipe on the blog for everyone to give it a try! It's a very simple but totally delicious recipe that takes no longer than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients
This creamy Harissa pasta is made using just a few simple ingredients:
Harissa Paste. You can buy it or make your own. If you really want to make this dish and don't have Harissa Paste or cannot make it, you can use Sambal Oelek, or another type of chili paste.
We buy our Harissa paste in an Arabic supermarket we have nearby. You can sometimes find Harissa paste in big supermarkets or Asian shops. Another option is to buy it online, where you can find great brands such as Casablanca Harissa Paste or maybe even make your own at home!
If you want to try making your own Harissa paste, we recommend you check this Homemade Harissa Recipe from The Mediterranean dish.
Pasta. What type of pasta is best for this dish? I would say any! This sauce goes well with different pasta shapes. Our favorite is Spaghetti pasta as it soaks all the sauce easily while eating it, and you won't have sauce left on your plate. We tried serving this with short pasta such as fusilli, and it was also lovely. Use any pasta type you like. If you want to make this dish gluten-free, you can use legume pasta such as lentil or chickpea pasta.
Onion and garlic. For our Harissa Pasta, we like starting the dish with some sautée onion and garlic. We blend these with the rest of the sauce ingredients once they have been cooked and it gives the sauce a delicious touch. We use yellow onion or shallots, which tend to be sweeter.
Red Bell pepper. Roasted bell pepper gives the sauce a delicate, smoky flavor and adds sweetness. You can use fresh bell pepper baked in the oven or use jarred roasted red pepper.
Cashews. To add creaminess to our Spicy Harissa Pasta we soak cashews to blend them after with the rest of the ingredients. They add a creamy and nutty touch to the pasta sauce. Other ingredients you can use instead of cashews are vegan creams such as soy cream or coconut cream. You can use regular heavy cream for a vegetarian Harissa sauce.
Lemon juice. We use fresh lemon juice for this recipe.
Optional ingredients to finish your Harissa Pasta
Before serving this vegan pasta meal, we add some crushed pistachios, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and some fresh oregano.
You can use other ingredients such as pine nuts, fresh parsley, fresh chopped basil, preserved lemons, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, etc. Just twist the recipe to your taste and use what you already have at home.
Cooking Method
Soak the cashews. While you prepare the rest of the ingredients, leave the cashews soaking in hot water. They need to be soaked for at least 20 minutes.
Roast the red pepper. Place the red pepper in a baking dish or casserole dish, using a fork or knife make some holes and bake for about 30 minutes or until the skin is charred. Leave to cool.
While the red pepper is roasting and the cashews are soaking, you can bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta following the package instructions. Use salted water to cook the pasta al dente, and before draining the pasta, save a cup of pasta water for later. Drain the cooked spaghetti, add some olive oil so it doesn't stick easily, and reserve.
Sautée the onion and garlic using a frying pan. Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and add the finely chopped onion. Stir and cook until it softens. Then add the garlic, finely sliced, cook for another 3-4 minutes, and turn the heat off. If you want to skip this step, you can add garlic and onion powder while blending the sauce.
Make the sauce. For this part, you will need to use a high-speed or immersion blender. We use our Ninja blender to make the Harissa sauce. Add to the blender jug the soaked cashews (drained and rinsed), the roasted red pepper (skin and seeds removed), the sautéed garlic and onion, harissa paste, lemon juice, and vegetable stock or water. Blend until the cashews are perfectly blended and you have a smooth sauce.
Using a large sauté pan, large skillet, or pot, combine the sauce with the cooked pasta, and add crushed pistachios, finely chopped sundried tomatoes, and fresh oregano or parsley. Mix well, add some reserved pasta water if needed, and serve. We like using some of the pasta water if we need to reheat the dish after a few hours of making it to get that creamy sauce again.
Creamy Harissa Pasta
Ingredients
- ¾ cups cashews
- 1 red bell pepper
- 14 oz spaghetti pasta
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 ½ tablespoon harissa paste
- lemon juice from ½ lemon
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- A handful pistachios
- 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil
- A handful fresh oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200C)
- Place the cashews in a small bowl and add some boiling water. Leave soaking for about 20 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.¾ cups cashews
- While the cashews are soaking, wash the red pepper, place it on a small casserole or baking dish, make some small holes with a knife or fork, and bake for about 30 minutes or until the skin is charred.1 red bell pepper
- Leave to cool and remove the skin and seeds.
- While the red pepper is roasting and the cashews are soaking, you can cook the pasta following the package instructions. Use salted water to cook the pasta al-dente and before draining the pasta, save some pasta water for later.14 oz spaghetti pasta
- Drain the pasta, add some olive oil so it doesn't stick easily, and reserve.
- Heat some olive oil in a small pan over medium heat, and add the onion finely chopped.1 onion
- Stir and cook until it softens. Then add the garlic, finely sliced, cook for another 3-4 minutes, and turn the heat off.2 garlic cloves
- Add to a blender jug the soaked cashews, the roasted red pepper, sautéed garlic and onion, harissa paste, lemon juice, and vegetable stock or water.¾ cups cashews, 1 red bell pepper, 1 onion, 2 ½ tablespoon harissa paste, lemon juice from ½ lemon, 1 cup vegetable stock or water, 2 garlic cloves
- Blend until the cashews are perfectly blended and you have a smooth sauce.
- Combine in a pan the pasta and sauce, and add crushed pistachios, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh oregano or parsley.A handful pistachios, 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes, A handful fresh oregano
- Mix well, add some reserved pasta water if needed, and serve.
Notes
- We like using some of the pasta water if we need to reheat the dish after a few hours of making it to get that creamy sauce again.
- To make this dish milder, use half of the Harissa paste listed. If you want the dish to be spicier, add more Harissa paste.
- Serve with some crusty bread, a fresh salad, or some roasted veggies.
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Nutrition
Variations
Spice level. You can easily change the spice level by reducing or increasing the quantity of Harissa Paste. Harissa is the ingredient that adds heat to this dish. If you enjoy just a little heat, consider reducing the amount of Harissa paste. If you follow our recipe, the dish comes out quite spicy, perfect for spice lovers.
If you want to make a recipe similar to this Harissa Pasta but for kids or toddlers, you can try our Roasted Red Pepper and Sun-dried Tomato pasta. Similar in flavor but not spicy for those little ones.
Add veggies. This pasta dish pairs amazingly with some roasted veggies such as bell peppers, eggplant, or zucchini. You can add them to the pasta sauce or simply serve them on the side. If you prefer to add some fresh veggies, you can add cherry tomatoes or another type of sweet tomato, sweet peppers such as red peppers, spinach, or rocket salad.
Add some more protein. If you want to add more protein to this vegan pasta dish, you can add some crumbled tofu on top. We like crumbling and marinating the tofu with soy sauce and sweet paprika. Then pan-frying the tofu and add it to our pasta sauces. It gives the dish a nice touch and adds protein. Another option could be adding some crumbled vegan feta or regular feta for a vegetarian option.
Serving Suggestions
Our Creamy Harissa Pasta recipe is a hearty, filling, and comforting pasta meal. Perfect to serve for a quick and delicious lunch with some black olives such as Kalamata olives, or crusty Vegan Garlic Bread.
If you want to serve it with something to cool down the heat, you can add a dollop of plain vegan yogurt to the pasta. We do this when we have other spicy meals such as chili beans.
A fresh salad like this zucchini and peach salad can also help to balance out the spiciness of the harissa and add some freshness to the meal.
Store and Reheat
To reheat the pasta after cooking it, you can add ½ cup of the pasta cooking water to get that creamy texture back. If you want to reheat the leftover pasta after a day or two, use a pan or a microwave and add some water or cream if needed to get that creamy consistency again. If you are using a pan or pot, reheat over low heat. You can store the pasta using an airtight container in the fridge for about 2-3 days.
FAQ
You can add Harissa paste to your Shakshuka, Arabic-style soups, Tagines, Falafel Sandwich, Hummus, rice dishes, and even make spicy butter with it! You won't run out of ideas to use this delicious chili paste.
Harissa is naturally gluten-free, and it should not contain gluten. If you have a gluten intolerance or allergy, it is best to check the label of the jar you are using to make sure it is 100% gluten-free. You can make this recipe gluten-free by choosing gluten-free pasta.
To make this Spicy Harissa Pasta nut-free, substitute the cashew cream for oat cream or coconut milk. We use them in many of our recipes and they work really well when making this sauce too.
Lillito says
I didn’t have some of the items on the ingredient list but I did have harissa, pasta, bell peppers, garlic, and onions,and a few other odds & ends so I felt like I could manage a reasonable facsimile. Oh my goodness, it was so very good. Loved roasting the bell peppers and olives—I’ll definitely be doing that again!
Thank you so much for a great and very flexible recipe.
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you! So glad to see that you enjoyed the recipe as much as we do. This is definitely a favorite at home!