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A super easy and flavorful side dish, these easy roasted fingerling harissa potatoes have just the right amount of spice. They’re quick to make and go with everything!
The potato is such an unassuming vegetable, basic and plain. But dressed up, roasted, mashed, spiralized, fried, it is often the star of the show. One of my absolute favorite things to eat is a crispy, fried potato. I think it might be a Canadian thing, but Arby’s curly fries were my weakness for quite a few years. They’re so seasoned and delicious!
Anyway, my tastes have grown up a smidge – although I wouldn’t say no to a curly fry – and now I love experimenting with different spices and flavors on my ‘taters. While my simple crispy roasted potato recipe is my go-to, I like to change it up a bit. These harissa potatoes are so good!!
What is harissa?
I don’t think I’ve used harissa on the blog before, but I’m well acquainted with it. Unfortunately my kids are only STARTING to be more ok with a bit of heat on their food, so it hasn’t made much of an appearance in our usual dishes. These roasted harissa potatoes though, were eaten without complaint!
So, what is harissa? This mix of spices is common in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. You’ll often find harissa in paste form, but I can often only find the powder. Harissa powder is peppery and smoky tasting with a bit of garlic flavor.
How do you make roasted harissa potatoes?
You only need a few ingredients for these potatoes:
- fingerling potatoes
- harissa powder (see notes below for paste)
- salt
- sesame seeds
- olive oil
- honey
1. Start by placing a roasting pan in the oven and turning the oven to 425 F. Having a nice hot pan for the potatoes will help them to crisp up nicely!
2. Begin slicing the fingerling potatoes lengthwise. You can also keep them whole but I like to slice them as it speeds up the roasting process, plus I love that crispy underside when the potatoes are able to lay flat on the pan!
3. In a large bowl, add the olive oil, harissa powder, salt and sesame seeds. Whisk the mixture together than add the sliced potatoes. Toss everything together until thoroughly combined. Remove the hot pan from the oven, and add the potatoes in a single layer on the pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast the potatoes for 20 minutes.
4. Once the potatoes have cooked for 20 minutes, remove them from the pan, drizzle the honey overtop the potatoes and toss them all together with a spatula. Return the pan to the oven and roast the potatoes for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.
5. Serve the potatoes immediately, with an extra sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper.
What do you serve roasted harissa potatoes with?
There are so many options for these potatoes as a side dish! You could even serve them on their own, as an appetizer with a cooling yogurt dip. As a side, try them with:
Can you make this recipe using harissa paste instead of powder?
Yes! What I would suggest is to first stir together the oil with the harissa paste until fully combined, before tossing the potatoes in the mixture. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of the harissa paste instead of the called for 2 tablespoons of the powder.
Do you have to use fingerling potatoes?
As much as I love the look and taste of roasted fingerling, you can use any small potato. You could also use large potatoes, diced into larger wedges. You may have to adjust the cooking time depending on the type of potato, so always do the fork check to make sure they’re ready!
Can you make these potatoes in the air fryer?
In the summer it can get way too hot to turn on the oven, so the air fryer would work great for these potatoes! Heat the fryer to 400 and cook the potatoes in a single layer, for 10 minutes before shaking and adding the honey.
After the 10 minutes, cook for another 5 minutes or until fork tender.
Some of my other favorite side dishes from the blog:
Roasted Harissa Potatoes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
A super easy and flavorful side dish, these easy roasted fingerling harissa potatoes have just the right amount of spice. They’re quick to make and go with everything!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp harissa powder*
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 lbs fingerling potatoes
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and place a roasting pan in the oven to heat up. Slice the fingerling potatoes lengthwise.
- In a large bowl, add the olive oil, harissa powder, sesame seeds and salt. Whisk together, then add the sliced potatoes. Toss to thoroughly combine. Remove the hot pan from the oven, and add the potatoes in a single layer on the pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast the potatoes for 20 minutes
- Once the potatoes have cooked for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, drizzle the honey overtop the potatoes and toss it all together with a spatula. Return the pan to the oven and roast the potatoes for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.
- Serve the potatoes immediately, with an extra sprinkle of sea salt and the black pepper.
Leftover potatoes can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 4 days.
Notes
*See notes in blog post above for harissa paste
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: side dishes
- Method: oven roast
- Cuisine: african
Wonderful potatoes! I always use harissa paste. I need to get the powder. Thanks for the reminder and the recipe!
Luckily I got harissa powder. It shall bring potatoes to such a new tasty level!!!!
Ohhh that harissa will definitely give those potatoes some nice flavours
Despite their bad rap for carbs, I do love potatoes. Your recipe sounds interesting and flavorful. I’ve never seen the harissa powder only the paste. I’ll be on the look out for it.