Harissa Powder Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Harissa Is Doing

Out of harissa powder? It’s just a blend of common spices, so your best bet is usually to mix a small batch yourself. Harissa started as a Tunisian chile paste, and the powder is a dry blend built on the same idea: dried chile, garlic and coriander, often with cumin, caraway or smoked paprika. Cover those three core spices and you’ll get most of the way there. In a marinade or stew, the traditional paste works well, and chili powder with a little coriander and caraway will do in a pinch.

Quick answer

More on each choice below, plus a few blends that work less well.

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

The one Attributed entry is a published recipe for the blend itself, and the one Computed figure covers salt only.

What you are trying to replace

Nobody officially defines harissa powder, so here’s what named sources put in it:

The common core is dried chile, garlic and coriander. How hot your blend is depends on which chile went in. Coriander brings a citrusy, floral warmth. Caraway, which Katzer says several Tunisian harissa recipes call for, adds a sharper note.² Cover chile, garlic and coriander and you’ll get most of the way there.

If harissa is the lead flavor

1. A quick homemade mix

Here’s a basic homemade harissa powder, about 3 tablespoons: 1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground caraway, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon salt. The paprika gives body and color without much heat, so raise or lower the cayenne to suit the dish.

Oregon State University Extension’s Food Hero version uses the same family of spices: cayenne, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, salt and caraway. No cayenne? It suggests grinding dried hot peppers or crushed red pepper flakes. For a fresher blend, it says to toast whole cumin and coriander seeds before grinding.³

Missing caraway or cumin? Leave them out. The chile, garlic and coriander matter most (see the table above).

Ratio: This is a formula for the blend itself, so use the same amount as the harissa powder your recipe calls for.

A larger batch (Attributed formula): PepperScale’s harissa seasoning uses whole seeds and dried chiles: 1/2 cup minced dried chiles, 2 tablespoons each smoked paprika, cumin seeds and coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon each sea salt and garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, stored in an airtight container.⁵ For a milder version, it suggests taking the seeds out of the chiles.⁵ Use it in the same amount as the harissa powder called for.

If harissa is chile heat in a wet dish

1. Harissa paste

The paste isn’t a variation. It’s the traditional form: a spicy North African paste made from dried chilies, salt, oil and other seasonings, and a household staple in Tunisia. Paste works well in a marinade, sauce, soup or stew. Skip it for a dry rub or spice crust, where its oil and moisture get in the way.

Going the other way, Oregon State suggests mixing its harissa powder with vegetable oil to make a paste for roasting poultry, meat or tofu, but doesn’t say how much oil.³

Ratio (Method): Pastes vary in strength and in how much oil they hold. Start with an equal amount, taste, and cut back a little on the recipe’s other oil and salt.

If harissa is chile and cumin warmth

1. Chili powder, with a pinch of caraway

American chili powder shares harissa’s chile, cumin and garlic. The USDA’s purchasing specification says it should include ground chili pepper, cumin, oregano, salt and garlic powder,⁶ and Saveur says the chile is usually ancho.⁷ What it’s missing is coriander and caraway. It also brings oregano, which none of the four sources above put in harissa.

Ratio (Method): Use the same amount of chili powder, add a pinch each of ground coriander and caraway if you have them, and taste before salting. Want more heat? Add cayenne.

If harissa is seed-spice warmth

1. Tabil

Tabil is another Tunisian blend. Dave DeWitt writes that it’s used to spice stews and gets sprinkled over grilled meats, and that the word means coriander but generally refers to the blend.⁸ His recipe is mostly coriander seed, with a smaller share of caraway, a little garlic and a modest amount of dried chile, pounded into a paste, then dried and ground.⁸ So you get harissa’s coriander, caraway and garlic with much less chile.

Ratio (Method): Use the same amount, then add ground chile or cayenne to bring up the heat.

Blends that work less well

Berbere

Berbere is an Ethiopian chile blend. Like harissa, it leads with chile. Katzer’s account adds long and black pepper, ginger, coriander and fenugreek, with sweet notes from cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and even allspice.⁹ Fenugreek is the big difference. It has a characteristic curry aroma, and none of the harissa sources above include it. Marcus Samuelsson notes that every family makes its own berbere,¹⁰ so check the label.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half the harissa amount, taste, and add a pinch of ground coriander or caraway.

Tandoori masala

Tandoori masala is an Indian blend, and Anjula Devi says that blended with yogurt it makes a marinade.¹¹ Her recipe starts with large amounts of coriander and cumin seed,¹¹ which overlap with harissa. Woodland Foods’ version lists salt first, then coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon and nutmeg, along with lemon peel, beet powder, tomato powder, paprika, garlic and cayenne.¹² Don’t judge its heat by its color. Anupy Singla writes that the bright red of some store-bought blends “comes from Food Dyes like Red 40,” and that the blend was originally made with a leaning toward turmeric and paprika.¹³

Ratio (Method): Start with about half the harissa amount, since many blends are salted, and add cayenne if you need heat.

Old Bay seasoning

Old Bay is a celery-salt seafood seasoning. McCormick’s label lists celery salt (salt and celery seed), spices including red and black pepper, and paprika.¹⁴ It has red pepper, but the label doesn’t name any of harissa’s garlic, coriander or caraway, and it’s far saltier than a homemade harissa mix.

Salt (Computed): The Old Bay label gives 125 mg of sodium per ¼ teaspoon.¹⁵ The homemade mix above uses ½ teaspoon of salt in about 3 tablespoons (9 teaspoons) of blend, and Tufts gives 2,325 mg of sodium in a teaspoon of table salt.¹⁶ Assuming table salt, that’s about 32 mg of sodium per ¼ teaspoon of the mix (2,325 × ½ ÷ 9 ÷ 4). It’s approximate, since it’s measured by volume. Used 1:1, Old Bay adds about 4 times the salt (125 ÷ 32). This covers salt only.

Ratio (Method): If Old Bay is all you have, use about a quarter of the harissa amount. That keeps the salt close to the homemade mix’s level. Add other chile for heat.

What isn’t known

• No regulator or standards body defines harissa powder. Heat depends on the chile; Oregon State tells cooks to choose a ground red pepper with the heat they like.³
• You’ll sometimes read that mint is a standard harissa ingredient. It isn’t in any of the four sources compared above.

Related

• Harissa powder, the full profile, and harissa paste vs. powder
• Tunisian spices, Moroccan spices, ras el hanout
• Chili powder and chili powder substitutes
• Berbere seasoning and berbere substitutes
• Tandoori masala, tandoori masala substitutes, Old Bay seasoning
• The single spices: cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, red pepper flakes