Powerhouse players collide in this deeply flavorful speedy skillet dinner loosely inspired by the flavors of arayes—Lebanese-style meat-packed pita pockets. Ground beef, browned and broken up, soaks up a heady blend of smoky harissa and caramelized onions while the silky tahini sauce offers a rich, creamy counterpoint to the warm spices. We strongly recommend New York Shuk harissa—it’s thick and velvety and gives the sauce the right amount of body. It’s like the Goldilocks of harissa: spicy but not alarmingly so.
The inclusion of pita chips is entirely unexpected, but once you’ve taken your first bite, you won’t question the decision. The substantial crunch acts as a foil to the saucy beef while softening gently as it pulls in the harissa and tahini.
All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.
What you’ll need
Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
Whisk
$10 At Amazon
Oxo Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
$23 At Amazon
Small Bowl
$15 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
½
2
1½
2
1
6
8
¾
1
1
1
½
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk ½ cup well-mixed tahini, 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ cup room-temperature water in a small bowl until smooth; set tahini sauce aside.
Step 2
Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Cook 1 large red onion, finely chopped, white and pale green parts of 6 scallions, thinly sliced, and 8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, stirring occasionally, until onion and scallions are tender and golden brown in spots, 8–10 minutes.
Step 3
Add ¾ cup harissa (preferably thick), 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (if using; you may not need it depending on your harissa and your own heat preference), remaining 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ cup water. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until harissa is slightly darkened in color and oil beads on surface, about 5 minutes. Add 1 lb. ground beef (20% fat) and ½ cup water and cook, stirring often to break up meat, until water is mostly evaporated and beef is cooked through, 8–12 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in dark green parts of 6 scallions, thinly sliced. Season with more salt if needed.
Step 4
Spread half of reserved tahini sauce in a large shallow bowl or over a platter; spoon beef mixture over. Top with a handful of salted pita chips and remaining tahini sauce, then ½ cup coarsely chopped mixed tender herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, and/or mint). Mix lightly to barely combine. Serve with more pita chips for crushing over.
Leave a Review
Reviews (3)
Back to TopI love the OG harissa chicken meatball / harissa chicken thigh recipe, so I thought I would give this one a try. It was fairly easy to make but I would not make it again; flavors didn't come together.
Anonymous
3/20/2024
This was spectacular, and a big crowd-pleaser as well. I used the New York Shuk harissa and it was perfect: a delightful blend of robust and zingy with just the right amount of heat. I left it on low to simmer for another ~15 minutes after the beef was cooked which gave it just the right amount of thickness. will definitely be making this again.
Andrew
Fall River, MA
10/21/2023
My husband and I loved this recipe! We made it with half bison and half ground pork because it is what we had. We used a little less harissa because we were doubling the recipe and we only had one jar. The harissa we had was mild, so I would add more red chili flakes if we make this again with mild. We loved the different the variety of textures with the herbs and pita chips on top. We will make this again.
Lisa
Bellingham, WA
9/3/2023
I loved it and my husband did too! I thought the harissa sauce to beef ratio was off so I grated in about half a cup of zucchini and it worked really well.
Steph Bloom
North Dakota
8/20/2023
Made it with venison because we Hunt deer. I also had about half a can if chickpeas I through in. Husband and I loved it!! Recommended to me other foodie friends and will make again for a fast, easy dinner.
Rho
Fort Wayne, IN
2/21/2023
This recipe just didn’t hit. Wasn’t bad, but not something I’d make again. Bittery after taste from the tahini wasn’t balanced with anything. Also crushing up the pita chips I recommend for each portion as they’ll get soggy if you try to save leftovers. The Mejadra rice dish really saved this one.
Carrie
Tacoma, WA
1/15/2023
So we used 14oz (1.75 cups) of Harissa because we didn't want to waste any remaining in the can. Because of this, we used the juice of 2 meyer lemons in the dish, added an extra 1/2 cup of water for the sauce, and adjusted the simmering time accordingly. In hindsight, we definitely didn't need to add the flakes of three arbol chiles as the harissa had a proper nice heat level. But a dollop of greek yogurt did well to help cut the heat (as does the tahini sauce). Overall, the dish was well seasoned and savory. Not to mention it only took around 45 minutes including prep. As a spice loving family, this was a huge hit and I was impressed that the base spice level of the recipe was actually relatively high. Enjoy!
Andrew E
Kentucky
1/3/2023