Harira
الحريرة
The Ramadan soup — tomato, lentils, chickpeas, herbs, a little meat if the house wants it.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: الحريرة.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price

About
Harira is Morocco's breaking-fast soup: tomato, lentils, chickpeas, celery, coriander and parsley, thickened a little with flour or broken vermicelli. Lamb is common, not mandatory. It should taste of herbs and tomato, not of a generic chilli stew.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Fry onion, celery and optional lamb. Add tomato, spices, lentils and water. Simmer 35 minutes.
40 minStep 2
Chickpeas, herbs, a flour slurry if you want it thicker. Simmer 10 minutes. Lemon at the table.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
Lamb → Skip it
A vegetarian harira is a real pot.
Tips
- Broken vermicelli in the last 5 minutes is a Fassi extra.
- Smoked paprika is not traditional. Paprika is sometimes there.
History & culture
Ramadan iftars, and also a winter pot. Dates and chebakia on the side when it is a fast.
A Maghrebi soup with Andalusian cousins. The tomato version is after the Americas.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Miansari66 via Openverse (cc0 1.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24469491
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Harira take?
1 hr 10 min all in — 20 min prep, 50 min cook. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
What can I use instead?
Lamb → Skip it. A vegetarian harira is a real pot.
Any tips from this recipe?
Broken vermicelli in the last 5 minutes is a Fassi extra. Smoked paprika is not traditional. Paprika is sometimes there.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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