Most guides to Morocco cuisine read like a restaurant menu. This one is about what Moroccans eat at home, on the street and on Fridays. I grew up in Ouarzazate, where Friday still means couscous at the family table, and I studied in Marrakech, which has its own dishes you won’t find in the south
What Makes Moroccan Food Moroccan
Moroccan cooking is built on an Amazigh (Berber) base, with layers added over centuries by Arab, Andalusian and later French influence. What ties it together is slow cooking, a lot of bread, and spices used for warmth rather than heat. Most dishes are not spicy-hot. Chili is served on the side, if at all.
The spices you will taste again and again:
- Cumin: on the table next to the salt, and sprinkled on eggs, soups and grilled meat
- Ginger and turmeric: the base of many tagines and of couscous broth
- Sweet paprika: in salads, kefta and fish marinades
- Saffron: used in small amounts for festive dishes
- Ras el hanout: a spice-shop blend whose name means “head of the shop”. There is no single recipe; every seller mixes their own
Tagine: The Dish and the Pot
“Tagine” is both the cone-shaped clay pot and the stew cooked in it. Meat or fish cooks slowly with vegetables and spices until it falls apart, and you eat it straight from the pot with bread.
The versions you’ll see most:
- Chicken with preserved lemon and olives: sour, salty, the one most visitors remember
- Beef or lamb with prunes and almonds: sweet, often served at celebrations
- Kefta (meatballs) with tomato and egg: cracked into the sauce at the end
- Vegetable tagine: the easiest vegetarian option on any menu
Couscous: Friday’s Dish
In most Moroccan homes, couscous is cooked on Friday, after the midday prayer. In my family it still is. The semolina is steamed several times over a pot of meat and vegetable broth, and the whole family eats from one large plate. The full step-by-step method is in my Moroccan couscous recipe.
In December 2020, couscous was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in a joint nomination by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania.
Everyday and Street Food
Restaurant tagines are what tourists eat. These are what Moroccans eat between meals:
- Harira: tomato, lentil and chickpea soup, the dish that breaks the fast every evening during Ramadan, and is sold year-round in cheap eateries
- Msemen: square, flaky pan-fried flatbread, eaten at breakfast or with tea, with honey or butter
- Bissara: thick fava bean soup with olive oil and cumin, a cheap winter breakfast
- Brochettes: small skewers of grilled meat or liver, sold from roadside grills
- Sfenj: fried ring doughnuts, sold fresh in the morning
Tanjia: Marrakech’s Own Dish
If you’re in Marrakech, look for tanjia. Meat, preserved lemon, garlic and spices go into a tall clay jar, and the jar is traditionally left to cook for hours in the ashes of a hammam’s furnace. It’s a Marrakech speciality, and it’s rarely found outside the city. More on what to eat and do there in my Things to Do in Marrakech guide.
Bread Comes With Everything
Khobz, the round everyday bread, is on the table at every meal. It’s not a side: it’s how you eat. You tear a piece and use it to pick up food from the shared plate. Bread is treated with respect. You won’t see Moroccans throw it in the bin.
Sweets and Pastries
- Chebakia: flower-shaped fried dough soaked in honey and covered in sesame, everywhere during Ramadan
- Pastilla (bastilla): thin pastry layered with pigeon or chicken, almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Sweet and savoury at once, and strongly associated with Fez
- Kaab el ghazal (gazelle horns): crescent pastries filled with almond paste, served with tea at weddings and holidays
- Amlou: a spread of roasted almonds, argan oil and honey from the Souss region, eaten with bread
Mint Tea
Mint tea (atay) is green tea brewed with a large handful of fresh spearmint and a lot of sugar, poured from a height so it foams in the glass. It’s offered to guests in homes and in shops, and it comes after most meals. If you don’t want sugar, ask before it’s poured: once it’s in the pot, it’s in.
North and South Are Different
Food in the north and in the big imperial cities (Fez, Marrakech) is more refined and leans on Andalusian traditions: pastilla, sweet-savoury tagines, elaborate pastries. In the south, where I’m from, food is simpler and heartier: more bread, more vegetables, more dishes built for long days and cold desert nights.
Eating Vegetarian in Morocco
It’s possible, with care:
- Vegetable tagine and vegetable couscous are on most menus
- Moroccan salads are cooked, not raw: zaalouk (smoky aubergine and tomato) and taktouka (peppers and tomato) are the two you’ll see most
- Ask for food “bla lham” (without meat)
- Be aware that soups and couscous broth are often made with meat stock, even when the bowl looks vegetarian
Table Manners
- Wash your hands before eating; many homes bring water to the table
- Eat with your right hand, from the part of the shared plate in front of you
- Use bread as your spoon
- Expect your host to keep pushing food toward you. Saying you’re full, more than once, is normal
- During Ramadan, avoid eating or drinking in public in the daytime out of respect, even though restaurants for tourists stay open in big cities
For what meals cost on the street and in restaurants, see my Morocco on a budget guide.
FAQ
What is the national dish of Morocco? Couscous is the most widely recognised, and it’s eaten on Fridays in most homes. Tagine is the dish visitors meet most often.
Is Moroccan food spicy? Usually not. It’s spiced with cumin, ginger, paprika and saffron for flavour, not heat. Chili is served on the side.
What is a tagine? Both the cone-shaped clay pot and the slow-cooked stew made in it, eaten with bread from the pot.
What do Moroccans eat for breakfast? Bread or msemen with olive oil, honey, butter or amlou, with mint tea or coffee. In winter, bissara (fava bean soup) is common.
Is Moroccan food vegetarian-friendly? Partly. Vegetable tagines, couscous and cooked salads are easy to find, but soups and broths are often made with meat stock, so ask.
What is ras el hanout? A spice blend sold by spice shops. The name means “head of the shop”, and every seller mixes their own version.
What drink goes with a Moroccan meal? Sweet mint tea, served after the meal. Water is on the table during it.
Why is couscous on UNESCO’s list? In December 2020, the knowledge and practices around making and eating couscous were inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in a joint nomination by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania.
