Africa · Traditional

Moroccan cuisine

Heavily spiced tagines, couscous, and mint tea.

Explore recipes Build a Moroccan menu Wine pairings

Food history

Why Moroccan cuisine is worth exploring

Moroccan cuisine was shaped by Amazigh foundations, Arab migration, Andalusi refugees, trans-Saharan exchange and Mediterranean trade. Spices, preserved ingredients and slow-cooked dishes developed alongside couscous traditions and a strong culture of hospitality.

Why it is famous

Moroccan food is widely recognised for tagine, couscous, pastilla, harira, mechoui, preserved lemons, mint tea and honeyed pastries. What gives the cuisine real depth, though, is the range beyond those classics: market food, home cooking, festive dishes and regional specialities that can change significantly from one place to another.

Regional food story

Fes is associated with refined urban cooking and sweet-savoury combinations; Marrakech and the south have distinctive tagines and spice traditions; coastal cities rely more heavily on fish; Amazigh cooking across the Atlas and rural regions preserves important grain, bread and stew traditions.

How to cook it

Flavours, ingredients and menu ideas

Signature ingredients

Core ingredients across Moroccan cooking include couscous, lamb, chicken, chickpeas, almonds, olives, preserved lemon, saffron, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, coriander and dried fruit. Their role is never completely uniform; some dominate particular regions while others appear mainly in seasonal, festive or everyday dishes.

Cooking style

Moroccan cooking often builds fragrance rather than raw heat. Slow braising, steaming couscous, chermoula marinades, toasting spices and combining savoury ingredients with fruit or honey create depth without making every dish taste alike.

Build a menu

Begin with salads or small cooked vegetable dishes, then serve a tagine, couscous or grilled main as the centrepiece. Add bread for the sauces and finish with fruit, almond pastries or something scented with orange blossom, ideally alongside mint tea.

Starters Mains Desserts

Cook by course

Moroccan recipes

Start with a starter, choose a main, then finish with a dessert to build a complete country-inspired menu.

Starters

Moroccan starters

Moroccan Tomato and Onion Salad

Fresh chopped tomato, onion, cucumber, parsley, cumin, lemon and olive oil served as a cooling Moroccan…

Starter 15 mins

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Tender carrots dressed with cumin, garlic, lemon, olive oil, parsley and a touch of paprika.

Starter 30 mins

Taktouka

Charred Moroccan pepper and tomato salad with garlic, cumin, paprika, herbs and olive oil.

Starter 45 mins

Maakouda

Moroccan potato cakes flavoured with cumin, turmeric, parsley and coriander, shallow-fried until crisp.

Starter 50 mins

Zaalouk

Smoky Moroccan aubergine and tomato salad cooked down with garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander and olive o…

Starter 55 mins

Kefta Briouats

Crisp Moroccan pastry triangles filled with spiced minced beef, onion, parsley, cinnamon and egg.

Starter 1 hr

Bissara

Rustic Moroccan split broad bean soup finished with cumin, paprika and olive oil.

Starter 1 hr 20 mins

Harira

Moroccan tomato, lentil and chickpea soup scented with ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and parsley.

Starter 1 hr 40 mins

Main courses

Moroccan main courses

Boulfaf

Moroccan grilled liver skewers wrapped in caul fat, seasoned with cumin, paprika and salt.

Main 37 mins

Moroccan Stuffed Sardines

Butterflied sardines filled with chermoula, lightly floured and fried until crisp.

Main 50 mins

Kefta Mkaouara

Moroccan meatball tagine simmered in tomato sauce with cumin, paprika, parsley, coriander and eggs.

Main 1 hr

Sardine Kefta Tagine

Fresh sardine meatballs simmered in chermoula tomato sauce with peppers and olives.

Main 1 hr 10 mins

Fish Tagine with Chermoula

Moroccan fish tagine with chermoula, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, olives and preserved lemon.

Main 1 hr 15 mins

Berber Vegetable Tagine

Layered vegetable tagine with potatoes, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, chickpeas, cumin, turmeric and ol…

Main 1 hr 40 mins

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives

The iconic Moroccan chicken tagine slowly cooked with onions, saffron, ginger, preserved lemon and green…

Main 1 hr 40 mins

Loubia

Moroccan white bean stew with tomatoes, garlic, cumin, paprika, olive oil and coriander.

Main 1 hr 45 mins

Djaj Mqualli

Traditional Moroccan chicken cooked with onions, ginger, saffron, turmeric and herbs until the sauce bec…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Seffa Medfouna

Steamed vermicelli or couscous hiding saffron chicken, finished with cinnamon, icing sugar and almonds.

Main 2 hr

Couscous with Seven Vegetables

Friday-style Moroccan couscous steamed over a broth of lamb, chickpeas, pumpkin, cabbage, courgette, car…

Main 2 hr 10 mins

Couscous Tfaya

Steamed couscous topped with chicken, caramelised onions, raisins, cinnamon and chickpeas.

Main 2 hr 20 mins

Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds

Sweet-savoury lamb tagine with prunes, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, honey, sesame and fried almonds.

Main 2 hr 25 mins

Chicken Pastilla

Festive Moroccan pie of spiced chicken, eggs, almonds, cinnamon and crisp pastry dusted with sugar.

Main 2 hr 30 mins

Rfissa

Shredded msemen or trid topped with chicken, lentils, onions, fenugreek and ras el hanout broth.

Main 2 hr 45 mins

Mrouzia

Eid-style lamb tagine with ras el hanout, honey, raisins, almonds and long slow cooking.

Main 3 hr 25 mins

Tangia Marrakchia

Marrakech-style slow-cooked beef or lamb with preserved lemon, garlic, cumin, saffron and smen.

Main 4 hr 20 mins

Mechoui

Slow-roasted Moroccan lamb shoulder rubbed with smen or butter, cumin, garlic and salt until meltingly t…

Main 4 hr 25 mins

Desserts

Moroccan desserts

Baghrir

Thousand-hole Moroccan semolina pancakes served with melted butter and honey.

Dessert 40 mins

Sfenj

Moroccan yeasted doughnuts fried until airy and golden, served plain or dusted with sugar.

Dessert 50 mins

Sellou

Toasted flour, almonds, sesame, honey, cinnamon and anise mixed into a rich Moroccan celebration sweet.

Dessert 55 mins

Almond Briouats with Honey

Crisp Moroccan pastry triangles filled with almond, cinnamon and orange blossom, fried and dipped in hon…

Dessert 1 hr 10 mins

Msemen with Honey

Layered Moroccan square pancakes cooked on a griddle and served with honey and butter.

Dessert 1 hr 10 mins

Kaab el Ghazal

Delicate crescent pastries filled with almond paste and orange blossom water.

Dessert 1 hr 18 mins

M'hanncha

Coiled Moroccan almond pastry scented with cinnamon and orange blossom water.

Dessert 1 hr 20 mins

Chebakia

Flower-shaped Moroccan sesame pastries fried until crisp, soaked in honey and sprinkled with sesame.

Dessert 1 hr 45 mins

Wine and drink pairings

What to drink with Moroccan food

When pairing wine with Moroccan food, match the structure of the dish first: fresh whites for seafood and herbs, medium reds for tomato, spice or roast meat, sparkling wines for fried or salty starters, and sweet or fortified wines for desserts.