Morocco is a destination that screams out exotic in basically all it has. The souks and Medinas of the cities, the image of a camel crossing the Sahara, and the minarets of the mosques… all are so different from what we as westerners are used to, and that lends an aura of excitement to a trip there. Moroccan cuisine, likewise, comes off as exotic.

Many of us are familiar with a couple of Moroccan staples. Couscous has made it into every supermarket in the US, for example. But what is the food actually like in Morocco? What should you be on the lookout to try?

Let’s take a stroll through the day, talking about what you’ll likely find while on a trip to Morocco, and what you might not stumble across and should actively seek out.

Breakfast

Moroccan breakfast is a pretty simple affair. If your hotel includes breakfast, you’ll likely find eggs (hard boiled is most common), yogurt, fruit, and oddly, soup. Yes, soup. Lentil or barley, most often.

But where breakfast in Morocco truly shines is in the bread. There are four main breads that are most common to see on a breakfast buffet. There is the normal French bread. There is a semi-flat bread, roughly an inch thick, made in rounds but probably pre-sliced into wedges. There are pancake-looking flats that are spongy. And there are folded rectangular crepes. These will be served with honey, butter, and jam. (Occasionally there will be other offerings like pastry or croissants, but these four were present in basically every breakfast I had in the country. I preferred the crepes and the round semi-flat, but that’s just me.)

As for drinks, you’ll have a few options. First, the orange juice in this country is pretty incredible. It can be found all over, and is typically fresh squeezed. Go nuts.

If you want coffee and are out at a cafe, you can find the typical espresso varieties. But for a more local experience, order in Arabic. A merza is 80-90% coffee (espresso) and 10-20% warm milk. A nos-nos is 50/50. A good coffee at a small cafe will run $2-4.

And, of course, there is Moroccan mint tea. To me, this is the pinnacle. It is green tea (so a bit of caffeine but not much) and dried mint. Sometimes there is fresh mint added. When you order it at a restaurant, you’ll be asked if you want it sweetened, which they will do for you in the pot. Otherwise add sugar. You won’t offend anyone for doing so.

Mezze

If you sit down at a restaurant in Morocco, most of the time you’ll get some things given to you. First is a basket of bread, generally the semi-flat bread mentioned above. Second is olives. (They will have pits 95% of the time.) You may be given olive oil, but you can always ask for it. You can also ask for – or will be given – harissa, a spicy red pepper spread.

Beyond these, mezze in Morocco comes in a few forms. You have the ubiquitous Moroccan salad, which is made of cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper. Roasted carrots are also incredibly common, and are largely amazing. Finally is eggplant, stewed into a hot or cold chunky paste. Eat it on your bread.

Tagine and Couscous

These are the most common Moroccan dishes, eaten for either lunch or dinner. A tagine is named for the cooking vessel it is prepared in, and is a stew of meat and vegetables. The most common forms of tagine are with some sort of protein (I had beef, chicken, lamb, goat, fish, and even camel), vegetables, and one of the following: olives, preserved lemon, or prunes. Try them all if you can, but tagine with preserved lemon is my favorite, a salty-acidic treat that really brings out the flavor of the meat. Note: while there may be potatoes, traditional Moroccan tagine is not served with couscous, rice, or another starch.

Couscous is obviously made of couscous, with the addition of meat and/or vegetables. Sometimes it is served with pan liquor, but Moroccan couscous can be pretty dry. It is also typically mild, both in terms of spicy heat, and spice level in general. So if you find the spices used in Morocco overwhelming to your palate, couscous is a dish that might be to your liking. (Unlike tagine, you can find couscous with merguez, Moroccan spicy sausage. I love it.)

Pastilla

In the entire pantheon of Moroccan cooking, this is my favorite. A pastilla is basically a pie in the British sense, a savory dish of something wrapped in phyllo or pastry. The most common variety is chicken, which is a fascinating dish of minced or shredded chicken spiced with cumin, turmeric, and things like allspice or cinnamon, with a filler like chopped almonds added, put into a pastry and topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The sweet-savory play is incredible, at least to me.

Along the coast, you can also find fish pastilla. Fortunately, it doesn’t have the sweetness. Rather, it is seafood (fish, shrimp, squid, etc…) seasoned with turmeric and cumin – though less so than the chicken – with vermicelli added for a filler, and wrapped in dough. It might have melted cheese on top, but no cinnamon or sugar.

While I am always hesitant to make restaurant recommendations, my favorite of both pastillas was at Restaurant Des Fleurs in Casablanca.

Other Dishes

If you go to the Sahara, you might find madfouna, a Berber take on pizza. It doesn’t have cheese, but is dough stuffed with vegetables or meat, served flat in slices like pizza.

Or try another Moroccan stew. Mrouzia is stewed meat with raisins, honey, and spices. Mkela is a seafood stew reminiscent of cioppino (try it at the central market in Casablanca where all the fishmongers sell their catches), served with bread and harissa.

There are also egg dishes, like a Berber omelette, which is super fluffy baked omelette.

Finally, I don’t know what it’s called, but if you are in Marrakech, go to Snack Amodo Dabachi and get the sandwich. It’s assorted meat and cheese done on a griddle, and it’s absolutely incredible. It’s also about $2.

Dessert

If you are at a restaurant that includes dessert, it will almost always be seasonal fruit. The fruit here is great, and this is how Moroccans end their meals.

But if you find yourself in need of something a bit sweeter, there are some decent pastry options. In the souks, you can find vendors selling baked or fried pastries filled with almonds, pistachios, or dates. Or you’ll see cookies. If you do, get the sesame ones. They are less sweet, but stunning.

Moroccan food is largely wonderful. While it doesn’t have the variety of dishes of some others, variety within them (especially the mix and match options of tagine and couscous) helps visitors not to get totally sick of it over the course of their trips. Especially if you can find some of the more obscure dishes, you’ll end up having a great time!

Like it? Pin it!