Moroccan Food: Dishes You Must Try

A journey through the flavours of Morocco

Moroccan cuisine is one of the richest, most varied and best-loved in the world, and for many travellers discovering it is one of the greatest pleasures of the trip. At Esplora il Marocco we believe food is a special gateway to the country’s culture, a delicious and sociable way to get to know its traditions and famous hospitality.

Born from centuries of Berber, Arab, Andalusian and Mediterranean influences, Moroccan cuisine is a feast of spices, rich aromas and comforting flavours that win you over from the first bite. In this guide we present, one by one, the dishes you must try on your trip. Our 8-day tour from Tangier to Marrakech lets you taste the food of many different regions.

Tagine, the king of the table

Tagine is perhaps the most iconic dish in Moroccan cuisine, named after the distinctive clay pot with a conical lid in which it is slowly cooked. This slow, patient cooking makes the ingredients wonderfully tender and concentrates all the flavours, creating fragrant, irresistible dishes that are the soul of Moroccan home cooking.

There are endless variations: chicken with preserved lemon and olives, lamb with prunes and almonds, beef with seasonal vegetables or vegetarian versions for every taste. Every region and every family has its own recipes, and trying several is a joy. Tagine is often a traveller’s first great culinary love in Morocco, and one of those dishes you want to recreate at home.

Friday couscous

Couscous is Morocco’s other great signature dish, traditionally served on Fridays, the day of gathering and prayer, and on special occasions. It is wheat semolina slowly steamed and served with seasonal vegetables, tender meat and a flavourful broth, in a generous dish that traditionally brings the whole family together around one table.

Moroccan couscous, carefully prepared and often served with chickpeas and fresh vegetables, is very different from the quick versions found elsewhere: fluffy, fragrant and full of flavour. Tasting a real homemade couscous is a memorable experience that perfectly captures Moroccan conviviality.

Street food and starters

Moroccan street food is a whole world to explore, especially in the lively squares and souks of the great imperial cities. On Marrakech’s famous Jemaa el-Fna square, as evening falls, dozens of stalls light up offering everything from grilled meats to soups, in a unique sensory experience.

Specialities to try include harira, the hearty lentil, chickpea and tomato soup, briouats, small fried pastries that can be sweet or savoury, colourful spiced Moroccan salads and the fresh bread that comes with every meal. Grilled meat sandwiches and olives marinated in countless ways are delicious too. In the south, near Merzouga, don’t miss madfouna, the “Berber pizza” stuffed with spiced meat and baked in a wood-fired oven. Our 4-day tour from Marrakech to Merzouga takes you from the squares of Marrakech to the flavours of the desert.

Sweets and pastries

Moroccan pastry is a delicious chapter of its own, with fragrant sweets made from almonds, honey, dates and orange blossom water. Gazelle horns, delicate crescent-shaped pastries filled with almond paste, and chebakia, crunchy fried cookies with honey and sesame, are among the best-loved and most typical.

Many traditional sweets are served with mint tea, in a pleasant and typically Moroccan ritual of hospitality. Dates, nuts and the famous pastilla, a refined sweet-and-savoury pie, are also well worth trying. Ending a meal with sweets and mint tea sums up all the sweetness of Moroccan hospitality.

Mint tea, a symbol of hospitality

No guide to Moroccan food is complete without mint tea, the national drink and the symbol of the country’s hospitality. Made with green tea, fresh mint leaves and plenty of sugar, it is poured from a height to create its characteristic foam, in a true ritual that accompanies every moment of the day.

Offering tea is a fundamental gesture of welcome, and refusing it would be impolite. Whether in an elegant riad, a souk shop or a desert tent, sharing mint tea is always a warm and authentic experience that reflects Morocco’s hospitable soul. Our 4-day tour from Fes to Marrakech gives you plenty of chances to share it with local people.

Taste Morocco with Esplora il Marocco

Moroccan cuisine is a feast of flavours to discover: tagine slow-cooked in its clay pot, Friday couscous, the street food of the squares such as harira and briouats, almond and honey sweets and, of course, mint tea, the great symbol of hospitality. Every dish tells the story of the centuries-old meeting of cultures that makes the country’s cuisine unique.

The Esplora il Marocco team weaves the most authentic food experiences into your trip, from traditional restaurants to street food and tea shared with local people, so you can discover Morocco through its flavours too. For a trip full of taste, contact us using the button below.