Moroccan Food: 15 Dishes You Must Try

Moroccan cuisine is one of the world's richest: a blend of Berber, Arab, Andalusian and Mediterranean flavours, scented with spices (cumin, saffron, ras el-hanout), fresh herbs and dried fruit. Here are the must-try dishes to taste on your trip.

The must-try Moroccan dishes are tagine (slow-cooked in a conical dish), couscous (traditionally on Fridays), pastilla (a sweet-savoury pie), harira (soup), Marrakech's tanjia, mechoui (roast lamb) and briouates. On the street: msemen, brochettes, makouda. All served with bread (khobz) and mint tea.

The main dishes to try

Dish	What it is
Tagine	Slow-cooked in a conical dish: chicken-lemon-olives, lamb-prunes, kefta-egg, vegetables
Couscous	Steamed semolina + vegetables and meat, traditionally on Fridays
Pastilla (bastilla)	Flaky sweet-savoury pie (pigeon/chicken or seafood), icing sugar and cinnamon
Harira	Tomato, lentil and chickpea soup, emblematic of Ramadan
Tanjia	A Marrakech speciality: meat slow-cooked in a jar in the hammam's oven
Mechoui	Whole roast lamb, tender and fragrant
Rfissa	Crumbled msemen, chicken, lentils and fenugreek
Briouates	Small crispy pastries (meat, cheese or almond)

Bread, the street and sweets

Breads: khobz (round bread), msemen (flaky pancake), harcha (semolina flatbread), baghrir (thousand-hole pancake).
Street food: brochettes, makouda (potato fritters), sandwiches, snails (babbouche), grilled corn.
Cooked salads: zaalouk (aubergine), taktouka (pepper-tomato).
Sweets: gazelle horns, chebakia (Ramadan), sellou, and of course mint tea. See our Moroccan mint tea guide.

Where to taste real Moroccan food

Riad table d'hôte: home cooking, often the best meal of the trip.
Markets and street food (Jemaa el-Fna in the evening): see Moroccan street food.
Cooking class: visit the market then cook your own tagine.
Traditional restaurants for pastilla and mechoui.

Food tours and cooking classes· GetYourGuide

Culinary experiences on Viator· Viator

FAQ — Moroccan food

What is Morocco's national dish?

Couscous and tagine are Morocco's two iconic dishes. Couscous is traditionally served on Fridays; the tagine, slow-cooked, comes in many versions (chicken-lemon, lamb-prunes, vegetables).

What is pastilla?

Pastilla (or bastilla) is a flaky sweet-savoury pie, traditionally made with pigeon (or chicken) with almonds, cinnamon and icing sugar. There's also a seafood version.

Is Moroccan food spicy?

It's fragrant rather than hot: cumin, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, ras el-hanout. The heat mainly comes from harissa, served on the side. You can ask for mild dishes without any problem.

What do you eat for breakfast in Morocco?

Msemen, baghrir, harcha and khobz, with honey, olive oil, amlou (almond-argan paste), cheese and mint tea or coffee.

Where can I taste the best Moroccan food?

At a riad's table d'hôte, in someone's home or during a cooking class, more than in tourist restaurants. Markets and street food also offer excellent finds.

In short

Moroccan cuisine is a journey in itself: fragrant tagines, generous couscous, surprising pastilla, honeyed sweets and mint tea. Taste widely, favour home cooking, and treat yourself to a cooking class to take a little Morocco home.

Moroccan Food: 15 Dishes You Must Try (2026)