26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (2024)

Moroccan cuisine melds Arab and Berber traditions with Mediterranean, Andalusian, and some southern European influences to create complex-tasting dishes with deeply layered flavors. Lamb, couscous, apricots, olives, chickpeas, saffron, and preserved lemons are staple ingredients here, along with ras el hanout spice blend and harissa chile paste. Try your hand at an aromatic tagine, mix a batch of zesty merguez lamb sausages, or griddle up some lacy semolina pancakes and savor the warm, fragrant flavors of North Africa.

01of 26

Fresh Tomato and Caper Salad

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (1)

When guests sit down to the dinner table, Moroccan hosts often set out small salads to eat with bread or on their own. Cookbook author Paula Wolfert found this salad in Essaouira, along the Atlantic coast. She says it's rare to see capers in Moroccan salads, even though the country is one of the world's leading suppliers.

Get the Recipe

02of 26

Saffron Chicken Tagine

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (2)

This version of North Africa's deeply flavored tagine from chef Andrew Zimmern is designed for a large enameled cast-iron casserole, no earthenware tagine necessary. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients; it consists mostly of spices and easy-to-find staples that you'll use over and over.

Get the Recipe

03of 26

Lamb Sausage Kefta

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (3)

Grassy, sweet lamb gets a flavor boost from a warm Moroccan spice mix in this kefta. Chilling the sausage before cooking helps it hold its shape and stay tender and juicy, getting nice and browned in the skillet. If you'd like, you can substitute pork for lamb; the lamb sausage mixture can also be used to make meatballs or burger patties. Serve the kefta with a tzatziki-style dip.

Get the Recipe

04of 26

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (4)

Chef Susan Feniger likes to make this salad early in the day, so the carrots marinate a bit in the dressing. Harissa, the North African chile paste, adds fiery heat.

Get the Recipe

05of 26

Hanger Steak with Charmoula

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (5)

This dish was inspired by Moroccan lamb kebabs, which are marinated in charmoula — a tangy sauce of olive oil, garlic, herbs, and spices. Here, chef Mourad Lahlou uses the sauce for hanger steak. He salts the meat a day ahead; the simplified recipe calls for salting the steak right before cooking.

Get the Recipe

06of 26

Moroccan Chicken with Apricot and Olive Relish

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (6)

This grilled chicken dish transforms the sweet-savory elements of a Moroccan tagine — apricots, olives, couscous — into a light meal. The marinade and relish are both flavored with eucalyptus honey, which has a deep, herbal flavor that's delicious with the smoky chicken. Plus, the honey caramelizes on the grill, which makes the chicken extra crispy.

Get the Recipe

07of 26

Spicy Merguez Scramble with Lemon-Harissa Yogurt and Moroccan M'smen

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (7)

M’smen — an intensely buttery Moroccan flatbread — is the basis for a slew of delicious meals. "It’s the ideal vehicle for almost any dip and a gorgeous base on which to pile a salad or braised vegetables and meat," writes Gail Simmons. "Crisped up in a pan with a little (more) butter or oil, my most recent m’smen revelation is for breakfast, served with harissa-spiced yogurt, merguez sausage, and eggs."

Get the Recipe

08of 26

Chickpea Tagine

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (8)

Chef Christine Manfield created this fragrant stew of chickpeas, butternut squash, red potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini after a trip to Morocco's High Atlas Mountains. It's finished off with fresh cilantro and served with yogurt and harissa.

Get the Recipe

09of 26

Moroccan Chicken and Couscous Soup

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (9)

A mainstay in Morocco, steamed couscous topped with a very liquid stew is undeniably delectable but not exactly quick. We've found, though, that combining all the ingredients in a soup yields similarly sumptuous results in a much shorter time. The dish is decidedly spicy; if you prefer less heat, just reduce the amount of cayenne.

Get the Recipe

10of 26

Moroccan Couscous-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (10)

Here, dried apricots provide a fruity twist to an otherwise savory dish. If you'd prefer to use Cornish hens instead, simply double the couscous recipe and stuff it inside the cavities of four birds.

Get the Recipe

11of 26

Sfinj (Moroccan Doughnuts)

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (11)

These luscious doughnuts are crispy on the outside and very fluffy and airy on the inside. They're usually served dipped in sugar or honey, but New York Shuk co-founders Leetal and Ron Arazi love to serve them with a saffron and cardamom syrup.

Get the Recipe

12of 26

Fiery Moroccan Lamb Merguez

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (12)

Chef Hank Shaw likens sausage-making to jazz: "You have all these standards, but there's room for improvisation." With this spicy merguez from North Africa, adjust the seasonings to vary the flavor intensity and heat.

Get the Recipe

13of 26

Lamb Tagine with Green Olives and Lemon

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (13)

When making most stews, cooks typically brown the meat before braising it. Here, 2008 F&W Best New Chef Ethan Stowell skips that step, which simplifies the recipe and gives the lamb a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The dish is vibrantly flavored with ginger, cumin, coriander, olives, and lemon; the broth is delicious over couscous.

Get the Recipe

Moroccan Olive Bread

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (14)

Berber women sell loaves of dense and crusty bread in market stalls throughout Morocco. In this recipe, thickly slicing the olives before placing them on the unbaked bread allows the briny oil from the cut sides to seep into the dough.

Get the Recipe

15of 26

Tangier Street Bread (Kalinté)

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (15)

This bread is Tangier's version of socca, the chickpea flour-based pancake of Nice, France, but it's much thicker and more custardy, like flan. Moroccans eat it by the slice on the street, sprinkled with cumin or smeared with harissa, but it's also delicious spread with cold salads, like Fresh Tomato and Caper Salad.

Get the Recipe

16of 26

Sautéed Chicken with Celery Root Puree and Chestnuts

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (16)

Chef Mourad Lahlou poaches fresh chestnuts sous vide to accompany chicken breasts and buttery celery root puree. F&W’s adaptation calls for store-bought chestnuts that are already peeled and cooked.

Get the Recipe

17of 26

Skirt Steak with Moroccan Spice Rub and Yogurt Sauce

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (17)

Moroccan cuisine is mainly known for lamb, but former F&W editor Grace Parisi loves the way Moroccan spice rub tastes with a good, juicy skirt steak. Serve the thinly sliced meat and sauce with toasted pita and lettuce.

Get the Recipe

18of 26

Moroccan Roasted Chicken

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (18)

A Moroccan take on a classic worldwide dish, this variation is rubbed with a buttery blend of eight spices and roasted with onion, garlic, dried apricots, and dates.

Get the Recipe

19of 26

Shrimp and Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemon

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (19)

Preserved lemons are a Moroccan ingredient made by macerating whole lemons in lemon juice and salt until they're very soft. They add a citrusy tanginess to this hearty Moroccan shrimp stew from San Franscisco chef Mourad Lahlou.

Get the Recipe

20of 26

Moroccan Rice Pudding with Toasted Almonds

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (20)

Rice pudding is prepared in one form or another all over the eastern Mediterranean. This Moroccan version is particularly delicious, perhaps because the rice is cooked in two stages; first it's boiled in water, then it's simmered in milk.

Get the Recipe

21of 26

Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (21)

Butcher Tanya Cauthen likes flavoring supremely tender braised lamb with a North African spice blend that includes cumin and fennel seeds. Lamb shanks are great for serving at dinner parties, since they look so dramatic, but lamb stew meat — cut from the shoulder or the leg — is equally delicious. Or, for a less gamey flavor, substitute beef short ribs.

Get the Recipe

22of 26

Semolina Pancakes

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (22)

Every morning, cafés in Marrakech serve these crêpes, called begrhir, drizzled with honey or spread with apricot jam. Cooking the crêpes on only one side leaves a lacy network of tiny holes, perfect for catching the sweet toppings; the fine semolina provides a lovely sandy texture.

Get the Recipe

23of 26

Moroccan Lamb and Vegetable Couscous

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (23)

This classic couscous is loaded with slow-cooked lamb and poached vegetables, and spiced with generous amounts of cumin. Generally speaking, couscous isn't really spicy (though harissa, the traditional North African, fiery, chile-garlic condiment can add a bit of a bite), which means it can partner well with a rich, firmly structured red wine such as Merlot.

Get the Recipe

24of 26

Chicken Tagine with Artichoke Hearts and Peas

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (24)

To give this Moroccan stew flavor without much fat, chef Joël Robuchon simmered it in a spiced broth. Artichoke hearts add a lovely spring flavor to the dish. It's wonderful paired with a lemony Grüner Veltliner from Austria.

Get the Recipe

25of 26

Moroccan Lamb Stew with Noodles

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (25)

Paula Wolfert learned a chicken dish called chaariya medfouna from a private cook named Karima. "Chaariya means noodles," Wolfert says. "Medfoun means a surprise or something hidden.” In Paula’s adaptation, the steamed noodles cover tender chunks of lamb spiced with cumin.

Get the Recipe

26of 26

Moroccan Date Bonbons

26 Moroccan Recipes for Memorable Meals (26)

Chef Elizabeth Falkner loves eating these energy-boosting, cardamom-spiced date bites made with almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. "Eat two of these as a snack or with some juice for breakfast, and you're satisfied," she says.

Get the Recipe