Eating Vegetarian in Morocco
Classic vegetable couscous and Moroccan salad.
Although Morocco is a major agricultural country and has an abundance of fresh produce, Moroccan cuisine isn’t necessarily the most vegetarian-friendly. There’s A LOT of meat and seafood, but there are some options for vegetarians and vegans as well. Since moving here, I’ve become familiar with what kinds of vegetarian options you can expect to find.
Moroccans take hospitality very seriously, so you will not have any trouble getting a vegetarian dish at most restaurants and guesthouses. In our travels around Morocco, no matter how remote we were, the staff everywhere we ate was happy to make a vegetarian dish. Since it’s Moroccan cuisine, that would be a vegetable tagine or couscous; sometimes an egg tagine similar to a frittata. Everything is made fresh, so it really is no problem to make a tagine without meat!
Pretty much every guesthouse or riad serves food. Many of them include a breakfast of bread, jam, amlou (a mix of almond butter, honey, and argan oil), and honey, as well as fruit, yogurt, and eggs. Let your guesthouse know a few hours in advance if you plan to eat dinner with them so they can make sure they have the ingredients, as they will do the shopping the same day.
Side story: We were wandering around Imlil (a town in the Atlas Mountains) over Christmas break from work and had heard of a restaurant in a nearby village that was supposed to be good. Morocco had suspended international travel at the time, so there weren’t any foreign tourists when normally they would have had lots of Europeans over enjoying the mild climate. We were looking for the restaurant and finally found it, but it was closed. People we ran into in the village asked us what we were looking for and we told them, but we really didn’t think much of it. But then when we were on our way out, hoping it wasn’t too late to order dinner at our guesthouse, we walked by a couple people who said they’d heard we were looking for the restaurant and they work there, so they were on their way there to open up and make food for us! It was so nice of them, and we were happy to support a business that wasn’t able to get their usual number of customers. They made a veggie tagine for me and a chicken one for my boyfriend.
Vegetable tagine with prunes!
Moroccan Cuisine
What is Moroccan cuisine, anyway? In some ways it’s Mediterranean, but it’s also very different. There are lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, plenty of beans and lentils, plus nuts and spices. The main Moroccan spice is cumin and it will show up in pretty much everything.
The vegetables you’ll encounter are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, cucumber, and a variety of root vegetables. Common fruits are oranges and other citrus fruits, apples, pears, pomegranates, and berries.
One of the most unique things about Moroccan cuisine is the marriage of sweet and savory flavors. It’s almost like there isn’t a distinction between them. Cinnamon is another common spice in Morocco and it’s used frequently in savory dishes, whereas in Western cuisine it’s usually used in desserts. You can also find fruit like apples and prunes in savory tagines. For meat eaters, pastilla is a sweet pastry filled with pigeon or chicken!
Tagine
Tagine refers to the conical cooking pot rather than a specific dish. Whatever ends up in the tagine often becomes a kind of slow-cooked stew. Pretty much any Moroccan restaurant or guesthouse you go to will be happy to make a vegetable tagine for vegetarians, made with whatever fresh vegetables they have on hand and spices. They also cook eggs in the tagine for breakfast, either just cracked in there or scrambled. Every place does their spices differently, but you can definitely expect cumin to be a key ingredient.
Couscous
A spread of vegetable couscous, pepper salad, and olives.
It may look like a grain, but couscous is actually very finely rolled bits of semolina pasta. It’s also one of Morocco’s most famous foods. Vegetarian versions usually consist of a big pile of couscous topped with stewed vegetables, and maybe some caramelized onions and raisins. This is probably my favorite Moroccan dish, because I love carbs.
Salad
The typical Moroccan salad is entirely vegan-friendly and consists of at least tomato and onion, and sometimes other ingredients like cucumber and bell pepper. It’s a fairly straight-forward, but simple and tasty, Mediterranean salad. Some places may also have a Greek-style salad with cheese.
There are also cooked “salads”, which are often similar to dips, but can also be roasted vegetables. One common variety is taktouka, a combination of peppers and tomatoes similar to shakshouka. Zaalouk is another common cooked salad made of eggplant and tomato.
Beans and Lentils
Beans and lentils are staples of Moroccan cuisine, but a lot of dishes that use them also contain meat. One dish that is usually vegetarian-friendly is loubia, similar to other white bean and tomato dishes you can find in Mediterranean countries. Bisarra is a fava bean soup/dip that also tends to be vegetarian-friendly. Common soups like harira may look vegetarian, but are made with lamb stock and pureed meat. If you’re cooking in Morocco, beans and lentils are cheap and plentiful.
Olives
Olives are often served alongside dishes in Morocco. Moroccan olives come in many varieties and are salty and sometimes come in a marinade of harissa and herbs. The pink olives are particularly tasty! They have a special savory flavor that’s different from other kinds of olives.
Egg tagine.
Eggs
As mentioned above, eggs are commonly cooked in a tagine and served for breakfast. Pretty much everywhere will have a few simple egg options. Omelettes are also commonly found on cafe menus.
Bread
The most common Moroccan bread, which is served with pretty much everything, is a round disk of semolina-based bread. However, because of Morocco’s past as a French colony, French styles of bread are also easily found. There are many French bakeries selling baguettes, croissants, pastries, and desserts.
Restaurants, Cafes, and Other Establishments
Restaurants
In addition to Moroccan restaurants, there are other cuisines available, though the variety is not as diverse as you may be used to in other countries. In most large Moroccan cities, you can find Italian, French, Spanish, Middle Eastern, American, and Indian restaurants, along with a smattering of Asian cuisines, Mexican, and other European cuisines.
As you could probably predict, the best places for vegetarians are usually Italian, Middle Eastern, and Indian. Spanish restaurants usually have a few options, too. There are a few vegetarian restaurants in Casablanca and Marrakesh.
Cafes
Cheese omelette, bread, olives, and coffee at a cafe.
As mentioned previously, cafes usually have some egg dishes like omelettes or fried eggs, as well as croissants and crepes. They serve a variety of coffee and tea drinks plus juice and sometimes smoothies. Many cafes allow smoking indoors and some are mostly frequented by men, so have a look at the clientele and decide if it’s somewhere you would feel comfortable. I never worry about it because I’m always with my boyfriend, but if I were out on my own I would not feel comfortable at a cafe where there are only men. Even though they won’t bother you, it’s just culturally not the norm.
Snack Shops
There are a lot of fast food-style “snack shops” in Morocco serving burgers, sandwiches, fries, pizza, and Moroccan dishes. The quality of ingredients will be cheap (and the price, too), but they will all have a margarita pizza on the menu if you’re hungry and just need something to eat.
Fast Food Chains
Morocco is not immune to fast food chains. While many European and Asian fast food restaurants will have vegetarian options, that’s not true in Morocco. You will not be able to get a veggie burger at Burger King or McDonald’s! My boyfriend is a meat-eater and has had some fast food here, and he says it’s not good. You may be better off going to a snack shop–then you’re also supporting a local business!
Eating vegetarian in Morocco can be a little challenging at times, but there are options out there.
What have your eating/food experiences been like in Morocco?
