9 Famous Foods in Morocco (That Kids Love!)
Morocco’s food is delicious, flavorful, and healthy. Meals are always beautifully presented, too. What’s more, most kids enjoy Moroccan cuisine, even picky eaters. Let’s dig into nine famous foods in Morocco that kids will love!
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1. Tagine
One of Morocco’s most famous dishes, tagine, is named for the cone-shaped clay cooking pot in which it is cooked. This quintessential Moroccan dish comes in all sorts of varieties.
For meat lovers, there are tagines with lamb and even camel. Beef tagine usually contains brisket with dried fruits like prunes or apricots. Kefta tagine is made with Moroccan meatballs, tomato sauce, poached eggs, and cheese.
Traveling with a vegetarian? You’ll find tagines made meat-free with lots of colorful vegetables.
My favorite, though, is chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon. The meat is so tender, and it soaks up the tangy flavors!
2. Moroccan Salads
Every meal in Morocco starts with a salad filled with lots of fresh, colorful vegetables. When veggies look this pretty, what kid could resist digging in? Even my tween son, a notoriously picky eater, couldn’t resist.
A traditional Moroccan salad consists of diced tomatoes, onions, and sometimes cucumbers or olives. Orange juice, mint, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice may be added for additional flavor and color. The salad is drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.
3. Pastilla
My absolute favorite Moroccan dish is Pastilla! This sweet and savory meat pie is made with shredded poultry, such as chicken or squab (a.k.a. pigeon). The meat is combined with sugar or honey plus cinnamon in a phyllo dough.
Even though I typically stick to a gluten-free diet in the U.S. due to my sensitive stomach, I couldn’t help myself from ordering Pastilla whenever it was on the menu in Morocco. It was my son’s favorite Moroccan dish, too.
4. Moroccan Bread
Bread is a main staple in the Moroccan diet. It’s affordable, delicious, and available in a variety of forms throughout the country. Bread can also be used in place of silverware to pick up and eat other foods. Sharing bread is a sign of hospitality in Morocco, too.
When we met with a nomadic Amazigh (or Berber) family in the Saharan Dessert, we were served a yummy golden brown bread made with wheat flour, camel lard, onions, and Moroccan spices.
The most popular bread in Morocco is called khobz (or khubz). This round bread is often baked in communal ovens. Similar to a pita, it can be filled with meats and eaten as a sandwich.
5. Moroccan Mint Tea
Maghrebi mint tea is Morocco’s national drink. It’s made with fresh mint, a green tea base, and sometimes other herbs and sugar. Another symbol of hospitality, it would be rude to turn down a cup of tea when offered this drink in a Moroccan home.
6. Fresh orange juice.
Second only to Morocco’s beloved mint tea is orange juice. This tangy, sweet drink is way better than your standard OJ. The oranges in Morocco seem sweeter than what you’ll find back in the U.S. Plus, this fruit juice is more affordable and available freshly squeezed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I even got my fruit-averse son to take a sip, and then he begged for his own! In fact, we loved this drink so much that we bought a juicer so we could make our own orange and tangerine juice at home. Our homemade version is good, but nowhere near as good as the liquid sunshine you’ll find in Morocco.
7. Couscous
Couscous is considered the national dish of Morocco. Traditionally made with semolina flour (from durum wheat), couscous looks like a grain but is actually a tiny version of pasta.
Similar to tagine, you can order Moroccan couscous made with a variety of ingredients, from plentiful vegetables for our vegetarian friends to meaty versions for carnivores. Look also for a sweet version of Morocco’s national dish served with nuts and dried fruits.
8. Harissa
Most traditional Moroccan food, although very flavorful, is quite mild in terms of spiciness. If you like to spice things up, add a bit of harissa dipping sauce to your plate. In terms of heat, this common ingredient is fairly mellow, so even kids might enjoy adding a dab or two.
According to TasteCooking.com, “Harissa is a North African spicy chili paste — the Sriracha of the Middle East, albeit with a more complex flavor profile. It’s commonly made from roasted or dried chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, and spices (usually coriander, cumin, caraway, mint, and sometimes rose petals).”
Want a taste? Take a look at this harissa recipe, or do as I did and purchase a bottle from Amazon.
9. Moroccan Dessert
Although cakes and flan can be found in Morocco, the traditional dessert is simply fresh fruit or sometimes yogurt with fresh fruit.
Desert lovers need not despair, however. I swear this country has the tastiest fresh fruits I’ve ever eaten. A lot of the produce in the U.S. tastes watery and bland to me, but Morocco’s farm-grown goodies burst with flavor.
Cooking Class in Morocco with Kids
During our Moroccan cooking class, my son and I learned how to make chicken and vegetable tagine plus M’semen, a traditional North African flatbread. Afterward, we sat down for a wonderful meal with our fellow classmates. Yum!
Attending a cooking class in your destination is a great way to get kids to try new flavors when traveling. Sign up for a cooking class in Morocco with our trusted partner, GetYour Guide, to expand your family’s palates and learn about Moroccan cooking.
Moroccan Cuisine with Kids
In major cities like Marrakech and at fancier hotels in more rural areas, you will find Western kid foods on menus like French fries. But travel is one of the best ways to encourage children to try new foods.
The traditional dishes of this country in North Africa may seem exotic and unfamiliar at first, but Morocco’s cuisine is surprisingly appealing to children of all ages. I hope your family loves tasting these well-known Moroccan dishes as much as my son and I did!
Explore More
Learn about Moroccan culture with this list of best things to do in Morocco with kids.
For more delicious flavors, read about what to eat in Iceland.
Follow these tips for healthy eating when traveling with kids.
Feeling thirsty? Read about the best cruise mocktails.
Save These Famous Foods in Morocco
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Which of these famous foods in Morocco would your family enjoy most? Let us know in the comments below!
