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What to eat in the Maghreb? Top 29 Maghrebi Desserts

Last update: Tue Apr 15 2025
Top 29 Maghrebi Desserts
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01
Tamina
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Tamina is an ancient Algerian sweet treat consisting of toasted ground semolina, butter, and honey. It is typically decorated with cinnamon or sugared almonds. Traditionally, it is served when celebrating the birth of a child, but it can be prepared any day of the year.


Tamina is usually shared between a few people, as it is served in small plates and consumed with small spoons.

02

Sweet Pastry

MOROCCO and  one more region
4.5
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Sfenj are popular Moroccan and Algerian doughnut-like fritters made from sticky unleavened batter, similar to Libyan sfinz and Tunisian bambalouni. The dough is traditionally shaped into rings and deep-fried until it develops a golden, crispy exterior.


The interior should be fluffy, tender, and chewy. These fritters are usually served hot when sold by street vendors, and they can be consumed plain or dusted with icing sugar.

03

Deep-fried Dessert

SIDI BOU SAID, Tunisia
4.4
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Bambalouni are traditional Tunisian doughnuts that are especially popular in the village of Sidi Bou Said. They are made with flour, hot water, yeast, and salt. After the dough has been prepared, it is fried in hot oil until golden brown, and the doughnuts are then sprinkled with sugar on top.


It is recommended to serve bambalouni with coffee, either for breakfast or as a snack eaten at the end of the day.

04

Pancake

MOROCCO and  one more region
4.3
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Baghrir is a soft and spongy Moroccan and Algerian pancake made with semolina flour. It is characterized by numerous holes on its surface, a result of yeast-produced bubbles in the batter that form and break as the pancake cooks. The pancake is cooked on one side only.


It's recommended to serve baghrir with fruit jams or a syrup made with butter and honey.

05
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Makroud el louse are flourless Algerian cookies consisting of almonds, eggs, sugar, and a flavoring of orange flower water. Baked until lightly browned, these cookies are typically tossed in powdered sugar in order to be completely coated. Once consumed, makroud el louse should melt in the mouth.


It is recommended to serve these cookies with a cup of tea or coffee on the side.

06
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Every important celebration in Algeria is never complete without mkhabez, a traditional and delicate Algerian pastry. It is made with nuts (mostly almonds), sugar, eggs, and flavorings, then cut into small, elegant shapes. Essentially, it is easy to make, however; when the pastry is baked, it is meticulously decorated with royal icing.


Usually, ground almonds are used to make the base of the cake, but pistachios and walnuts are also frequently used. The most common flavoring is lemon or lemon zest, but other typical extracts such as rose water or vanilla can also be added. Traditionally, mkhabez has a triangular shape and uses only blue, pink, or white royal icing. 
07
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Assidat zgougou is a traditional dessert made with a combination of seeds of Aleppo pine, sugar, flour, starch, water, and rosewater. The zgougou seeds are ground and combined with the sugar, flour, and starch, then stirred continuously while the concoction is cooking over low heat until it thickens.


Another component, the custard, is made with sugar, milk, starch, vanilla, egg yolks, and rosewater. The cream is placed on the bottom of a glass, followed by a layer of custard, and the dessert is then usually sprinkled with nuts such as toasted almonds or pistachios on top. 
08
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Créponné is a traditional lemon sorbet, created by Gilbert Soriano of the Crèmerie l'Oranaise in Oran. It is made by mixing lemon zest and juice with boiling sugar syrup, leaving it to rest in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then mixing it again with whipped egg whites.


The concoction is left in the freezer until the next day, although it is advisable to pull it out every half an hour for the first few hours of freezing to beat the mixture with the whisk until the sorbet sets. Créponné is a dessert usually made at home, but numerous street vendors and ice cream shops in Oran offer it during hot summer days.

09
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These crescent-shaped cookies are usually associated with Morocco, but they can be found throughout Algeria and Tunisia in slightly different forms and under various names. Their name translates as gazelle ankles, but they are better known as gazelle horns.


They consist of a thin pastry shell that is wrapped around a sweet cinnamon-flavored almond filling. Both filling and the pastry dough are typically enriched with orange blossom water. The cookies can be coated in crushed nuts or optionally dipped in orange blossom water and then dusted with sugar, in which case they are typically referred as kaab el ghazal m'fenned.

10
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Kalb-el-louz is a popular Algerian baked dessert consisting of semolina and ground almonds as key ingredients. It's typically flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange blossom water. After it has been cooked, kalb-el-louz is combined with a fragrant syrup that makes it sweet.


In the west of Algeria, it is also known as chamia, while in the east, it is known as h'rissa. This dessert is especially popular during the month of Ramadan, when it is traditionally paired with a cup of coffee.

MOST ICONIC Kalb-el-louz

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Deep-fried Dessert
ALGERIA  and  9 more regions
3.7
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Dessert
CONSTANTINE, Algeria
n/a
28
Dessert
CONSTANTINE, Algeria
n/a
29

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 29 Maghrebi Desserts” list until April 15, 2025, 3,643 ratings were recorded, of which 727 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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Maghrebi Desserts