TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best Moroccan Foods
Rfissa is a traditional dish of stewed chicken pieces, onions, and lentils served over shredded msemmen, old bread, or trid pastry. The full list of ingredients is as follows: chicken, onions, saffron, ginger, lentils, msemmen, fenugreek seeds, and ras el hanout.
The dish is traditionally served on the third day after the birth of a child or for similar festive occasions. It's typically consumed by a group of people gathering around the large dish, and each person then eats from his side of the platter.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Maakouda are traditional potato fritters that are popular throughout the Maghreb, especially in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The fritters are usually prepared plain, but they can also be stuffed with meat, tuna, or cheese, although not that often.
They're made with potatoes, parsley, garlic, flour, salt, and pepper. The potatoes are boiled, mashed, and mixed with other ingredients into small disks which are then deep-fried in hot oil until golden brown. Maakouda is traditionally served as an appetizer, a side dish, or an ingredient in a long sandwich roll that's usually sold as street food and served with harissa, coriander, and lemon juice.
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.
Pastilla is a stuffed pastry from Morocco, also known as b'stilla or bastilla. The rich, sweet and savory pie is filled with an unusual mix of pigeon or chicken meat, eggs, almonds, and cinnamon. It is commonly prepared for special events such as holidays, weddings, or parties.
The name stems from the Spanish word for pastry – pastilla. It is a time-consuming dish, but well worth the effort, as the end result is an incredibly flavorful, crispy warqa pastry, concealing savory meat and spices such as saffron, nutmeg, and ginger, topped with fried almonds and a dash of powdered sugar and cinnamon.
MOST ICONIC Pastilla
View moreTanjia is a unique Moroccan specialty made by cooking lamb meat in a clay urn along with flavorings such as saffron, cumin, garlic, lemons, and olive oil. The dish is especially popular in Marrakech, where the urns are filled with all of the ingredients, then placed in the coals of a public bath (hammam) to slowly cook overnight until the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone.
Originally, tanjia was created and cooked by men who would go on outdoor picnics.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Merguez is a spicy, flavorful sausage that originates from North Africa, particularly Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. It is traditionally made from ground lamb or beef, or a combination of both. Merguez is known for its distinctive red color, which comes from the addition of spices such as paprika, chili pepper, and harissa (a hot chili paste).
Other common seasonings include cumin, garlic, coriander, fennel, and sumac. The sausages are typically stuffed into lamb casings and can be grilled, pan-fried, or used in a variety of dishes, including stews, tagines, and couscous. Merguez is popular in North African cuisine and has also become widely enjoyed in France and other parts of Europe.
As the name suggests, the star ingredient in this traditional Moroccan dish is chicken, preferably bone-in chicken cuts such as legs, thighs, or drumsticks. Like other tajine dishes, this chicken variety is also prepared in the eponymous conical cooking vessel.
The meat is neatly arranged with various vegetables such as onions, carrots, tomatoes, or potatoes, and the whole dish is usually seasoned with cumin, saffron, parsley, or coriander. Typical variations also may include preserved lemons, olives, almonds, or apricots.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Tajine
MOST ICONIC Chicken Tajine
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
M'semen is a traditional Maghrebi flatbread made with a combination of flour, semolina, sugar, salt, yeast, warm water, oil, and clarified butter. The dough is kneaded until it becomes smooth, and pieces of it are then flattened and shaped into squares.
Once the dough has been folded and shaped, it is cooked on a griddle or fried in a pan until it becomes crispy on the exterior and chewy on the inside. Although m'semen is traditionally consumed on its own as an accompaniment to coffee or tea, it can also be stuffed with various meats and vegetables.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
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.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Shakshouka is a delicious combination of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. Although it has an unusual name, the dish is straightforward and easy to make. It is usually made in a skillet in which onions, tomatoes, and spices are cooked until they form a delicious tomato sauce.
Eggs are then added directly to the tomato sauce and poached until done. Merguez sausage can also be added to the dish. It is believed that shakshouka originated in Tunisia, but the dish is well-known and commonly eaten throughout North Africa and the Middle East as well.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best Moroccan Food Producers
Noor Fès is a premium Moroccan extra virgin olive oil brand, founded with the aim of recovering the authentic taste of traditional Moroccan olive oil. The company, based in the Fez region, focuses on the high-end market. The olives used in Noor Fès are sourced from ancient Moroccan Picholine varieties.
After years of careful harvesting, Noor Fès was introduced in 2018, quickly becoming a leader in Morocco’s olive oil market. The olive orchards benefit from an exceptional microclimate and pure mineral water streams, contributing to the distinct quality of the oil.
AWARDS

ATHENA IOOC - Double Gold
2024

NYIOOC - Gold
2023

Olive Japan - Gold
2023, 2021
BEST Noor Fès Olive Oils
Olive Oil Season is a producer of high-quality extra virgin olive oil from plantations in the Meknes region of Morocco. Their oil is made from the Picholine Marocaine olive variety, renowned for its fruity and slightly bitter aromatic profile. Special attention is given to the handpicking of predominantly green olives at the earliest stage of ripeness, ensuring a high polyphenol content, which contributes to the health benefits and stability of the oil.
After harvesting, the olives are swiftly processed using cold extraction at the Oléastre mill near Meknes, preserving their beneficial compounds and aromas. Their team includes experts such as Markus Siebeneicher, an olive oil sommelier and creative director; Reda Tahiri, the master miller responsible for olive cultivation and the extraction process; and Dalal Najem, a chemist and quality manager who ensures that only the finest olive oil reaches consumers.
AWARDS

ATHENA IOOC - Gold
2024

Terraolivo IOOC - Gold Medal
2022

EVO IOOC - Gold Medal
2021
BEST Olive Oil Season Olive Oils
LESIEUR CRISTAL is a leading olive oil producer based in Morocco. The company is part of the Avril Group, a French agro-industrial and financial organization. LESIEUR CRISTAL operates several production facilities across Morocco, ensuring a significant role in the local and international olive oil markets.
The company offers a range of olive oil products, catering to both consumer and industrial needs.
MAASSERA BRAHIM ZNIBER is an olive oil producer based in Morocco. The company focuses on producing high-quality olive oil leveraging traditional and modern techniques. MAASSERA BRAHIM ZNIBER operates within the rich agricultural framework of Morocco, known for its favorable climate conditions for olive cultivation.
The producer is part of a country that is a significant player in the global olive oil market.
AWARDS

Olive Japan - Gold
2015
BEST Maassera Brahim Zniber Olive Oils
AWARDS

Decanter World Wine Awards - Platinum
2018, 2016
BEST Casas del Bosque Wines
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best Moroccan Food Products
Noor Fès is a premium extra virgin olive oil made from the Moroccan Picholine olive variety. This high-quality olive oil is produced with traditional methods to preserve its authentic taste and rich flavor profile. The olives are carefully harvested and processed to ensure a smooth and well-balanced oil with notes of fruitiness and mild bitterness.
Noor Fès has gained recognition for its excellence in international competitions, showcasing its superior quality. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of Moroccan olive oil.
AWARDS

ATHENA IOOC - Double Gold
2024

NYIOOC - Gold
2023

Olive Japan - Gold
2023, 2021
Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Olive Oil Season is a high-quality olive oil produced from carefully selected Picholine Marocaine olives, cultivated in the Meknes region of Morocco. This oil is renowned for its rich and complex aromatic profile, perfectly balanced flavor, and natural health benefits.
It features fruity notes with subtle hints of bitterness and spiciness, typical of its high polyphenol content. The production process includes hand-picking olives at an early stage of ripeness and cold extraction within hours of harvest, preserving the quality and freshness.
AWARDS

ATHENA IOOC - Gold
2024

Terraolivo IOOC - Gold Medal
2022

EVO IOOC - Gold Medal
2021
AWARDS

Olive Japan - Gold
2022, 2021
AWARDS

Olive Japan - Gold
2015
AWARDS

ATHENA IOOC - Gold
2020
AWARDS

Decanter World Wine Awards - Platinum
2016
AWARDS

Decanter World Wine Awards - Platinum
2018
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 46 Moroccan Foods” list until March 05, 2025, 8,921 ratings were recorded, of which 2,253 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.