Eating vegetarian in Morocco, a challenge outside the big cities
Moroccans are not vegetarians. Except perhaps the butchers, who are said to eat turnips (the equivalent of our poorly-shod cobblers).
The vegetarian traveller will soon discover that “meatless” does not have the same meaning in Morocco. Poultry is not meat, for example. And if they ask for a meatless tagine, they will simply be served a dish in which the vegetables or semolina have been cooked with the meat juices.
In Morocco, we put meat in all tagines (except when fish is included), even if it’s just a small hundred gram chouïa. You can’t go a whole day without eating meat.
So, for the vegetarian, there are only a few truly meatless dishes left: sfa, that delicious sweet couscous where the semolina is mixed with raisins and cinnamon, and the Berber omelette (not to be confused with the kefta omelette). And the salads and desserts. It soon becomes monotonous…
On the other hand, without eating vegetarian, it is possible to eat exclusively fish, in all the coastal towns, Agadir, Oualidia, El Jadida, Essaouira, Casablanca or Rabat there are fishermen’s restaurants, where they serve fried or grilled fish, in generous portions, on small tables lined up. For 60 dirhams, you can have a king’s lunch.
And then there are all the fish recipes, the fish pastilla, which is a marvel, the sea bream with capers, the sardine balls, the fish tajines, such as the one with tuna, cabbage and saffron…
But when you go on a tour of the south… it’s still a bit difficult. There is little fish and no real “meat-free” option. For example, fish is only available twice a week in Ouarzazate, and is immediately snapped up, and very few restaurants offer it on their menus.
Eating vegan … an impossible dream?
Eating vegan in Morocco means tackling a second pillar of Moroccan cuisine: dairy products! Whether it’s the milk in the juices, in the “nouss-nouss” (milk coffees), the red cheese or the Laughing Cow that we put on our sandwiches…
To find vegan restaurants outside the very big cities requires you to call on the djinns. And for your hotel meals in the evening, apart from the basic Moroccan salad, cinnamon oranges or fruit basket, you’ll read the menu with a desperate eye, remembering that if you ask for a dish without meat, they’ll simply take it away before serving you (yes, I know, I’m repeating myself). You may ask for simple side dishes.
Here’s a short list of “vegan safe” dishes:
- bread (but not Berber bread, filled with onions and often meat), soaked in olive oil for breakfast
- Moroccan salad (it’s easy to leave out the hard-boiled egg), specifying “without mayonnaise”.
- other Moroccan salads (Zâallouk, aubergine purée, tektouka, pepper and tomato salad, grilled peppers…)
- sfa made with vermicelli, if you’re willing to turn a blind eye to the small piece of butter used to cook the vermicelli
… and I think that’s all! If you know of any other dishes that are common in Morocco that might be suitable for a vegan, let me know in the comments.
Fallback solutions
Cooking your own food
It’s not always easy. If you do your own tour, you can stop at markets, buy your vegetables and cook on a small stove, in camping mode. In a riad you can certainly negotiate with the kitchen (watch what they do), but in a hotel it will be almost impossible.
Limiting ourselves to major cities
Despite this, vegetarian and vegan food has arrived in Morocco in recent years. It’s generally the preserve of well-off people, the “CSP+” and “CSP ++” as they say, but there are vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Agadir, as well as vegan dishes in more general restaurants.
You can also target Lebanese restaurants, whose cuisine naturally offers vegetarian and even vegan dishes, starting with tabbouleh, hummus or even falafel.
And if you’re invited to join a family?
This is very difficult. Your arguments are very limited, and you’ll have to talk about allergies, hoping that people will understand you (and believe you). If you’re a vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, don’t put that forward: as this ethic is contrary to Islam, it won’t be understood and you’ll risk long discussions. Stay within the realm of health, or accept a departure from your diet out of respect for those who receive you.
We still eat meat in Morocco
Published in 2007 on our travel agency’s website, this post has been updated to reflect current events.
The normal Moroccan meal always has meat (or fish) on the menu, in varying quantities depending on your budget, because meat is expensive.
But the quest for a healthy diet is increasingly important. This includes a demand for organic food, detox and, for some, vegetarian or, more rarely, vegan food.
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