Ingredients
Almonds in Moroccan Cooking
Almonds are one of the few ingredients that show up equally in Morocco's savoury classics and its most delicate sweets — fried whole as a tagine garnish, ground fine for a pastry filling, or blended into a rich breakfast paste. Few nuts carry this much culinary weight in one cuisine.
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- 7 min
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- Ingredients
- Updated
- 20 July 2026
At a glance
- Tafraout, in the Anti-Atlas mountains, is Morocco's best-known almond-growing region, marked by an annual blossom festival.
- Whole fried almonds are the classic garnish for sweet-savoury tagines like mrouzia.
- Ground almonds fill pastries such as gazelle horns (kaab ghazal) and pastilla.
- Amlou, the almond-argan-honey spread, is almonds' signature breakfast role.
Where Morocco's almonds grow
Tafraout, tucked in the Anti-Atlas mountains, is Morocco's most celebrated almond-growing area, its terraced valleys turning pale pink and white each February when the trees blossom, an event marked with its own almond-blossom festival that draws visitors specifically for the bloom. Almonds are also grown more widely across the country, but Tafraout's association with the crop is the strongest.
Almonds in savoury cooking
Whole blanched almonds, fried until golden, are the classic finishing garnish for rich, sweet-savoury tagines — lamb or chicken cooked with prunes or apricots, honey and warm spice, in the style often called mrouzia, discussed in our Fez culinary traditions guide. The nuts add crunch and a toasted depth that plays against the soft, slow-cooked meat and the sweetness of the fruit.
Almonds in pastry and sweets
- Pastilla: a layer of ground almonds, sugar and cinnamon sits inside the pastry alongside the savoury filling — see pastilla explained.
- Kaab ghazal (gazelle horns): crescent pastries filled with a fine almond paste scented with orange-blossom water, among Morocco's most iconic sweets.
- Briouats: some sweet versions use an almond-paste filling rather than the savoury meat or cheese fillings — see briouat explained.
- Fekkas: a twice-baked, biscotti-like biscuit often studded with whole almonds.
Amlou and the everyday almond
At breakfast, almonds take their most casual but perhaps most beloved form: amlou, a thick spread of roasted, ground almonds blended with argan oil and honey, eaten with bread — see our Moroccan breakfast guide and the story of argan oil for how the two ingredients meet. Almonds are also blended into a milky drink (sharbat) on festive occasions, and ground almonds occasionally thicken a sauce, though this is less common than their starring roles in sweets.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Morocco grow almonds?
Tafraout, in the Anti-Atlas mountains, is Morocco's best-known almond region, celebrated each February with an almond-blossom festival when the valley's trees flower. Almonds are also grown more broadly across the country.
What is kaab ghazal?
Kaab ghazal, or gazelle horns, are crescent-shaped pastries filled with a fine, orange-blossom-scented almond paste — one of Morocco's most iconic sweets, often served at celebrations and with mint tea.
What is amlou?
Amlou is a thick spread made from roasted ground almonds blended with argan oil and honey, eaten with bread at breakfast. It is sometimes described as Morocco's answer to nut butter.
Why are almonds used in savoury tagines?
Whole fried almonds add crunch and toasted depth to rich, sweet-savoury tagines that pair meat with dried fruit, honey and warm spice — a combination, often called mrouzia, especially associated with festive and Fassi-style cooking.