Budget Dinner menu
Budget Moroccan Dinner Menu — A Feast on Little Money
Moroccan home cooking has always known how to make a little go a long way — pulses, vegetables and clever spicing turn a handful of cheap ingredients into a table that feels abundant. This budget menu feeds six generously for very little: a filling bissara, a chickpea and vegetable tagine, couscous, a pot of lentils and a simple orange dessert. There is barely any meat, yet nobody leaves hungry, because pulses and bread do the heavy lifting. A good jar of spices, bought once, seasons the lot. Browse more thrifty ingredient ideas and see how far a bag of chickpeas can stretch. Cheap, hearty and genuinely satisfying.
The menu
Filling soup
Bissara
Dried split fava beans cook down into a thick, warming purée for pennies a bowl. Finished with oil and cumin, it is the ultimate cheap Moroccan comfort food.
Centrepiece
Chickpea and vegetable tagine
Chickpeas, potato, carrot and whatever vegetables are cheapest, slow-cooked with spice and preserved lemon. Hearty and filling without costly meat.
Grain
Couscous with vegetable broth
A big mound of couscous — one of the cheapest ways to fill a table — topped with a spiced vegetable broth and chickpeas.
Side
Loubia or lentils in tomato
White beans or brown lentils simmered with garlic, cumin and tomato. Cheap protein that makes the meal properly substantial.
Salad
Carrot and cumin salad
Carrots are inexpensive year-round; cooked with cumin, garlic and a little chilli they make a bright, cheap salad to lift the table.
Dessert
Oranges with cinnamon
Sliced oranges dusted with cinnamon — one of the cheapest, freshest ways to end a meal, and entirely traditional.
Shopping list
- Dried split fava beans (for bissara)
- Dried chickpeas and dried white beans or lentils
- Potatoes, carrots and whatever vegetables are cheapest
- Onions, garlic and a bunch of coriander
- Tinned tomatoes or tomato paste
- Couscous (bought in a large bag)
- Cumin, paprika, ginger and cinnamon
- Preserved lemon (make your own to save money)
- Oranges
- Bread or flour, plus a bottle of oil
Prep timeline
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Day before
Soak the dried favas, chickpeas and beans overnight — buying dried rather than tinned is the biggest saving here.
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Morning
Cook the bissara and the loubia or lentils and cool. Start the chickpea and vegetable tagine to grow tender and thick.
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2 hours before
Make the carrot salad. Steam the couscous for the first time and prepare a simple spiced vegetable broth.
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1 hour before
Simmer the couscous vegetables, give the grain its second steaming, and gently reheat the tagine and bean dishes.
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To serve
Warm the bread, mound the couscous, ladle the bissara, and slice the oranges with cinnamon for a free-and-easy dessert.
Host's tips
- Buy pulses dried, not tinned — a bag of chickpeas or favas costs a fraction of the equivalent tins and stretches enormously.
- Let pulses and bread do the filling; a little meat, or none at all, is plenty when the beans are generous.
- Make your own preserved lemon from cheap lemons and salt — it costs almost nothing and lasts months.
- Buy spices whole and in bulk from a market; a single jar of cumin seasons a dozen budget dinners.
- Cook once, eat twice — bissara, tagine and lentils all reheat well, so leftovers become tomorrow's cheap lunch.
Questions about this menu
How can I cook Moroccan food cheaply?
Lean on pulses and vegetables rather than meat. Dried favas, chickpeas and lentils are extraordinarily cheap and filling, and dishes like bissara, loubia and vegetable tagines are built around them. Buy spices in bulk from a market, make your own preserved lemon, and a satisfying Moroccan dinner costs very little per head.
What is the cheapest Moroccan dish to make?
Bissara is hard to beat — a thick purée of dried split fava beans that costs mere pennies a bowl yet is warming and filling. Finished with olive oil, cumin and paprika and eaten with bread, it is a beloved everyday breakfast and lunch across Morocco precisely because it is so cheap and nourishing.
Can I feed a crowd on a budget with Moroccan food?
Very easily. Couscous, pulse dishes and vegetable tagines all scale up cheaply and generously, and a big mound of couscous with a spiced vegetable broth fills many plates for little. Add a pot of lentils or beans for protein, plenty of bread, and a simple fruit dessert, and a crowd eats well for a modest sum.
How do I make budget food taste rich?
Spice is the secret. Cumin, paprika, ginger and cinnamon, a spoon of tomato paste fried until it darkens, preserved lemon and fresh coriander give cheap pulses and vegetables real depth. A well-reduced sauce and generous seasoning make a bean tagine taste every bit as satisfying as a costly meat one.
Does buying dried pulses really save money?
Substantially. Dried chickpeas, favas and lentils cost a fraction of the tinned equivalent and swell to several times their dry weight once soaked and cooked. The only cost is planning ahead to soak them overnight. A single inexpensive bag can form the backbone of several hearty, filling Moroccan meals.
Learn to cook this menu with a local in Marrakech
Every dish here is taught, hands-on, in a Marrakech cooking class — or taste them across the medina on a guided food tour.