Budget Meal menu
Budget Moroccan Menu — A Full Meal from Cheap, Everyday Ingredients
Some of the most satisfying Moroccan cooking has always been built from cheap staples rather than meat — lentils, chickpeas, bread and a handful of spices carry a huge amount of flavour on their own. This menu leans on those everyday ingredients for a complete, filling meal without a large shopping bill. A handful of similarly low-cost budget cooking tips for Moroccan pantry staples sit alongside the courses below.
The menu
Soup
Bissara (fava bean or split pea soup)
Blended smooth with garlic, cumin and olive oil, this is one of the cheapest proper Moroccan meals there is.
Main
Lentil and vegetable tagine
Carrots, potatoes and lentils simmered with paprika and ginger, needing no meat to feel substantial.
Bread
Homemade khobz
Flour, water, yeast and salt — bread this cheap is not worth buying pre-made.
Side
Simple tomato and onion salad
A few vegetables dressed with oil, adding freshness at almost no cost.
Drink
Mint tea
A pot of tea costs very little and still gives the meal its traditional finish.
Shopping list
- Dried fava beans or split peas (for bissara)
- Garlic, cumin and olive oil
- Brown or green lentils
- Carrots, potatoes and onion
- Paprika and ground ginger
- Flour, yeast and salt for khobz
- Tomatoes for the salad
- Gunpowder green tea and fresh mint
Prep timeline
-
Day before
Soak the dried fava beans or split peas overnight to shorten the cooking time.
-
Morning of
Mix and prove the bread dough while the kitchen is otherwise free.
-
1.5 hours before
Simmer the bissara until it blends completely smooth, and start the lentil tagine on a low heat.
-
30 minutes before
Bake the bread and prepare the tomato salad.
-
Just before serving
Brew the tea and warm the bread through if it has cooled.
Host's tips
- Dried pulses cost a fraction of tinned versions and are barely more effort if soaked the night before.
- Bissara freezes well, so cooking a large batch for one budget meal often means two more meals for free.
- Homemade bread costs a small amount of flour and yeast and outperforms most cheap shop-bought bread by a wide margin.
- A good glug of olive oil at the end of bissara does more for the flavour than any expensive ingredient would.
- Buy spices loose or in small bags from a market rather than jars, where possible — they cost far less for the same quantity.
Questions about this menu
What is the cheapest proper Moroccan meal to make?
Bissara, a blended fava bean or split pea soup, is about as cheap as Moroccan cooking gets while still being a genuine, traditional dish rather than a stripped-down version of something else.
Can a Moroccan meal be filling without meat?
Yes — lentils, chickpeas and bread together provide plenty of protein and carbohydrate, and dishes built around them, like lentil tagine, are traditional in their own right rather than meat substitutes.
Is homemade Moroccan bread actually cheaper than shop-bought?
Considerably — a loaf of khobz costs little more than flour, yeast and salt, and usually works out cheaper than even a basic supermarket loaf, with better flavour besides.
How can I stretch a budget tagine further?
Add extra root vegetables such as potato, carrot or turnip, which absorb the sauce and bulk out the dish considerably without needing more of the more expensive ingredients.
Does budget Moroccan cooking taste worse than a meat-based menu?
Not necessarily — spices, olive oil and slow cooking do most of the flavour work in Moroccan cuisine, so a well-made lentil tagine can taste just as satisfying as a meat version, only lighter.
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.