Vegetarian Moroccan

Best Vegetarian Food in Marrakech — Beyond the Meat Tagine

Marrakech is easier for vegetarians than its meat-heavy reputation suggests. Vegetable tagines, cooked Moroccan salads, bean soups and couscous mean you can eat richly and traditionally without meat — you just need to know what to order.

City: Marrakech
Cuisine: Vegetarian Moroccan
Typical price: 30-120 MAD

Best Vegetarian Food in Marrakech — Beyond the Meat Tagine — where to eat in Marrakech

Traditional Moroccan cooking has a deep vegetable repertoire, much of it naturally vegetarian. The starting point in Marrakech is the vegetable tagine — carrot, potato, courgette, pumpkin, turnip and green peas slow-cooked over a saffron-onion base until meltingly soft — and the seven-vegetable couscous, though you should check the couscous broth is not meat-based. Alongside these come the cooked Moroccan salads that open most meals: zaalouk (smoky mashed aubergine with tomato, garlic and cumin), taktouka (cooked pepper and tomato), and bakoula or khoubiza (mallow greens with olive oil, garlic and preserved lemon), all vegetarian and full of flavour.

Soups and pulses are a mainstay. Bissara, the thick fava-bean or split-pea purée finished with olive oil and cumin, is vegetarian and filling, as are lentil (adas) and white-bean (loubia) stews served with bread. Note that harira, the famous tomato-chickpea-lentil soup, is often made with a little meat or meat stock, so ask before assuming it is vegetarian. Griddle breads with amlou, honey and cheese, and the many nut, olive and date snacks of the souk, round out easy vegetarian eating.

Marrakech's status as Morocco's top tourist city means it also has a growing number of restaurants and cafés — especially in the medina and Gueliz — that cater explicitly to vegetarians and vegans, with modern plant-based menus, salads, mezze and juices alongside the traditional dishes. Riad kitchens are usually happy to prepare a vegetable tagine or couscous on request. Fresh produce is superb, so vegetable dishes here are anything but an afterthought.

To eat well as a vegetarian, order a vegetable tagine and a spread of cooked salads, check that couscous and harira are meat-free when it matters, and lean on the bean soups and griddle breads. With a little care, Marrakech is a rewarding, richly flavoured city for meat-free eating.

How to eat well

1
Order a vegetable tagine and a spread of cooked salads — zaalouk, taktouka and mallow greens.
2
Check that couscous broth and harira soup are meat-free, as they often contain meat or stock.
3
Bissara, lentil and white-bean stews are filling, cheap and reliably vegetarian.
4
Medina and Gueliz cafés increasingly offer explicit vegetarian and vegan menus.
5
Riad kitchens will usually prepare a vegetable tagine or couscous on request.

Frequently asked questions

Is it easy to be vegetarian in Marrakech?

Easier than expected — Moroccan cooking has a deep vegetable repertoire, from vegetable tagines and cooked salads to bean soups and couscous. You just need to check that dishes like couscous broth and harira are meat-free.

What vegetarian dishes should I order in Marrakech?

Vegetable tagine, seven-vegetable couscous (meat-free broth), and cooked salads like zaalouk (aubergine), taktouka (pepper and tomato) and bakoula (mallow greens), plus bissara and lentil soups.

Is Moroccan harira soup vegetarian?

Not always — harira is often made with a little meat or meat stock, though vegetarian versions exist. Ask before ordering if you need it to be meat-free; bissara fava-bean soup is a reliably vegetarian alternative.