What to Eat in Casablanca: A Food Guide to 5 Iconic Dishes

Casablanca’s food culture reflects Morocco’s Atlantic port geography and a mild maritime climate. Daily markets bring sardines and whiting from the cold current, alongside olives, citrus, and semolina from nearby plains. Families share platters, using khobz bread to scoop sauces and grains.

Cooking favors slow braises in clay tagines, open-coal grills, and long-simmered soups that suit cool ocean breezes. Spices lean warm—ginger, cumin, saffron, and pepper—balanced by preserved lemon and fresh herbs. Lunch is the main meal, with weekly rhythms shaped by communal gatherings.

In Casablanca, couscous centers the Friday table, a practice tied to communal gatherings after noon prayers and to family reunions throughout the year. Semolina grains are moistened and hand-rubbed, then steamed in a couscoussier over a fragrant broth, often with seven vegetables such as carrot, zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage, and turnip, along with chickpeas. The stew may include lamb, beef, or chicken, seasoned with ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and saffron, and sometimes finished with tfaya—slow-caramelized onions and raisins—for a sweet counterpoint. Fluffy grains, tender vegetables, and rich broth create a layered texture that is both light and deeply aromatic, typically eaten at midday in homes and canteens, with diners using bread or spoons to catch every last drop.

This emblematic Casablanca tagine relies on a marinade of garlic, ground ginger, turmeric, saffron, and lemon, rubbed onto chicken pieces before they simmer with onions in a shallow clay pot. Green or violet olives and wedges of preserved lemon are added partway through, the dish finishing with a glossy sauce that balances briny citrus against the warmth of spices. The chicken turns pull-apart tender, onions collapse into a silky base, and the olives provide firm, salty punctuation, all best scooped up with crusty khobz. Served year-round at lunch or supper, it mirrors the region’s access to olives and citrus and reflects the city’s preference for bright, clean flavors alongside slow-cooked comfort.

Harira is a tomato-based soup thickened with a flour slurry called tedouira and enriched with lentils, chickpeas, onion, celery, and fresh herbs like cilantro and parsley. It often simmers in a meat stock—lamb or beef bones lend body—seasoned with ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, and sometimes a hint of saffron, producing a tangy, aromatic broth with gentle spice. The texture is velvety yet substantial, with pulses providing bite and a bright finish from herbs and lemon. In Casablanca, harira is a daily comfort in cooler months and a staple at sunset during Ramadan, commonly paired with dates or honeyed pastries, serving as both nourishment and a cultural marker of the evening meal.

Casablanca’s coastal markets overflow with fresh sardines, a sustainable local catch prized for their flavor and accessibility. The classic preparation uses chermoula—a marinade of garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil—rubbed into whole fish before grilling over charcoal, the smoke amplifying citrus and spice. Another popular approach sandwiches chermoula between two fillets, lightly flouring and frying them until crisp outside and moist within, yielding a snack with bright acidity and gentle heat. Eaten hot off curbside grills or at home with salads and bread, sardines suit the city’s breezy climate and workday rhythm, offering a quick, protein-rich meal at lunch or early evening.

Seafood pastilla adapts a festive Andalusi-influenced pie to Casablanca’s Atlantic pantry, replacing the classic pigeon or chicken with shrimp, white fish, and squid. Layers of warka pastry are brushed with butter, then wrapped around a filling of gently poached seafood, thin vermicelli, and a mild chermoula scented with paprika, garlic, and lemon; some cooks add a light béchamel to keep the interior creamy. Baked until shatteringly crisp, it contrasts a delicate, citrus-herb fragrance with the sweetness of shellfish and the crackle of paper-thin pastry. Often served at celebrations and weekend gatherings as a starter or centerpiece, it embodies the city’s coastal identity and preference for refined, shareable dishes that travel well from oven to table.

Casablanca’s cuisine blends ocean abundance with market produce, warm spices, and citrus-forward accents like preserved lemon and chermoula. Communal meals, slow braises, and street-side grills reflect both climate and pace of life. For more food guidance and destination ideas shaped by weather and season, explore Sunheron.com.