I always recommend tasting Moroccan street food to my friends and clients who travel to Morocco. Morocco is a great travel destination because it has so many things to offer and experiences to try, and one of the best things to do in Morocco is to try Moroccan street food.

Moroccan cuisine is one of the finest and most delicious in the world. Unlike some destinations, where there are few culinary specialties, Morocco has dozens of specialties. You can spend your whole trip trying new dishes, and you might not even be able to try them all.

Most Moroccan families cook traditional Moroccan food every day, and restaurants and street food options cater to their needs. It’s very rare to be disappointed in a Moroccan street food offer, especially if you stick with merchants who sell to locals too. My advice is to be as curious as possible and give it a try. I’m sure your palate will enjoy the experience!

The Best Moroccan Street Food

These are Moroccan street food options that you can find in the streets of Morocco. They are food and dishes that can be enjoyed on the go, are easy to carry, and are quite filling. They don’t represent all Moroccan cuisine dishes, as many have sauces or are liquid, so it’s best to eat in a restaurant. Those include the famous Moroccan tagines, Moroccan couscous, and much more. For non-street food options, make sure to check my guide on the best Moroccan food to try in a restaurant. 

Hammas Kamoun

Hammas kamoun means literally in Moroccan dialect ‘chickpeas with cumin’. And this is what it is: well-cooked chickpeas seasoned with salt and cumin. Another variant is made with fava beans.

Chickpeas can sound boring to many, but cumin brings up all the flavors and nuttiness. Cumin also helps for a better digestion of chickpeas. This is a delicious and nutritious snack that will keep you full until your next Moroccan meal

You make it when you are back home. You take a can of cooked chickpeas or fava beans, rinse them thoroughly, add salt, cumin, and other spices if you like, mix, and voila! You are in Morocco again!

Sugar-Coated Peanuts

This is a sweet snack Moroccans love! It is made with whole peanuts roasted with sugar, which creates very crispy and delicious peanuts. The stall owner often gives these peanuts in paper cones or plastic cups so you can enjoy your treat comfortably while walking and sightseeing. They also keep well for a few days in an air-tight container, so you can bring some back home and prolong the magic.

Moroccan Harcha

Harcha, or Harsha, is a popular Moroccan pastry made with semolina. Moroccans love to eat it with traditional Moroccan mint tea or whenever they feel a little bit hungry on the road. Unlike most Moroccan pastries, Harcha is not sweet and is very yummy with honey and cheese, especially with fresh goat cheese or the locals’ favorite cheese brand, La Vache Qui Rit. So, don’t hesitate this spread—the result is very delish!

Sugar Cane Juice

This Moroccan street food is available in most Moroccan markets, or Medinas. Morocco is a big producer of sugar cane, so it is no surprise that you will find many vendors offering Moroccan cane sugar juice. You can recognize it by the big juice machine (often green) decorated with sugar canes.

The juice is sweet and very energizing and will fuel you for your visit. However, if you are following a special diet, watch your consumption as it is made mostly of sugar.

Zitoun, or Moroccan Olives

Moroccan olives are essential in Moroccan cuisine and a favorite as a street food. They are multicolor and have different flavors, and you can find them nearly anywhere in Morocco.

Moroccan olives are used in traditional Moroccan dishes like tajines, they are served as a side dish to complement menus, but are also enjoyed as a snack in the street.

While stopping by a Moroccan olive vendor, don’t be shy. Take your time to taste the different olive flavors before buying. This is how Moroccans make sure they choose the flavors they like (some are super spicy). And there is a big chance you like and order different flavors—that is what I end up doing each time!

Moroccan olives keep up really well in the fridge for a few weeks. If you decide to bring some back home – which I always do – ask the vendor to put them in a sealed bag. They’ll keep well, and flavors will be preserved.

Sfenj, or Moroccan Donuts

Sfenj is the Moroccan version of American donuts. It is a donut made with white flour-based dough, fried, and served either naturally or topped with sugar. It is best if eaten right after buying, as it can get a little chewy if cold. Chfanj is a popular Moroccan street food enjoyed as a snack, alone or with Moroccan mint tea.

Hendia (Prickly Pears)

Hendia is a fruit that is a very popular street food in Morocco. If you are in the right season – from late summer through early winter -, you can find vendors with their traditional food trucks full of prickly pears. You can either buy the prickly pears in bulk and take them home with you or enjoy them right away, and in this case, the vendors will peel the pears for you. The good news is, in Morocco, the prices are ridiculously high for this delicious, nutritious fruit.

Ghlal (Moroccan Snails)

Moroccan snails, Ghlal, are one of Morocco’s most surprising street food for tourists, as in many countries, snails are never used for cooking. This is not the case in many Mediterranean countries like Morocco, where snails are popular and cooked with different spices.

In Morocco, snails are a popular dish, and they are very cheap and affordable. The snails are cooked in a broth with special spices and herbs, which are said to be health-empowering (cold, rheumatism, etc.) and very beneficial for women, especially those dealing with fertility issues. If you’re pregnant, I would stay away from them as herbs in general are usually better avoided during this period.

The snails and their broth are served in small bowls, and toothpicks remove the snails from their shells. Even if Moroccans love to eat Moroccan snails during the winter, it can still be enjoyed all year round in most Moroccan cities.

Mille-Feuilles Pastry

I can confidently say that the Mille Feuille pastry is the most loved and famous pastry in Morocco. Expatriated Moroccans like me get all excited when they see this pastry somewhere outside the country.

Mille-feuilles is originally a French pastry, meaning in French ‘thousand layers’ as it is made with pâte feuilletée (puff pastry). However, Moroccans have appropriated this pastry and love it more than most French people. 

Raib or Moroccan Yogurt

Raib, or Moroccan yogurt, is another popular Moroccan street food. It’s naturally rich probiotics yogurt, similar to Kefir. The consistency is more gelatinous compared to a regular yogurt. You can have it natural with no sugar, in which case it can be slightly acidic. Or you can order it sweet and with different flavors. If you eat it with the Moroccan Harcha or a Mille-feuilles pastry, you are living the Moroccan life!

These were the most popular and loved Moroccan street food while visiting the Medinas. If you’d like to bring some back home, I highly recommend checking my Morocco shopping guide, where I share all the Moroccan food and products you can bring back home, whether it’s street food, spices, pastries, oils, or Moroccan handicrafts. I visit Morocco a few times yearly and always return home with a full stock of local goodness.

If you are staying in Marrakech for a few days, these curated Marrakech tours can make your experience more wholesome and inspiring, whether you love Moroccan cuisine or would like to explore the country’s desert, Atlas mountains, or Moroccan culture and history.