In October 2023 I spent a month backpacking around Morocco, so by the end I was pretty accustomed to surviving there as a vegan on a budget. It definitely wasn’t my favourite country for vegan food, but it also wasn’t my least favourite.
The aspect of the food that I really enjoyed was the abundance of fresh fruit and fresh juices. Obviously the fruits vary depending on the time of year, but when I was there, the readily available ones included pomegranate, tangerines, bananas and apples. The apples were some of the tastiest I’d ever had in my life.
There are lots of roadside stands and market stalls selling fruit and it’s mostly sold by the kilo, so you can ask the price per kilo and then tell them how many kilos you want. I usually paid around 12 Dirhams per kilo for bananas and less for most other fruits. I recommend trying the “cactus fruit” shown below, which often comes pre-peeled and you pick it up with a toothpick (2 Dirhams each).
Fresh juices are sold in loads of cafes and restaurants, but it’s a bit confusing because they often come with milk. When the menu says “jus” it often means it’s the fruit blended with milk or orange juice. When it says “presse” it means it’s actually just freshly pressed juice. Sometimes they add sugar so you can say “sans sucre” if you want it without sugar. There are also some juice stands in some squares and at some roadsides. The price usually starts at 10 Dirhams.
Also, if you love dates (like me) then you’ll want to make sure you take advantage of the amazing locally grown dates in Morocco. They are more readily available near the desert (less near the coast) because that’s where they’re grown. There are lots of roadside date sellers with loads of different varieties. They usually let you try them to help you decide which type to buy. The price ranges a lot depending on if you buy the nice big juicy ones or the smaller drier ones etc., but I think it starts at around 25 Dirhams per kilo.
In terms of other snacks, it’s super easy to find nuts almost everywhere. You can fill paper bags with different quantities of different types of nuts, and sometimes there are other snacks like raisins in these sections of the shops/markets. You can just ask how many Dirhams per kilo before deciding how much you want.
I was definitely more enthusiastic about the snacks than the actual meals. In terms of meals that were widely available in regular restaurants, the vegan options I was able to find were mostly lentils with bread, loubia (white beans) with bread, vegetable tagine with bread, couscous with vegetables, or bissara (bean soup) with bread. They seem to eat bread with almost every meal in Morocco, and it’s usually freshly baked so it’s quite nice but I definitely got fed up eating so much bread.
My favourite out of the dishes I just listed was bissara. I found it had the most flavour and it was a great filling breakfast. It can sometimes be found at other times of the day but it’s most commonly eaten for breakfast. I usually paid around 8 Dirhams for it.
The vegetable couscous and vegetable tagine were my least favourite because they didn’t really contain any protein so I didn’t feel full for long, and I just found the taste was quite boring because it was just carrots and potatoes etc with a bit of salt, onion and parsley (can’t remember what else, but it never really tasted very interesting).
The lentils and loubia were my staple foods because they were fairly easy to find, usually cost less than £1, filled me up and were available at lots of different times of the day. To find them, I usually just looked for a very casual food spot, often without a name or menu, with various big silver pots visible on the stovetop. I would just go in and say “bonjour” and then say “loubia?” or “lentilles?” (pronounced like lon-tee) depending which one I wanted. They automatically gave me bread with it. Sometimes they would be kind of tasty and sometimes they would be a bit bland.
If you’re getting the loubia and you’re vegan, you might want to try and communicate to them that you don’t want any meat gravy, as they sometimes add meat gravy from a different pot onto the loubia once it’s on your plate.
If you’re in a bigger town or city, there might also probably be a Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian (etc.) restaurant serving falafel and hummus, which can be a nice option for when you’re fed up of the things I already listed. Obviously the prices are higher for non-local food than for local food, but I was happy to have something different sometimes. Just pay attention to the tahini/tahina sauce that often comes with the falafels because it’s usually a mix of yoghurt and tahini so it isn’t vegan.
I know there are a few more types of cuisine available in the bigger towns/cities (for example there’s a sushi place and a Thai place in Marrakesh), but I didn’t go to them as I usually try to stick to eating local food, and I was on a low budget.
If you would like me to help you plan your trip to Morocco, you can book a 1-to-1 video call by clicking the link below:
TRAVELWITHZOE 
Leave a comment