Ingredients & pantry
What nuts are used in Moroccan cooking?
- Dominant nut
- Almonds
- Also used
- Walnuts, sesame seeds
- Forms
- Whole, ground, fried, toasted
- Key dishes
- Pastilla, sweet tagines, pastries
Quick answer
Almonds are by far the most widely used nut in Moroccan cooking, appearing whole, blanched, toasted, fried or ground in dishes from pastilla to sweet tagines to almond pastries. Walnuts show up in specific pastries and some salads, and sesame seeds — technically a seed, but used the same way — are toasted and scattered over sweets, breads and honey-glazed pastries throughout the cuisine.
Almonds, the clear favourite
Almonds appear across Moroccan cooking more than any other nut, in a striking range of forms. Whole blanched almonds are fried until golden and scattered over the top of the classic lamb-or-chicken-with-prune sweet tagine, and over seffa and rice-based celebration dishes. Ground almonds form the rich, sweet paste filling for sweet briouats and are the defining ingredient in many Moroccan pastries and cookies, including the almond-paste-filled treats found in any good pastry shop.
Perhaps most famously, ground almonds are a core ingredient inside pastilla, where a layer of sugared, cinnamon-dusted almonds sits between the pastry and the meat filling, contributing both texture and a sweet counterpoint to the savoury pie.
Walnuts and other nuts, in smaller roles
Walnuts appear less frequently than almonds but do show up in certain regional pastries and occasionally in savoury preparations, adding a slightly more bitter, earthy note than almond's cleaner sweetness. Some traditional cooked salads and stuffed vegetable dishes use chopped walnuts for texture, though this is far less universal than almond's presence.
Pistachios and pine nuts appear more rarely still, generally reserved for special or more elaborate pastry work rather than everyday cooking, and tend to be more of a garnish than a core ingredient when they do appear.
Sesame seeds, everywhere in sweets
While technically a seed rather than a nut, sesame is used constantly alongside almonds in Moroccan sweets and baking, most visibly in chebakia, where toasted sesame is both worked into the dough and sprinkled on after the honey dip. It also appears baked onto some breads and savoury pastries, adding a light crunch and nutty aroma.
The combination of toasted sesame and almonds together is one of the most recognisable flavour signatures of Moroccan festive baking, especially around Ramadan and weddings.
Buying nuts in the market
Marrakech's souks sell almonds, walnuts and sesame both raw and already roasted or fried, by weight, from open sacks — a good spice or dried-goods merchant will let you taste before buying, which is the best way to judge freshness, since stale nuts turn rancid and bitter. Buying in smaller, more frequent quantities, especially in the heat of a Marrakech summer, keeps them fresher than a large bag bought once and stored for months.
If you're interested in how these nuts are worked into pastries, a cooking class focused on Moroccan sweets or a stop at a traditional pastry shop is a good way to see the almond-paste and sesame techniques up close.
Related questions
Are almonds used in savoury Moroccan dishes too?
Yes — beyond sweets and pastries, fried whole almonds are a classic garnish on sweet-savoury tagines like lamb with prunes, bridging both categories.
Is pastilla made with nuts?
Yes, a sweetened, cinnamon-spiced layer of ground almonds is a defining component of a traditional pastilla, sitting alongside the meat filling.
Are walnuts common in Moroccan cooking?
Less so than almonds — they appear in some regional pastries and dishes, but almonds are used far more widely across the cuisine.
Can nut allergies be accommodated in Moroccan food?
It requires care, since almonds and sesame appear in many sweets, pastries and some savoury garnishes — always ask directly, especially for pastilla, briouats and any celebration dish.