Food culture
Pastilla (Bastilla), Explained
No Moroccan dish argues its case for sweet and savoury belonging on the same fork quite like pastilla — a rich, spiced meat pie wrapped in paper-thin pastry, then dusted on top with sugar and cinnamon in a deliberate lattice. It looks like dessert and eats like a savoury pie, and that contradiction is entirely the point.
- Read
- 8 min
- Topic
- Food culture
- Updated
- 20 July 2026
At a glance
- Pastilla is traditionally made with pigeon (squab), though chicken is now the common substitute.
- The filling is cooked down with onions, spices, saffron and eggs before being layered with the pastry.
- A toasted almond, cinnamon and sugar layer sits inside, with more dusted on top.
- Its name and hybrid character are widely traced to Morocco's Andalusian culinary heritage.
What is actually inside
Traditional pastilla uses pigeon, slow-cooked with onions, a blend of warm spices, saffron and sometimes preserved lemon, until the meat is tender enough to shred. The cooking liquid is then reduced and thickened with beaten eggs, similar to how a fricassee is finished, creating a rich, almost custardy binding sauce that holds the shredded meat together. Chicken has become the far more common substitute today, both in home cooking and most restaurants, since pigeon is less readily available, though the technique remains the same.
The almond layer and the lattice on top
A separate mixture of toasted, ground almonds, sugar and cinnamon is layered into the pastry alongside the savoury filling, giving pastilla its signature bite of sweetness within an otherwise savoury pie. Once assembled and baked or fried until golden, the top is dusted with a lattice or cross pattern of powdered sugar and cinnamon — the visual signature that announces the dish before it is even tasted.
The pastry that makes it possible
None of this works without warqa, Morocco's paper-thin, hand-made pastry, discussed in full in our warqa pastry guide. Multiple layers wrap the filling, with extra layers on top and bottom for structure, so that the finished pie shatters into crisp, flaky shards rather than tearing messily when cut.
Where the dish comes from and where to find it
Pastilla is closely associated with Fez and its refined Fassi cooking tradition (see our Fez culinary traditions guide), and its name is widely traced to the Spanish word for a small pastry, reflecting the dish's roots in Andalusian culinary influence — see our Andalusian influence guide. It remains a centrepiece dish for celebrations and weddings across the country, and a seafood variation has become popular in coastal cities like Essaouira — see our Essaouira seafood guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is pastilla made of?
Traditionally, pigeon (now often chicken) slow-cooked with onions, spices, saffron and eggs, layered with toasted almonds, sugar and cinnamon, all wrapped in paper-thin warqa pastry and dusted on top with more sugar and cinnamon.
Is pastilla sweet or savoury?
Both at once. The filling is savoury and spiced, but it is layered with a sweet almond-cinnamon-sugar mixture and topped with a dusting of sugar and cinnamon, making it one of Morocco's clearest sweet-savoury dishes.
Why is pastilla associated with Fez?
Pastilla is closely linked to Fez's refined, Andalusian-influenced Fassi cooking tradition, and is considered one of the clearest showcases of that city's technical pastry skill and taste for sweet-savoury combinations.
Is pigeon still used in pastilla?
Traditionally, yes, and some restaurants and home cooks still use pigeon (squab). However, chicken has become the far more common substitute today, since it is easier to source, and the cooking technique is otherwise unchanged.