Brunch menu
Moroccan Brunch Menu — Msemen, Eggs and Sweet Pastries
A Moroccan weekend brunch is a long, generous affair of griddle breads, honey, eggs and endless glasses of mint tea — the kind of table you settle into for a whole morning. This spread for four to six brings together the classics: flaky msemen and lacy baghrir pancakes, a sizzling pan of khlea-and-eggs, olives, jam and soft cheese, all washed down with fresh orange juice. Much of it is griddled fresh to order, which is part of the pleasure. Set everything in the middle of the table, keep the breads coming warm from the pan, and let the morning unfold slowly and sweetly.
The menu
Griddle bread
Msemen with honey and butter
Flaky, folded square pancakes cooked on a hot griddle and drenched in melted butter and honey. The centrepiece of any Moroccan brunch.
Second bread
Baghrir — thousand-hole pancakes
Spongy semolina pancakes riddled with holes that drink up honey-butter. Light, yeasty and endlessly moreish.
Savoury hot dish
Khlea and eggs
Preserved spiced beef fried until fragrant, then eggs cracked over the top and cooked until just set. Rich, salty and deeply savoury.
Cold spread
Olives, soft cheese, jam and butter
A little board of black and green olives, fresh jben cheese, apricot jam and butter for building endless bread combinations.
Sweet extra
Sfenj doughnuts (optional)
Airy, chewy ring doughnuts fried fresh and dusted with sugar — a weekend treat if you have the time to fry.
Drinks
Fresh orange juice and mint tea
Cold hand-squeezed orange juice and a pot of sweet mint tea, refilled all morning. Coffee with a touch of cinnamon if wanted.
Shopping list
- Flour and fine semolina (for msemen and baghrir)
- Yeast, sugar and salt
- Khlea (preserved beef) or good spiced sausage as a substitute
- Eggs (plenty)
- Black and green olives and fresh soft cheese (jben)
- Honey, butter and apricot jam
- Oranges for juicing
- Gunpowder green tea and a big bunch of fresh mint
- Oil for griddling and frying
- Ground cinnamon and coffee (optional)
Prep timeline
-
Night before
Make the msemen dough and the baghrir batter and refrigerate; an overnight rest improves both. Set out the serving boards.
-
Morning, first
Bring the doughs to room temperature. Squeeze the orange juice and set out olives, cheese, jam and butter.
-
30 minutes before
Griddle a first batch of msemen and baghrir, keeping them warm under a cloth. Warm the honey and butter together.
-
15 minutes before
Fry the khlea until fragrant, then crack in the eggs and cook until just set. Brew the mint tea.
-
At the table
Keep griddling fresh msemen and baghrir as people eat, refill the tea, and bring out sfenj last if frying.
Host's tips
- Rest the msemen dough overnight — it relaxes the gluten and makes the folding and stretching far easier.
- Baghrir is poured on one side only; do not flip it, so the holes stay open to soak up honey-butter.
- Warm the honey and butter together into a single golden pool for dipping — it transforms both breads.
- Griddle breads to order rather than all at once; a Moroccan brunch is meant to be slow and continuous.
- If khlea is hard to find, spiced merguez or a garlicky sausage stands in well for the savoury egg dish.
Questions about this menu
What is a traditional Moroccan brunch?
A leisurely spread of griddle breads — msemen and baghrir — with honey and butter, alongside eggs cooked with khlea or in a tomato khlii, plus olives, cheese, jam and endless mint tea and fresh juice. It is eaten slowly at weekends, with breads griddled fresh throughout the morning.
What is the difference between msemen and baghrir?
Msemen is a flaky, folded square pancake made from dough laminated with oil and semolina, crisp at the edges. Baghrir is a spongy, yeasted semolina pancake full of tiny holes, cooked on one side only. Both are served warm with honey and butter but have quite different textures.
Can I prepare a Moroccan brunch ahead?
Partly. Make the msemen dough and baghrir batter the night before and rest them in the fridge, and set out the cold spread of olives, cheese and jam in advance. The breads themselves are best griddled fresh to order, which is really part of the relaxed ritual.
What is khlea?
Khlea is preserved beef or lamb, spiced and cooked in its own fat, a traditional Moroccan way of keeping meat. Fried until fragrant and finished with eggs, it makes a rich, savoury brunch dish. If you cannot find it, a well-spiced sausage or merguez gives a similar salty depth.
What do Moroccans drink at brunch?
Sweet mint tea above all, refilled throughout the morning, plus freshly squeezed orange juice. Coffee, often with a hint of cinnamon or served as nous-nous (half coffee, half milk), also features. The drinks flow continuously, matching the slow, sociable pace of the meal.
Learn to cook this menu with a local in Marrakech
Every dish here is taught, hands-on, in a Marrakech cooking class — or taste them across the medina on a guided food tour.