Student Budget Cooking menu
Student Moroccan Menu — Cheap, Filling and Easy in One Pan
Student cooking has to be cheap, fast and light on washing-up, and Moroccan food delivers all three — most of it is built on pulses, eggs and one pan. This menu is designed for a tight budget and a tiny kitchen: a bowl of bissara made from a bag of dried favas, a one-pan kefta and egg tagine, and a no-cook fruit-and-yoghurt dessert. Filling, nourishing and barely any dirty dishes. Below are the courses, a cheap shopping list and a timeline. See the recipes and a how-to on one-pan tagines.
The menu
Starter
Bissara (fava bean soup)
A whole meal from a cheap bag of dried favas — blended, spiced and finished with olive oil. Costs pennies a bowl.
Main
Kefta and egg tagine (one pan)
Spiced minced-beef meatballs in tomato sauce with eggs cracked in — cooked and served in one pan, eaten with bread.
Side
Bread and a quick tomato salad
Torn bread to scoop, and a two-minute chopped tomato-and-onion salad for freshness.
Dessert
Yoghurt with honey, dates and nuts
No cooking: plain yoghurt with honey, chopped dates and any nuts to hand.
Drink
Mint tea
A pot of mint tea — cheap, cheering and the one Moroccan ritual worth keeping even on a budget.
Shopping list
- Dried split fava beans (for bissara — a bag lasts weeks)
- Garlic, cumin, paprika and olive oil
- Minced beef (for kefta)
- Tinned tomatoes and eggs
- Onion, coriander and bread
- Tomatoes (for the quick salad)
- Plain yoghurt
- Honey, dates and any nuts
- Green tea and fresh mint (or dried)
- Ras el hanout or a basic spice mix
Prep timeline
-
Night before (optional)
Soak the fava beans overnight for a quicker, smoother bissara.
-
Batch day
Cook a big pot of bissara and portion it — it reheats all week.
-
20 minutes before
Roll the kefta, fry them off and add the tomato sauce in one pan.
-
5 minutes before
Crack the eggs into the kefta sauce to just set; chop the tomato salad.
-
To finish
Spoon out the yoghurt with honey, dates and nuts; brew the tea.
Host's tips
- A bag of dried favas is one of the cheapest ways to eat well — one batch of bissara feeds you for days.
- Cook the whole kefta tagine in a single pan to keep washing-up to a minimum.
- Buy spices like cumin and ras el hanout once; they transform cheap staples for months.
- Reheat bissara loosened with a splash of water; it thickens as it sits.
- The yoghurt-honey-date dessert needs no cooking and no shopping trip — store-cupboard pudding.
Questions about this menu
What is the cheapest Moroccan meal to cook as a student?
Bissara — a soup of dried fava beans blended with garlic, cumin and olive oil. A single cheap bag of beans makes several filling meals, and it needs only one pot.
Can I cook Moroccan food in a tiny kitchen?
Absolutely. Much of it is one-pan: bissara in a pot, a kefta-and-egg tagine in a single frying pan. You don't need a real tagine dish or much equipment to eat well.
What spices should a student buy first?
Cumin, paprika, and a jar of ras el hanout will carry most dishes. They are inexpensive, last for months, and turn cheap staples like beans, eggs and mince into proper Moroccan meals.
How do I make Moroccan food quickly on a budget?
Batch-cook pulses like bissara at the weekend, keep eggs and tinned tomatoes on hand for a fast one-pan kefta tagine, and lean on bread and simple chopped salads. Most of it is 20 minutes or reheated.
Is Moroccan food healthy on a budget?
Yes. It is naturally full of pulses, vegetables, olive oil and spices, with modest amounts of meat. Dishes like bissara, lentil harira and vegetable tagines are cheap, filling and nutritious.
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.