Vegetarian Feast menu
Vegetarian Moroccan Feast Menu — A Full Meat-Free Spread
Moroccan cooking does not treat vegetables as an afterthought to meat — cooked salads, vegetable tagines and seven-vegetable couscous are proper dishes in their own right, built around butter, olive oil, saffron and slow simmering rather than any meat substitute. This menu strings several of those dishes into a full feast for guests, with no need to adapt a meat recipe. Browse the wider vegetable-based dishes of Moroccan cooking for more ideas to add.
The menu
Table starters
A trio of cooked salads: zaalouk, taktouka and carrot with orange-blossom
Aubergine, pepper-tomato and sweet carrot salads, all served at room temperature — the backbone of any Moroccan table.
Main
Seven-vegetable couscous with chickpeas
Pumpkin, turnip, carrot, courgette, cabbage and chickpeas steamed over a saffron broth; the centrepiece needs no meat to feel substantial.
Second main
Vegetable tagine with prunes and almonds
Root vegetables and dried fruit simmered until the sauce turns glossy and sweet-savoury, echoing the classic lamb version.
Bread
Warm khobz
For scooping the salads and mopping the tagine sauce.
Dessert
Orange and cinnamon salad
Sliced oranges with cinnamon and orange-blossom water — light, fragrant, and ready in minutes.
Drink
Mint tea
Poured tall to finish, as at any Moroccan meal.
Shopping list
- Aubergines, tomatoes, green peppers, carrots (for the cooked salads)
- Garlic, cumin, sweet paprika, fresh coriander and parsley
- Couscous, plus pumpkin, turnip, courgette, cabbage and chickpeas
- Saffron threads and a good vegetable stock
- Sweet potato or extra root vegetables for the second tagine
- Soft prunes, blanched almonds and cinnamon
- Preserved lemon and green olives
- Oranges and orange-blossom water
- Bread or flour to bake khobz, gunpowder tea and fresh mint
Prep timeline
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Day before
Make the three cooked salads — they taste better rested and keep well in the fridge.
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Morning of
Soak the chickpeas if using dried, and prepare the vegetables for both the couscous and the tagine.
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2 hours before
Start the vegetable tagine with prunes; it wants a slow simmer to turn the sauce glossy.
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1 hour before
Steam the couscous over the seven-vegetable broth in stages, fluffing between steamings.
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20 minutes before
Slice the oranges for dessert and warm the bread.
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At the table
Serve the salads first, then couscous and tagine together so guests can choose or combine both.
Host's tips
- Steam couscous in stages rather than boiling it in one go — it is the difference between fluffy grains and a claggy mass.
- Saffron is what gives the broth its Moroccan character; do not skip it even in a small pinch.
- The cooked salads improve overnight in the fridge, so make them well ahead of guests arriving.
- Serve both the couscous and the prune tagine side by side rather than choosing one — Moroccan tables rarely offer just a single main.
- A can of chickpeas is a perfectly acceptable shortcut when time is short.
Questions about this menu
Is Moroccan food naturally vegetarian-friendly?
Very much so — cooked salads, vegetable tagines and seven-vegetable couscous are traditional dishes in their own right, not adaptations. Butter, olive oil and saffron do the flavour work that meat would otherwise carry.
Can I make the whole feast without dairy?
Yes — swap butter for olive oil in the couscous and tagine, both common in Moroccan cooking anyway, and the menu becomes vegan with no other changes needed.
What gives a vegetable tagine its depth without meat stock?
Slow caramelisation of onions, a good pinch of saffron, and dried fruit like prunes or apricots, which add sweetness that balances the savoury base the way meat juices normally would.
How far ahead can I prepare this menu?
The cooked salads keep for two to three days, the tagine reheats well, and only the couscous steaming and orange dessert need doing close to serving.
What main should I serve if I only have time for one dish?
The seven-vegetable couscous is the more filling, complete option; keep the tagine for a second occasion if time is tight.
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.