A sweet, savory, and hearty mind-blowing dish!

This authentic Moroccan Couscous features fluffy steamed Couscous topped with stewed meat, savory vegetables, and a sweet onion-raisin sauce! Couscous makes a hearty mind-blowing dish at every party! It’s flavorful, insanely delicious, and packed with protein and healthy veggies!

What is Couscous?

Couscous is a North African dish of steamed, crushed durum wheat semolina. It is usually served with stewed meat, vegetables, or both. In Morocco, Couscous is served during baptisms, weddings, and special occasions. However, most families gather around a large communal couscous dish every Friday.

Couscous makes a versatile dish that you can customize to taste. If you’re not a fan, you may substitute potatoes for turnips or skip the meat altogether to make it vegetarian.

While the recipes differ from city to city and family, the most common varieties in Morocco include Couscous with seven vegetables and Couscous with Tfaya. Wondering what “Tfaya” is? Keep reading!

Moroccan Couscous with Meat, Seven Vegetables, and Tfaya!

My favorite couscous recipe includes chicken, seven vegetables, and a delicious Tfaya! Tfaya is a sweetened sauce made with raisins, slow-cooked caramelized onions, and a ginger-cinnamony blend! This classic couscous garnish is an absolute favorite in our house; our Couscous is always topped with a generous scoop of Tfaya!

Couscous Ingredients

For the Stew:
- The meat – I love mixing chicken breast and drumsticks because it’s convenient, healthy, and super delicious! Alternatively, you may use a whole chicken, lamb, or beef or skip the meat.
- The Seven Vegetables – although veggies’ selection differs from family to family, the most common vegetables used for Couscous are potatoes, carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes, cabbage, chickpeas, and fava beans. Other options include pumpkins and turnips. Veggies add a unique, rich flavor to the overall taste. Therefore, try to have a variety of vegetables.
- The spices – the secret to authentic Moroccan Couscous is only using a few simple spices! Forget about Rass-El-Hanout, cardamom, and other strong seasonings! All you need is curcuma, ginger, salt, and pepper!
- What else? There is no Moroccan cooking without olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, and chopped onions. Therefore, make sure you have these on hand. Finally, if you’d rather have spicy Couscous, you may add chili pepper.
For the Tfaya:
- White onions
- Raisins
- Olive oil
- Granular sugar (optional)
- Ginger, cinnamon, salt, and curcuma
For the Couscous:
- Dry Couscous – you may buy it from your local middle eastern store. If you don’t live near one, here is a link for the Couscous I use.
- olive oil
- water
- salt
- unsalted butter or ghee.

Do I Really Need a Couscoussier?

A Couscoussier is a traditional Moroccan food steamer made of two interlocking pots. While the first bottom pot holds the stew and broth used to produce the steam, the second pot holds the couscous grains.

Ideally, both the Couscous and stew are cooked using the couscoussier. However, you may use a universal steamer set over a stockpot if you don’t have a couscoussier. If so, you may follow the same steps as the couscoussier instructions highlighted in the recipe below. Otherwise, you may cook your meat and veggies using a Dutch oven and your couscous grains using a bowl of hot water and a microwave. This last option is not ideal, but it works! Here is how you can make it work!

Making Couscous using a Dutch Oven and a Microwave!

To start with, preheat a Dutch oven on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Next, add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, and seasonings. Stir and sauté for 5 min, or until the onions soften.
Add chicken, brown for 5 min, flip, and brown for a few more minutes. Pour in 1 cup water, cover, and cook for 15 min. Add cabbage and 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
Next, add the sweet potatoes, potatoes, and carrots to the bottom pot and cook for 10 minutes. Add more water, but just enough for the veggies to cook if needed. Add zucchini and chickpeas, and cook for five more minutes.
In a large bowl, combine dry couscous grains with 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp olive oil, and mix with your hands until it’s all combined. Add 1 cup of HOT water over the couscous mixture, and let it absorb water for 5 minutes without mixing it. Fluff your Couscous with your hands and place in a microwave for 3 minutes, covered with a paper towel.
Remove your couscous bowl from the microwave, and add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/2 cup hot water. Stir your Couscous with a wooden spoon and place it back in the microwave for 3 minutes. Repeat this step one more time. Finally, add unsalted butter and adjust the saltiness to taste.
Fluff your Couscous with your hands and place it on a large communal dish or individual plates, and serve your Couscous following the next instructions!

Serving Authentic Moroccan Couscous

In Morocco, serving Couscous the right way is important:

First, we shape Couscous into a mound and dig a well in the center.
Second, we put the meat into the well and place the vegetables all around. Then, we pour some of the incredibly rich broth over the Couscous, meat, and veggies.
Third, we distribute the beans and chickpeas and scoop a large amount of Tfaya over the top.
We love serving Couscous with broth bowls, tfaya bowls, and glasses of cold buttermilk on the side! Yum! Bessaha, Bon Appétit, Enjoy!

Authentic Moroccan Couscous Recipe

Laila Benjelloun Bailey

This authentic Moroccan couscous features fluffy steamed couscous topped with stewed meat, savory vegetables, and a sweet onion-raisin sauce! Couscous makes a hearty mind-blowing dish at every party! It's flavorful, insanely delicious, and packed with protein and healthy veggies!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 1

Total Time 2

Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Servings 4 people

Equipment

A couscoussier, dutch oven, or a large stockpot
A large communal dish or 4-6 individual dinner plates

Ingredients

Stew and Broth Ingredients

5-6 chicken drumsticks – unskinned (about 700 grams, or 1.5 lbs)
2 chicken breasts – cut into small pieces (about 700 grams, or 1.5 lbs)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions (1 large onion)
2 garlic cloves – crushed (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 – 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground ginger
2 large russet potatoes (peeled and cut to taste)
5 medium carrots (peeled and cut to taste)
1 sweet potato (or yam, peeled and cut to taste)
1 zucchini (or squash, peeled and cut to taste)
1/4 – 1/2 of a cabbage
1 – 16 oz canned chickpeas (peeled and rinsed with water to wash out excess sodium – use a 1 lb can instead of you're a fan of chickpeas)
3+ cups hot water, or as needed

Steamed Couscous Ingredients

2.2 lb dry couscous, fine or medium caliber. (about 1 kg)
2-3 cups room temperature water
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Tfaya Ingredients (Sweetened Garnish)

3 cups red, white, or yellow onions (approximately 1 – 1/2 large onion, or 400 grams)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins

Instructions

Making Tfaya

Preheat a saucepot over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add onions, olive oil, salt, turmeric powder, and ground ginger, and stir. Cook on medium-low for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add raisins and ground cinnamon. Stir occasionally, and cook for 30 minutes until a soft honey-like texture. Add 1/4 cup broth from the couscoussier if the sauce gets too thick. Adjust sweetness by adding more sugar or honey and consistency by adding broth.

Making Couscous using a CousCoussier – See notes for equipment substitutes.

Preheat the bottom part of the couscoussier on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Put in olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, and seasonings. Stir and sauté for 5 min, or until the onions soften. Add chicken, brown for 5 min, flip, and brown for a few more minutes. Add 1 cup water, cover, and cook for 15 min. Add cabbage and 1/2 cup of water, and cover. Meanwhile, grease the top part of the couscoussier: the steamer.
In a large bowl, combine dry couscous grains with 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp olive oil, and mix with your hands until it's all combined. Add 1 cup of room temperature water over the couscous mixture, and let it absorb water for 10-15 minutes without mixing it. Meanwhile, add cabbage, fava beans (if using), and 1 cup of water to the bottom pot and cover.
Fluff the couscous with your hands and place it on the lightly greased steamer; be careful not to press the couscous grains down it. Allow the couscous to steam for about 15 minutes, uncovered. Pour the couscous back into the large bowl. Add 1 cup of water and 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and mix with a wooden spoon. Allow the couscous to cool for 5-10 minutes before mixing it with the hands to separate the grains.
Put the couscous back into the steamer a second time, and let it steam, uncovered. Add the sweet potatoes, potatoes, and carrots to the bottom pot and cook for 10 minutes. Add more water, but just enough for the veggies to cook if needed. Add zucchini and chickpeas, and cook for five more minutes. (for this step, the total cooking time should be 15 minutes for both couscous and veggies)
Pour the couscous back into the large bowl, add unsalted butter and salt to taste, and fluff with your hands. If couscous is too hot, you may use a wooden spoon to fluff it. Your couscous should be tender and fluffy by now!

Serving the Couscous

Place steamed couscous grains on a plate or large communal dish, shape it into a mound, and dig a well in the center.
Put the chicken into the well and place the vegetables all around. If using one large main dish, pour 1 cup of broth over the couscous, meat, and veggies. If using individual plates, only use 1/4 cup broth for each plate.
Distribute the beans and chickpeas over the veggies and scoop a large amount of Tfaya over the top.
Serve Couscous plates with broth and tfaya bowls on the side. To avoid bloating, stay away from water and soda while eating couscous. Instead, enjoy this yummy dish with glasses of cold buttermilk! Yum!

Notes

It’s ideal to use a couscoussier to make couscous. If a couscoussier is unavailable, check out the article above for how to make couscous using a stockpot, Dutch oven, classic steamer, and/or microwave!
The top part of the couscoussier (the steamer) should never be covered while cooking couscous.
If your couscous is still not cooked after a couple of steams, put your couscous back into the large bowl, and add one cup of water, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and fluff. Place the couscous grains back in the steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes. Remember, broth or hot water should always be in the bottom part of the couscoussier to allow the couscous grains to cook.
Tfaya garnish is optional, but it takes it up a notch!
Feel free to substitute the veggies, meat to taste, or skip the meat entirely to make it vegetarian! You may also skip the veggies and use meat with Tfaya only!

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If you like hearty dishes, here is one of my favorite Tagines!

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemon

The famous chicken and preserved lemon Tagine is one of the most popular dishes in Morocco. The first bite will transport you all the way to the Medieval Medinas, and the fragrance of the spice mixture will make your house smell warm and sensuous! Enjoy a beautiful chicken tagine and bring an authentic flavor to your dinner table!

Check out this recipe

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Authentic Moroccan Couscous