These 15 Tunisian dishes are must-tries on any visit to this vibrant North African country. Tunisian cuisine is bold with spices, generous with olive oil, and rooted in Berber, Arab, Ottoman and Mediterranean traditions. From crispy street food to slow-cooked family stews, each of these 15 Tunisian dishes tells a story.
Tunisian cuisine is one of the most vibrant in the Mediterranean, bold with spices, generous with olive oil, and rooted in Berber, Arab, Ottoman, and Mediterranean traditions.
Street Food & Starters
1. Brick à l’Oeuf
The quintessential Tunisian street food: thin malsouka pastry filled with egg, tuna, parsley and capers, deep-fried into a triangle. Crispy outside, runny egg inside. Eaten with lemon.
2. Harissa
The essential condiment, a fiery paste of dried chilis, garlic, coriander, and olive oil. Tunisian harissa (especially from Nabeul) is UNESCO-listed as intangible cultural heritage.
3. Lablabi
A legendary chickpea soup poured over stale bread, topped with raw egg, capers, harissa, olive oil, and cumin. Popular winter breakfast and late-night snack in Tunis.
Main Courses
4. Couscous au Poisson
Tunisia’s version features fresh fish (sea bass or grouper) with vegetables and a rich tomato-saffron broth. Friday is the traditional couscous day.
5. Ojja Merguez
Spicy tomato sauce with merguez sausages and eggs poached directly in the pan. Served with crusty bread for dipping.
6. Tagine Tunisien
Unlike Moroccan tagine, the Tunisian version is a baked egg and meat cake, more like a frittata, with lamb or chicken, cheese, and spices.
Seafood
7. Grilled Daurade (Sea Bream)
Simply grilled over charcoal with olive oil and lemon. At the fishing port of Houmt Souk in Djerba, buy fish from the boats and have it cooked next door.
8. Salade de Poulpe
Tender octopus in olive oil, lemon, parsley, and harissa. A refreshing starter available all along the coast.
Sweets
9. Makroudh
Deep-fried semolina pastry stuffed with date paste and soaked in honey. A speciality of Kairouan, buy them fresh from the medina bakeries.
10. Bambalouni
Tunisian doughnuts, fried rings of dough dusted with sugar. Sold by street vendors in Tunis and Djerba. Best eaten hot.
