Traditional Dishes of Egypt: A Culinary Journey

Dec 06, 2025 0

Due to its rich history, ancient culture, and excellent location on the shores of the Mediterranean, Egyptian cuisine boasts rich ingredients from both the sea and the fields that cover its vast territory. The invasions and conquests that Egypt has suffered in the past have left a legacy of numerous foods from the Middle East, making their cuisine more similar to Arab than African.

Meat is one of the most used foods in the preparation of their dishes. Also bread and yogurt sauces, which resemble Turkish and Greek due to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. In Egyptian cuisine there is no shortage of rice, with which some of its most popular dishes are prepared, such as mashi and kushari.

Egypt isn’t exactly known for its food. Think of the last time you saw an “Egyptian” restaurant in the United States. Wait, you probably have never seen one. Sure, there are lots of Middle Eastern restaurants, but these usually serve a conglomeration of Turkish, Moroccan, Israeli, Syrian, and Lebanese food. Despite this, Egypt has a lot of culinary offerings that are both delicious and unique. So, this gives us a great excuse to travel to Egypt! The only way to experience authentic Egyptian cuisine is to try it in its birthplace.

Egyptian cuisine makes heavy use of poultry, legumes, vegetables and fruit from Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta. Examples of Egyptian dishes include rice-stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebab and kofta. Others include ful medames, mashed fava beans; koshary, lentils and pasta; and molokhiyya, jute leaf stew.

Egyptian cuisine relies heavily on vegetables and legumes, but can also feature meats, most commonly rabbit and poultry such as squab, chicken, duck, quail and goose. Lamb and beef are commonly used in Egyptian cuisine, particularly for grilling and in a variety of stews and traditional dishes. Goat and camel are also eaten but are not as readily available nationwide. Offal is also a popular street food, often served in sandwiches.

A significant portion of Egyptian cuisine is vegetarian, largely due to the country's agricultural landscape and historical food traditions. The fertile banks of the Nile River are primarily used for cultivating crops rather than animal grazing, as arable land is limited and livestock farming requires extensive resources such as land, water and fodder.

Tea is the national drink of Egypt, and beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage. Popular desserts in Egypt include baqlawa, basbousa, kunafa and qatayef.

Here are some must-try traditional dishes that will give you a taste of authentic Egypt:

Main Dishes

Koshari

Koshari is a dish made of rice, macaroni, and lentils and topped with chickpeas, onion, and a special tomato-vinegar sauce. It sounds heavy, and it is - it is known as a “poor man’s dish” as the ingredients are staple items that could be found in any pantry. Koshary is now a cultural phenomenon, with entire shops dedicated entirely to serving this delicious yet inexpensive meal. It is the national dish of Egypt and is especially celebrated in Cairo. It’s a comforting pile of warm pasta, lentils, rice, fried onion strands, vinegar, tomato sauce, and spicy sauce.

If you’ve done any research on Egypt you’ve probably heard of Abu Tarek. This multi-level fluorescent palace is renowned for making the best Koshari, in fact alongside tasty rice pudding, it’s all they do. They also hold the world record for the largest Koshari ever created.

Abu Tarek Hacks: Takeout is cheaper than dine-in & don’t worry the sauces are separate so it travels well. Also, be sure to get extra onions.

Ful Medames

Known as ful for short, these are simply fava beans and are a staple breakfast dish. The dish can be cooked with virtually any spices. The most basic include salt and pepper, cumin, and olive oil, but it is almost always garnished with additional ingredients. Ful is usually served with loaves of pita or French bread, but can also be eaten in sandwich form for those on the go. It can be found at virtually any food establishment and is actually a popular street food.

Fatteh

Fatteh is popular throughout the Middle East, but each country makes it a little bit differently. In the Levant, it’s made with yogurt and garbanzo beans, but in Egypt, fattah has neither of these ingredients. Fatteh is a rice dish made with fried pieces of bread, a garlic and tomato sauce, and lamb or beef.

This Arabic dish has its origins in Ancient Egypt. Traditionally, many of the farmers ate it for breakfast, since it was the staple food of the day. Composed of fresh bread and hard bread mixed with yogurt, fatteh can be accompanied by chicken and aubergines or chickpeas.

Hammam Mahshi (Stuffed Pigeon)

Despite its American reputation as a rat with wings, pigeon, or hamam, is considered a North African delicacy. Grilled to perfection and stuffed with cracked wheat, hamam mahshi is a favorite amongst the locals.

Read also: Traditional African Textiles

In Egypt it is common to find different poultry dishes. One of the most popular is the stuffed pigeon. Their main characteristic is that they come from the organic hatcheries, so they are healthy birds. Although traditionally cooked for special occasions, because of its popularity today it is possible to consume it throughout the year. In many restaurants it is usually served whole, stuffed with pieces of liver and gizzards finely chopped and seasoned with salt, pepper and oil.

Mahshi

This popular dish is prevalent in most Mediterranean countries, but I’m biased, so I say the Egyptian version is the best. Small bites of spiced rice are wrapped tightly in grape leaves, then cooked in a tomato-based sauce and served with lemon. Mahshi is delicious - why else do you think a bunch of countries have adopted it as its own? Other popular stuffed dishes are stuffed cabbage (korumb), eggplant (bidingan), and zucchini (kossa).

The mashi is one of the simplest Egyptian dishes, but no less tasty. It is composed of rice which includes minced meat, spices, grape leaves, tomatoes, green peppers and aubergines. In some restaurants nuts are added at the end such as almonds, pine nuts, nutmeg and pistachios.

Fiteer Baladi

Also known as Egyptian pizza, fiteer is buttery and full of artery-clogging goodness. (Egypt is famous for heavy food, in case you haven’t realized). Fiteer is made of layers upon layers of filo dough and cooked in a giant brick oven. The original is served plain, but it can also be ordered sweet (with honey, syrup, and/or powdered sugar), or savory (with meat, vegetables, and/or cheese).

How to Make Egyptian Feteer Meshaltet with Chef Victoria Love, Part 1 of 2

Shawarma

Shawarma has become a global street food phenomenon - meat or chicken cooked on a spit and sliced into a sandwich with veggies and sauce.

Shawarma one of the tasty Egyptian dishes, it is a large cone of pressed lamb or chicken that is rotated vertically in front of a flame grill. Flame-grilled chunks of lamb (kebab) and spiced minced meat made into a sausage and grilled on a skewer (kofta) are a favorite Egyptian food meal.

Macarona Béchamel

Most fondly known as “Egyptian lasagna,” this dish consists of oven-baked macaroni with béchamel sauce, ground beef, and spices. Most people eat it at home and frankly, many restaurants make a version that’s too heavy for my liking. However, Macarona Reda has some of the best I’ve ever tried (besides my mom’s, of course), with a perfect ratio of sauce to al dente pasta. Plus, they serve the dishes with a shot of “salad water” - a tangy vinegar shot with lettuce - to wet your appetite.

Molokheya

To date, I’ve never been able to appetizingly describe molokhia to someone who hasn’t tasted it, so bear with me. It’s a leafy green vegetable, but it’s never eaten raw. It’s finely chopped and cooked with a bunch of aromatic spices, and by the time it’s ready for consumption, it looks like a thick, green stew. Some people say it’s slimy, and it is ever so slightly so, but when cooked well, the taste overpowers the consistency. It’s often served with chicken or beef, but you can sometimes find it with rabbit as well (a delicacy I have not yet tried). It’s often served over rice.

It is one of the favorite dishes of Egyptians, Hard to like on the first encounter, this is a soup made from mallow leaves. Green in color, it has a thick, viscous texture. Egyptians eat it with meat such as rabbit or lamb.

Hawawshi

Hawawshi is so utterly simple that it’s hard to believe it’s a must-try dish. One can consider it a minced beef sandwich, but it’s so much more than that. The skilled makers of hawashi roast the sandwich in a wood oven that crisps the bread so well, you would swear it was deep-fried. It’s most commonly served with pickled vegetables (torshi).

is a traditional food in Egypt, it’s a bread (something similar to pita bread) that is usually filled with minced meat, onion, pepper.

Other Dishes

Kofta: These balls of minced beef or lamb are very typical in Arab countries. They are usually seasoned with spices and onions, which gives them a certain sweet taste. They can be roasted, fried or cooked, and are usually accompanied by tomatoes, pitta bread, rice or vegetables, depending on the restaurant and region.
Kebab: Very popular in the countries of the Middle East, the kebab is composed of lamb or chicken meat. Unlike the classic Turkish kebab, in Egypt it is usually served on a skewer that is baked in charcoal with parsley. Depending on the restaurant it can be accompanied by vegetables, also roasted, or rice and salad.
Bamia: Also called as okra, this vegetable little known in the West is very common in Egypt, where in ancient times it was used as an ingredient in delicious dishes. Although there are different specialties that incorporate the bamia, the best known of all is the one that is made with tomato and that includes meat, onion, salt, onion and lemon juice.
Kobeiba: One of the tastiest dishes in Egypt. It is composed of beef that is cut into small pieces and seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices. Later it is mixed with bulgur wheat and other vegetables and, once it is all mixed together, it is cooked in the oven. In some restaurants, they also add pine nuts or other nuts.

Desserts

Baklava

Most people have heard of this deliciously sweet dessert consisting of crushed nuts baked between layers of filo dough and topped with sharbat (a sweet syrup). If you haven’t, prepare yourself for your new favorite dessert.

The origin of the baklava goes back to ancient Mesopotamia. Throughout history, due to the invasions and conquests of the peoples of the Middle East, this sweet began to spread throughout the Arab territory making it today one of the delights of Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Syria, among others . Consumed as a dessert, the baklava is composed of thin sheets of puff pastry dipped in honey or syrup that are usually filled with almond paste, hazelnuts or other nuts. They are cooked in the oven and, usually, their shape is triangular.

Kunafa

At first glance, kunafa looks like hay, but it’s actually just very thin and fluffy filo dough - also stuffed with nuts (or cream) and topped with sharbat. In fact, it’s similarly flavored to baklava, but the texture differentiation is really what makes it unique.

This delicious Egyptian dessert adopts the name of its main ingredient: the kunafa, a sweet spiced dough that can be found in most Arabic bakeries. Throughout history it has been consumed by different countries in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Om Ali

The direct translation of this dish is “mother of Ali,” and this seems to be the popular story behind the name. In a nutshell, it’s Egyptian bread pudding made with filo dough or puff pastry, nuts, and milk. It’s lighter and milkier than the European / American version, but just as delicious.

Um Ali is similar to the English bread and butter pudding but is less soft and spongy as it is made with local dry bread.

Basbousa

The Basbousa is an Ottoman dessert with Middle Eastern roots that has gained popularity in other parts of the world. It can be found in various countries, and people from all over the world enjoy using it. The name of the delicacy varies from country to country; in Egypt, it is known as Basbousa. The Egyptian version is typically skinny and covered with almonds and fresh cream.

Street Food

If you’re eager to try Egyptian street food, then look no further than the king of street food, ful mudamas.

Tamiya

Tamiya is breakfast food from heaven. It is the Egyptian version of falafel, but it actually isn’t technically falafel, because it is made from a different bean. While falafel’s main ingredient is chickpeas, taamiya is mostly comprised of mashed fava beans. The beans are mixed with onions, parsley, cilantro, other spices, and then fried in vegetable oil. You will often see taamiya served up in a pita bread pocket with a cucumber salad and some tahini sauce thrown in. A sandwich fit for a god.

In any city in Egypt, places to buy taamiya abound. The best time to pick some up is early morning until about 11am, the time most Egyptians finish their breakfast of taamiya before starting the workday.

Here is a summary table of some of the most popular Egyptian dishes:

Dish	Description	Main Ingredients
Koshari	National dish of Egypt	Rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, tomato sauce, fried onions
Ful Medames	Staple breakfast dish	Mashed fava beans, spices, olive oil
Fatteh	Festive dish, often eaten on Eid al-Adha	Fried bread, rice, meat, garlic, tomato sauce
Mahshi	Stuffed vegetables or grape leaves	Rice, minced meat, spices, vegetables (such as grape leaves, zucchini, eggplant)
Molokheya	Soup made from jute leaves	Jute leaves, broth (usually fatty), rice, meat (often rabbit or chicken)
Feteer Meshaltet	Flaky layered pastry	Filo dough, butter, optional sweet or savory fillings
Baklava	Sweet pastry	Filo dough, nuts (such as pistachios, walnuts), syrup

These are just a few of the many delicious and unique dishes that Egyptian cuisine has to offer. So, next time you're planning a trip, consider Egypt and embark on a culinary journey you won't soon forget!