Moroccan Taktouka is a delicious cooked salad, which is served as starter or side dish, usually with bread.

This delicious and flavourful combination of green peppers and tomatoes with herbs and spices embodies the simple, but mouth-watering flavours of traditional Moroccan food. Taktouka is usually served with bread, but that doesn’t mean you can’t serve it with other foods. It is delicious on toast, on rice or couscous and tastes amazing when eaten on its own. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
When people hear taktouka, they automatically think of shakshuka, which is a different dish. Shakshuka is eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, while taktouka does not include eggs. In Moroccan cuisine, and generally in the Middle East, a meal starts with small bowls of salads, for example, taktouka and zaalouk. These starters are served with bread to mop up the delicious sauce. Taktouka is a very popular starter and is always on the menu, whether you are eating out, in your home or someone else’s home.
How To Make Taktouka
Taktouka, is one of those dishes that taste better the next day, so make more than you need; or even make it ahead, and you will enjoy it more. It will keep well in the fridge for a few days. It can be served hot or cold, although I prefer it hot.
For this taktouka recipe, I didn’t roast and peel the peppers like it is done traditionally to save time; I added smoked paprika to give the smoky flavour associated with this dish. This meant that the peppers had more bite to it, which I quite liked. I also added some scotch bonnet for heat, but you can omit this if you don’t like hot food.
If you are short on time, you can also use store bought roasted peppers in jars, but this would work out more expensive.
Moroccan Taktouka
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic chopped
- ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 3 large Green bell pepper chopped
- 1 can Chopped tomatoes
- 1 small Scotch bonnet (optional) chopped
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Coriander Chopped
- 2 tablespoons Chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in saucepan under medium heat
- Add the garlic, cumin and smoked paprika and stir continuously for 30 secs
- Pout the green peppers into the pan and stir; add the tomatoes, scotch pepper and some salt to taste.
- Allow the content of the pan to heat up. When it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.
- Leave for 15 mins, then add the parsley and coriander. Cover the pan for another 10 mins for all the flavours to develop.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Nutrition
You must also try this South African relish, chakalaka.
I love a dish that can be eaten hot, and then the leftovers can be enjoyed right out of the fridge. The only substitutions were that I lacked parsley, and I used a shake of chili powder in lieu of the fresh pepper. Ate with leftover naan, potato chips, and in a sandwich- pretty versatile way to sneak some extra veggies in!
I was looking for a Taktouka recipe in which the bell peppers did not need roasting but were simply cooked on the stovetop. So glad I found yours! I used 2 big green bell peppers and 2 bullhorn type red ones. Instead of garlic, 1 big onion. The scotch pepper and smoked paprika added great flavour. We ate it with Moroccan pan bread and were in foodie heaven. Tx for a lovely recipe! Hélène from Holland.