Morocco | Main dish

Kefta Tagine

Moroccan meatball tagine simmered in spiced tomato sauce and finished with eggs.

Country
Morocco
Region
North Africa
Time
70 min
Serves
4
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for family dinner, bread-scooping meals, and quick tagine nights.. Plan on a medium cook and about 70 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Khobz, salad, olives, or roasted vegetables.

Regional lane

Tagines and special mains. Slow-cooked, spiced, sweet-savory, and celebratory dishes that anchor the table.

Chef watch-outs
  • Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
  • Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
How you know it is ready
  • The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Pantry lane

preserved lemon, green olives, saffron, ras el hanout, semolina

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Kefta Tagine recipe from Morocco
Kefta Tagine finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Kefta Tagine

Khobz, salad, olives, or roasted vegetables.

Best route from here

Tagines and special mains

Collections to keep cooking
Moroccan Salads, Soups, and Breads
Servings 4

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Morocco
4 steps 25 min prep 45 min cook 70 min total medium
1
Shape meatballs
Mix meat with onion, herbs, half the spices, salt, and pepper. Shape small meatballs.
shape 15:00
2
Cook sauce
Simmer tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, remaining spices, salt, and pepper until thick.
sauce 20:00
3
Simmer kefta
Add meatballs to the sauce, cover, and cook until done.
meatballs 15:00
4
Set eggs
Crack eggs into the sauce, cover, and cook until whites set and yolks are still soft.
eggs 06:00

Some cooks add preserved lemon or olives, but the meatball, tomato, and egg version is the classic home base.

Keep exploring

Cook around Kefta Tagine

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

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