A foodie guide to the Traditional Egyptian foods that even the Pharaohs ate!

Typical Egyptian food is quite similar to many middle eastern dishes, but with some twists. Because Egypt is an affordable holiday destination, it is a popular spot among vacationers, and travelers. Egypt has an amazing history and with many ancient sites to visit across the country, you will discover a culture that is different from that of the typical western society. With cultural differences also comes different cuisine, and this is most desirable among fellow travelers. In this guide, we will walk you through the most common Egyptian dishes as well as some more eclectic foods we tasted on our trips to this amazing country.

1. Fresh hot flatbread (street food on every corner)

2. Fattah

3. Tahini Salad (every restaurant has its own version and tastes different everywhere)

4. Mahshi

5. Om Ali (Nubian Restaurant Hurghada Marina)

6. Shawarma

7. Falafel

8. Baba Ganoush

9. Egyptian Seafood

10. Tagine of any kind (Nubian Restaurant Hurghada Marina)

11. Basbousa (Cake dessert)

12. Homemade kofta

Egyptian Flatbread (Aish Baladi)

Firstly, this is for certain the most typical Egyptian food. It is absolutely delicious when fresh and no other pita bread I have tasted before can compete with it. Its round shape makes it easy to rip it in half and fill it with any ingredients you desire. The Egyptians usually rip off small parts and dip them into a traditional stew made of fava beans or traditional tahini salad. It is perfect street food and you will find it on every corner. Little bakeries literally work 24/7 and pump out bread and best of all it's only 1 Egyptian pound per piece.

Fattah - A very typical Egyptian food

Fattah is a very popular dish in the Middle East, but it differs from country to country. It goes all the way back to ancient Egypt where it was served at big feasts and celebrations. It is a combination of rice, bread, and meat and a vinegar/tomato sauce. Again, very carb loaded, but super delicious. It’s a simple and satisfying dish, but very filling. Make sure you are hungry when you order this traditional Egyptian dish!

Tahini Salad

I literally can’t think of a more typical Egyptian food than the tahini salad. You will find it in every Egyptian restaurant and in some of the little street food stalls. It is tahini mixed with some lemon juice, garlic, and some water for texture. It is a nice addition to your flatbreads that also gets served as an entree with all meals.

Mahshi

I literally can’t think of a more typical Egyptian food than the tahini salad. You will find it in every Egyptian restaurant and in some of the little street food stalls. It is tahini mixed with some lemon juice, garlic, and some water for texture. It is a nice addition to your flatbreads that also gets served as an entree with all meals.

Om Ali

Om Ali translates to Ali’s Mother and it is a very sweet but typical Egyptian desert. If you haven’t realized by now, Egyptian cuisine sometimes is not the healthiest. They like to use a lot of sugar and the Egyptian cuisine is very carbohydrate-rich. Om Ali is made from pastry, sugar, milk, and raisins and topped with coconut, almonds, pistachio nuts, and pine nuts – Basically Egypt’s version of bread pudding. It gets served hot in a little baking dish with a scoop of ice cream on top. It is no surprise why it’s a hit, it is delicious! Make sure you’ll leave some room after dinner for this treat.

Shawarma

Apparently, this dish originates in Greece and is known as the gyros. But of course, the Egyptians have their own version with their own twist. It is made up of a choice of chicken or beef. The meat is marinated in cumin, turmeric, coriander, garlic, and paprika and cooks all day on the spit with the fat-melting on the surface. The meat is shaved off and put into a wrap where it’s wrapped and toasted to perfection. In a sit-down restaurant, you can also order it with rice instead of bread. A MUST try if you’re visiting Egypt and my all-time favorite of the popular Egyptian dishes.

Falafel

Probably one of the most popular dishes in Egypt comes from the Middle East. If you haven’t tried it yet, you definitely should. The Egyptian version contains crushed fava beans instead of chickpeas and also garlic, herbs, spring onions, and leek. These little vegetarian balls get deep-fried and sprinkled with sesame seeds once they’re done. If you are open to trying Egyptian street food, I totally recommend you to try falafel from a street food stall. They make them fresh in front of your eyes and the flavours are usually better than in any restaurant.

Baba Ganoush

This is popular Egyptian snack food, a dip made of roasted eggplant mixed with tahini, olive oil, and various spices. The smoky paste of eggplant can be found across North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, and increasingly on supermarket shelves just about everywhere else. In Egypt, you will find it on most menus as a starter served with flatbread. The perfect snack in the afternoon, if you don’t feel like ordering a main course.

Seafood is also a typical Egyptian food

It’s no surprise that Egypt has an abundance of fresh fish and seafood dishes along the coastline of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Especially when dining in one of the coastal resorts, seafood lovers will not be disappointed by the large and very affordable selection.

Tagine

Tagine dishes are slow-cooked savoury stews, typically made with sliced meat, poultry or fish together with fried onions and vegetables. Typically, it includes spices like ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and saffron. All tagines we’ve tried contained vegetables and minced meat in a tomato sauce. Commonly, Tagines are served with flat bread and are a very typical Egyptian food among the cities along the Nile river (Luxor and Aswan).

Basbousa

Is a traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake and it is to die for. It is made from cooked semolina or farina which is kind of like couscous and gets soaked in syrup and milk before it gets baked. It comes out very moist and stays moist even if it is a couple of days old. Coconut is also a popular addition to this pastry. Definitely my favourite dessert I’ve tried in Egypt.

Kofta - Most certainly a typical Egyptian food!

Last but not least. I have to mention it, simply because Dave basically lived of this dish for the first 2 weeks in Egypt. I’d say it is a must-try if you can find somewhere that makes it from scratch and not from a packet, we found these shop front restaurants in Giza where we could see the Kofta being shaped by hand and put over a smokey coal grill. They use ground beef and lamb mixed with fresh parsley, onions, garlic and Middle Eastern spices and the special flavours of the grilled meat come to life over the open fire! Dig in if you are a meat eater! Goes especially well with hot sauce!

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
― Ruth Reichl

What are your thoughts on traditional Egyptian food? Did we forget to mention anything? Or perhaps tell us what your favourites are? We would love to hear your thoughts on the above as well as see you implementing these ideas during your travels! Be sure to post to your foodie photos and tag us @justgo.life so we can see it and cheer you on!