Food of Mauritania
Mauritanian cooking reflects its desert and Atlantic coast, with couscous, rice, camel, goat and fish. Thieboudienne-style fish and rice are common on the coast, and the serving of three glasses of sweet mint tea is a ritual of hospitality. Dates and dried meat keep well in the heat.
Thieboudienne
A traditional dish of Mauritania made with fish, rice, vegetables, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
How to make ThieboudienneStaples
- rice
- couscous
- goat
- camel
- fish
- dates
Signature flavors
- mint
- dates
- garlic
- tomato
- onion
Main dishes
A traditional dish of Mauritania made with fish, rice, vegetables, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: fish, rice, vegetablesFull guide →A traditional dish of Mauritania made with lamb, salt, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: lamb, salt
Steamed semolina with vegetables and meat.
Key ingredients: semolina, vegetablesFull guide →
A traditional dish of Mauritania made with peanut, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: peanutFull guide →A traditional dish of Mauritania made with millet, yogurt, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: millet, yogurtA traditional dish of Mauritania made with camel, onion, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: camel, onionBreakfast
A traditional breakfast dish of Mauritania made with bread, dates, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: bread, datesSweet camel or goat milk with water.
Key ingredients: milkStreet food
A traditional street snack of Mauritania made with lamb, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: lambDesserts and sweets
A traditional sweet treat of Mauritania made with dates, butter, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: dates, butterDrinks
Strong sweet tea poured three times.
Key ingredients: green tea, mint, sugarFull guide →
A traditional drink of Mauritania made with milk, sugar, enjoyed at home and from local vendors.
Key ingredients: milk, sugarFruits and produce
Dates is a well-loved fruit or crop in Mauritania, eaten fresh or used in juices, snacks and home cooking.
Key ingredients: datesFull guide →
Watermelon is a well-loved fruit or crop in Mauritania, eaten fresh or used in juices, snacks and home cooking.
Key ingredients: watermelonFull guide →Dish guides from Mauritania
More cuisines of Western Africa
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guinea
- Ivory Coast
- Liberia
- Mali
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Thieboudienne: KVDP, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Moroccan cuscus, from Casablanca, September 2018: Lmmima, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mafe.malien: Marshiayers, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tunisian Tea with pine nuts: sky#walker, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- African kitchen utensils - stirrers: T.K. Naliaka, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Dates005: Nepenthes, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Taiwan 2009 Tainan City Organic Farm Watermelon FRD 7962: Fred Hsu (Wikipedia:User:Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
