Tunisia has a strong love for sweets, including both traditional Tunisian sweets as well as Western treats. Tunisia offers a great range of handmade sweets, crunchy cookies, and delightful pastries. Read on for a list of popular Tunisian sweets which you need to try on your trip. Have you already tried one of the traditional Tunisian pastries listed below?
Read also: The best Tunisian drinks you have to try!
10 popular Tunisian sweets, pastries and cookies
- Makroudh
- Samsa
- Zouza
- Bachkoutou
- Sweet harissa
- Biscuit with Tunisian lemonade
- Tunisian candies
- Bambalouni
- Baklava
- Kaak
Tunisian Makroudh – semolina cookie filled with dates
This delicious semolina cookie is one of the most popular Tunisian sweets. When wandering around La Medina or the streets of Tunisia you will bump into many Makroudh sellers. Freshly made and warm Makroudhs are super delicious and definitely worth the try! Makroudh is a traditional Tunisian sweet. The dough of this pastry is semolina-based and flavored with blossom water. Cookies are filled with date, fig, or almond paste and lastly fried in oil and soaked in syrup. The most traditional Makroudhs are shaped in diamond but there are also small round ones available.
Samsa – one of the most popular Tunisian sweets
Triangular and crispy Samsa is a traditional pastry in Tunisia. Made of crispy brick sheet dough and stuffed with almond, pistachio, or hazelnut filling. Fried in oil, soaked in syrup, and coated with nuts. Samsas are quite expensive and also laborious and time-consuming to prepare. That’s why these delicate pastries are popular at festivities like Ramadan and Tunisian weddings. The best samsa I have tried is pistachio ones sold by famous Tunisian Patisserie Masmoudi. These bakeries are located for example in Tunis, Hammamet, Djerba, Sousse, and Sfax. A package of samsa is a great souvenir to take home.
Zouza – Tunisian walnut cookie filled with caramel
Zouza is a famous Tunisian cookie, walnut-shaped with two shells. Zouzas are filled with creamy caramel that is made of condensed milk. These are popular cookies among adults and especially children. Try these cookies with refreshing juice or a cup of Arabic coffee. If you fell in love with these Tunisian cookies, you can try to make these at home. Baking Zouza is fairly easy. The only tricky part is the shaping as you need a special machine for that. I bought my own Zouza machine from Tunisia but you can buy your own from Amazon also.
Willing to bake these goodies at home? Here’s a recipe for you.
Bachkoutou – Tunisian biscuit
Tunisian word bachkoutou means biscuit or cookie. You can try bachkoutou in many different shapes and flavors. There is one specific biscuit which I like a lot, and you can see in the picture above. It’s a super simple biscuit that tastes a little bit of vanilla. It’s a great companion for soft drinks, juices, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. It can be used for some desserts like tiramisu. The biscuits in the picture have been bought from Patisserie Masmoudi but all the bakeries sell bachkoutou at a much more affordable price.
Harissa hlowa - sweet harissa cake
When you travel to Tunisia you will become very familiar with harissa, spicy pepper paste. The name of the cake, harissa hlowa means sweet harissa. But don’t worry this pastry has nothing to do with harissa. It’s is a popular and very traditional Tunisian cake made of semolina and almonds. After baking it is moistened with a generous amount of syrup. This popular Tunisian sweet is sold in many bakeries. Buy a small piece and enjoy it with a cup of lemonade, coffee, or tea. Tunisian people use it also on the top of the droo, which is a typical Tunisian breakfast.
Biscuit with Tunisian lemonade
One “must-try” thing in Tunisia is fresh lemonade served with crispy biscuits. The lemonade itself is super delicious and if willing to make it at home, here you find the recipe for that. During the Tunisian summer weather can be extremely hot so try this combination, it’s truly refreshing! The sizes of the biscuits vary, normally smaller than the one in the picture.
Tunisian hloa - Traditional Tunisian candies
Tunisian candies have nothing to do with jelly beans, lollipops, and gummy bears. When my husband took me to buy Tunisian candies for the first time, I was slightly surprised. Tunisian sweets like nougat, halkoum (similar to Turkish delight), bars with roasted dried fruits and syrup are called Tunisian candies. I am a person with a huge sweet tooth and I really like Tunisian candies. The nougat and halkoum can be bought from many bakeries. The bars of dried fruits are sold for example in La Medina, Tunis.
Bambalouni – Famous Tunisian donut
Tunisian donut Bambalouni is a traditional and popular sweet pastry in Tunisia. Bambalouni is made of flour, water, dried yeast, and a pinch of salt. Prepared donuts are fried in oil and served with sugar or chocolate sauce. This Tunisian pastry is very popular in Sidi Bou Said, when discovering this beautiful village buy one Bambalouni from street vendors. Bambalouni sellers can be found also from La Goulette, Tunis. This is definitely of the most popular Tunisian sweets that you should not skip!
Famous Tunisian Baklava
Baklava is a famous pastry all around the world, especially in Mediterranean countries and in the Arabic world. Baklava is a pastry made of crispy layers of filo dough, stuffed with nuts and covered with syrup or honey. The way of preparing baklava varies between the countries. Tunisian baklava looks a little different than other baklavas I have seen (See in the picture above left corner). Tunisian baklava looks firmer and nuts are in one layer in the middle of the baklava. In Tunisia, there are also different versions available some made with mixed nuts and others with almond or pistachio. You should try Tunisian baklava. Which version of baklava is your favorite?
Kaak Warka - Traditional wedding sweet
A white, small donut-shaped Kaak Warka is a traditional Tunisian sweet (See in the picture above). Served especially on weddings, holy month Ramadan and other major celebrations. These treats are made with a combination of flour, butter, almond, sugar, and blossom water. This sweet has a delicate flavor of blossom water and almond. They pair well with traditional mint tea, coffee, and fresh juice.
And just like that, I have introduced you 10 popular Tunisian sweets. Now let me know what is your all-time favorite Tunisian sweet?
I lived in Tunisia for one summer, in 1973. I was 17 years old, part of the American Field Service exchange program. I lived in Kairouan, a beautiful and historic city. I loved my time in Tunisia and miss it to this day! Makroudh in Kairouan is one of my favorite memories. And the Bamboloni in Sidi Bou Said….! I remember one vendor, in a tiny corner shop, dropping and twirling the dough into the oil. Amazing! Thank you for this wonderful memory!
Thank you for your sweet words! I can believe that Tunisia has offered a very beautiful experience. And yes, freshly made Makroudh and Bambalouni are amazingly delicious.
BR,
Hanna