Egyptian Cuisine:
7 surprising things for first time travelers

What is Egyptian food like? Before heading to Egypt for the first time you might want to know what to expect. Egyptian cuisine is generally Mediterranean / Middle-Eastern in style, but it is also quite unique, with its own dishes, quirks, and history.

 

I’m Dr. Beth Hart, an archaeologist who’s worked in Egypt for over 20 years, and here are seven things that can surprise first-time travelers:

1- Bread is life in Egypt

The first thing you should know about food in Egyptian culture is that bread is life! The word for bread in Egyptian Arabic is the same as the word for life: Aish. So that tells you how important bread is to Egyptians.

And this is no surprise coming from the descendants of the pharaohs. In Ancient Egypt bread was used as a form of wage payment and bread (along with beer) were the quintessential offerings to the gods and ancestors, and the offerings everyone wanted left at their tomb to sustain them in the afterlife. See this example of an offering table with images of bread and beer inscribed on it, or the tomb wall relief below. 

A relief divided into three rows, the middle one has multiple figures kneeling and bending forward over low tables to process grain. Below them, workers stand and sit while using large bowls, jars, vessels to brew beer.

Metropolitan Museum of Art 08.201.1c. A wall relief from the tomb of Rekhmire shows images of brewing and baking to supply the deceased in the afterlife.

Luckily bread in Egypt is delicious! There are two kinds of Egyptian bread you have to try:

Aish Balady (meaning Country bread), which is a thick pita bread made out of whole grain wheat and finished with wheat bran on one side. When it comes out of the ovens it is puffed up like a blowfish and as it cools it becomes the expected round pita bread. This is the basis for breakfast sandwiches of beans, Tameya (like falafel), eggs, available from street carts and small kiosks throughout the country.

Rows of puffed flatbreads with charred spots sit on two levels of a slatted bamboo drying frame outdoors.
Freshly baked, pillowy Egyptian Aish Baladi cools on tiered wooden racks outside a traditional street bakery.

You can pick this up by the bag on street corners in the morning and if you are a traveler/visiting, most hotels serve it with their meals. Also keep an eye out in Cairo for the amazing bicyclists who navigate the (crazy!) Cairo traffic while carrying a tray of Aish balady bread on their heads.

Dozens of transparent plastic bags filled with round pita bread sit on a wooden frame on a street corner in front of a textured brick wall
Egyptian Balady bread is often sold on street corners packaged fresh from the bakery in bags and ready to go.
A cyclist carrying a large multi-tiered tray of bread maneuvers through a crowded market alley lined with shops, a tall stone minaret visible in the background, as pedestrians walk past.
One of the most impressive sights in Cairo: the cyclists who dodge traffic as they balance large trays of bread on their heads

If you are going to Luxor or Aswan be sure to also try Aish Shams, Sun bread. This is a loaf-type bread named because it sits in the sun to rise. Found more commonly in Upper Egypt (southern Egypt) it is thick kind of like a sourdough, and is really great with jam or cheese (or anything really).

Two rows of small thick, golden-brown bread loaves stand upright in on top of a blue metal cart positioned outside a shop entrance.
Aish Shams, Sun bread, is found commonly in upper Egypt, here in a shop in Esna.
A man in a traditional robe and headscarf sits on a wooden slatted bench next to three round, unbaked dough rounds resting on circular mats against a weathered wall.
Aish Shams is made traditionally, by setting it out in the sun to rise before baking.

Bread is served at every meal, but it is not alone in terms of carbs- often lunches and dinner will involve 3 or 4 carbs! An orzo soup (pasta), followed by rice, potatoes and of course bread on the side is quite common. I mean this is the country where I first found out that a french-fry sandwich is a thing. You will never be short of energy for climbing into pyramids or up minarets as you explore the sites.

2-Egypt is a tea culture, not a coffee culture

If bread is life, tea is king.

Perhaps even more important than bread in Egyptian cuisine, and really in Egyptian social life, is tea. Egyptians drink tea morning noon and night, and any time in between. Tea is not only a good way to wake up, but also a sweet treat, and a reason to take a short break. But most importantly it is a way to be social and hospitable. 

 Almost every vendor will invite you into their shop to have tea. Friends will sip tea long into the night, often while enjoying a shisha (hookah). 

 Tea (shai) in Egypt is most commonly a black tea, and most Egyptians prefer to have their tea sweet, adding spoonfulls of sugar to small cups. You can also order fresh mint or lemon to go with your tea. 

 

And if you are not a caffeine drinker, Karkade is a deep red hibiscus tea made from flowers grown in Egypt. It tastes a bit like cranberry and can be served hot or cold.

A round brass tray holds two dark blue teapots, two glasses filled with fresh mint leaves, a glass of dark red tea, and a small metal bowl filled with white sugar.
Two pots of Egyptian black tea ready to be poured into cups with mint, and a sugar bowl stands by, along with a cup of red karkade tea.
A man and woman are each smoking shisha at a lively cafe. Two mugs of dark tea sit on the table, surrounded by patrons in a bustling, atmosphere.

Project manager Hazem and I enjoying the classic Egyptian pairing of tea and shisha (tobacco in a hookah) while hanging out one night at a cafe in Luxor.

You can get tea anywhere in Egypt. In the markets you will see people bringing tea around to all the vendors, and there are street vendors for tea. You can even get tea out in the middle of the desert! 

On the street in front of a textile shop an Egyptian street vendor wearing a red cap carries a large, traditional metal tea vessel strapped to his chest. Empty glasses are secured to the outside of the vessel.
A traditional tea vendor walks around in Cairo ready to serve tea to anyone in need of a pick-me-up or a mid-day treat.
A man sits cross-legged on a sandy desert hill next to a small, smoking campfire. Various supplies, a large plastic container, and a dark bag rest on the sand beside him.
Even when exploring the remote desert for archaeological sites, our Egyptian team mebers would always bring wood or a small gas stove so they could boil water for tea!

So if you are a tea drinker you will be in heaven. If you are a coffee drinker… well, maybe its time to be come a tea drinker.

In Cairo there are now many coffee shops with Espresso drinks- Vascos in garden city is great, and there are even some Starbucks around here and there for better or worse. The Korba neighborhood in Heliopolis is a neighborhood packed with coffee shops, as is Zamalek.

But at a lot of places the coffee is often, brace yourself, instant coffee. Especially in the south. So mentally prepare yourself.

But remember when you are in Egypt, beready to drink a lot of tea!

3-In Egypt the falafel is taameya!

When most Americans think of middle eastern food, Falafel is one of the delicious foods that often comes to mind. But in Egypt the “falafel” is made out of fava beans instead of chickpeas, and is called Taameya. There is a lively debate among countries which is better. The Egyptian restaurant Zooba won best Falafel in a 2016 competition in London with its Taameya. You will just have to go and decide for yourself!

We could easily see that although there would be a stray artifact here and there (like the scraper I show in the video), the artifacts were very clearly concentrated around the rock art panels, likely due to the actions of ancient people rather than nature.

A close-up of a breakfast spread features a large central plate piled high with crispy, golden-green taameya (Egyptian falafel), surrounded by bowls of sliced sausages, fava beans, and fresh bread.
A large stack of taameya part of an breakfast spread. and two archaeologists ready to dig in.

The other surprising thing about Taameya is that it is a breakfast food! Egyptians eat it in the mornings, often in balady bread with tomatoes, cucumbers, and Tahina. Travelers will see it as an option at hotel breakfasts. 

Its hard to describe taste, but I can describe people’s reaction. On excavations we usually just have a really light breakfast around 5 or 6 am because we start so early then break for breakfast around 9. Whenever we show up to the tent or dining room and see its Taameya day, believe me there are cheers all around!

A man with glasses and a green scarf smiles inside a vehicle, holding up a plastic bag loaded with round balls of taameya. Outside the window, 2 local women stand near a white brick wall.
A fellow archaeologist is very happy with our score of a large bag of Taameya for breakfast while we worked in in the Minya area.

4-There's no hummus!

Another surprise for first time travelers about Egyptian food is that there is no hummus! Instead, in Egypt they have a similar dish called tahina where in other middle eastern countries you might have hummus.

Tahina is a dip made from tahini (ground sesame paste) often with lemon, garlic, and some olive oil added. So it is basically like hummus but without the garbanzo beans. It is often served as a dip (or ‘salata’) before or with your meal at dinner, or added into your pita sandwich (like with taameya).

A plate of creamy tahina dip sits next to one of textured babaganoush dip and a woven basket with several pieces of cut balady pits bread on a maroon tablecloth.
Creamy tahina dip and babagaoush (an eggplant tip) along with balady bread are typically accompany many dinners in Egypt.

Of course, you can find hummus occasionally at Lebanese restaurants and I am starting to see it in more restaurants these days, but it is not really a traditional Egyptian food.

So if you were planning to gorge yourself on Hummus during your trip, just expect to try some other dips instead: Like tahina , babaganoug (an eggplant dip), Bessara (mashed beans with herbs) or Labnah (a yogurt dip).

5- Is Egyptian food spicy?

Whether you are looking for spicy food or looking to avoid it, most first time travelers to Egypt want to know if Egyptian food is spicy?

 

The answer is: For the most part no… with a couple exceptions.

By and large most Egyptian food is not spicy at all. So if you are not a fan of heat, don’t worry you will be fine. But there are a couple exceptions, so if you like spicy food, look out for these, if you don’t, stay away.

A white patterned bowl filled with colorful pickled vegetables, including green pickles and crinkle-cut orange carrots, sits on a wooden slatted table next to a patterned ceramic teapot

Torshi is a side-dish of pickled vegetables that can often be quite spicy. It usually contains turnips, carrots, olives, cabbage, even lemons and onions. You can add it into your other dishes or eat it by itself. It has a very unique taste, people tend to love it or hate it.

Two metal bowls of Egyptian koshari sit on a stainless steel table, showing layers of rice, macaroni, lentils, and crispy onions topped with a bright red tomato sauce.

Koshari is an Egyptian dish that is kind of like spaghetti, if you also added in rice, lentils, garbanzo beans, and fried onions. I think of it like super spaghetti. Koshari usually comes with some optional extra sauces, a lemon-garlic one and a spicy sauce. It can be pretty spicy especially if you add a lot!

An open clay tagine dish reveals a bubbling, thick red tomato stew with tender chunks of chicken, resting on a woven straw mat atop a restaurant table.

Nubian Tagines- In the south, near Aswan, some of the Nubian dishes add a bit of heat, especially the tagines- meat and vegetables stews cooked in clay pots. It is not so spicy that it will burn your face off but, can have a nice kick.

A white oval bowl filled with glossy, marinated Egyptian pickled eggplant slices sits on a patterned tablecloth next to a small side dish and a yellow Lipton tea box.

The last exception to Egypt’s otherwise mild food is that occasionally you will get a garlic dish that is so garlicy it is practically spicy. Look out for certain eggplant dishes that lay the garlic on thick!

6- Egyptian cuisine is not shy of oil

A surprise for many travelers is that Egyptian dishes, especially casserole-type dishes, like moussaka are delicious, but can be heavy on the oil. I’m just adding this here because if you are not used to it, your stomach might give you a surprise. You might think you have mummy tummy, when really its just the oil.  It is good to know so if you are sensitive to oil you can choose your food wisely.

A large round metal pan holds a freshly baked Egyptian moussaka, featuring layers of sliced eggplant glistening with oil and baked into a thick tomato sauce.
Egyptian Moussaka a casserole-type dish made with eggplant.

7- It is easy to be vegetarian in Egypt!

And the last surprising thing is that Egyptian vegetarian food is easy to find. So many dishes are just vegetarian normally, e.g.  theTaameya, Koshari, and tahina I talked about above, but there are a lot of other vegetarian dishes in Egypt. You have to try lentil soup in Egypt, in my opinion it is the best of anywhere.  Most lunches and dinners will be served with vegetables stewed in tomato sauce: Spinach, peas and carrots, potatoes, and okra, are all typical Egyptian dishes. 

The fruits and vegetables are also amazing. Tomatoes and cucumbers are usually served with every meal, often as salata baladi, Pomegranates and guavas are in season in the fall and much cheaper than in the U.S., so be sure to try those, fresh or in a juice.

It is always good to ask and confirm that your meal is vegetarian, but you shouldn’t have any trouble.

At the end of the day, eating your way through Egypt is one of the best parts of a trip!

What do you think?

Have a question about eating in Egypt, or a favorite dish I left off? 

Leave a comment below!

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