What Is Makroud? The North African Date Pastry Explained
A plain language guide to makroud, the sweet North African semolina pastry filled with date paste and soaked in honey or syrup, also spelled makrout and maqrud.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Makroud is a North African semolina pastry filled with a thick date paste, then fried or baked and soaked in honey or syrup. Popular in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, it is rich, very sweet and often shaped into small diamonds. The semolina and dates are sold by African and North African shops you can find near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Makroud is a classic North African sweet, a semolina pastry wrapped around a spiced date paste and soaked in honey or sugar syrup.
- It is made with semolina, so it contains gluten and is not suitable for anyone avoiding it.
- It is very sweet, thanks to both the date filling and the honey or syrup soak, and is usually eaten in small pieces with tea or coffee.
- It is fried in some regions and baked in others, and is most loved during Ramadan, Eid and family celebrations.
- The filling is normally dates, but some versions add nuts such as almonds or walnuts, so check if you are avoiding them.
Around Ramadan, kitchens across Tunisia and Algeria fill with the smell of semolina, dates and warm honey as trays of makroud are shaped, cooked and soaked ready for the evening meal. It is patient, unhurried work, often done together, and the reward is a tin of glossy diamonds that will see the family and their guests through the whole month.
That same ritual travels. North African families in Britain still make makroud the old way for Eid and celebrations, pressing date paste into semolina dough and drenching the results in syrup to share with anyone who calls. Whether it is written makroud, makrout or maqrud, it stays a sweet, sticky link back to a North African celebration, and the comfort holds as long as the semolina, dates and honey can be found.
What Makroud Actually Is
Makroud is one of the best loved sweets of North Africa, a small pastry made from a semolina dough that is wrapped around a soft, dark date filling and then soaked in honey or sugar syrup. It is most closely tied to Tunisia and Algeria, where it is an everyday favourite, and it is also made across Morocco and the wider Maghreb. The name is spelled in several ways in English, including makrout and maqrud, but they all point to the same idea of a semolina and date sweet.
The pastry is usually shaped into neat diamonds or short bars, with the golden semolina crust on the outside and a band of date paste running through the middle. It is rich and sticky rather than light, closer to a dense confection than a biscuit, and it keeps well, which is part of why it is made in large batches for special occasions. It sits comfortably alongside the other syrup soaked sweets of the region, and you can read more about how it fits into the wider spread of Moroccan food.
What Is Makroud Made Of
The dough is built on semolina, the coarse golden wheat flour that gives makroud its distinctive grainy texture, usually bound with oil or melted butter and a little water, and sometimes scented with orange blossom water. Because it is a wheat product, semolina contains gluten, so makroud is not suitable for anyone who needs to avoid it. The dough is worked until it holds together, then rested so the semolina can soften.
The filling is a thick paste of dates, cooked down until smooth and often flavoured with cinnamon, orange blossom or a little oil. Some cooks keep it purely date, while others fold in ground almonds, walnuts or other nuts, so anyone with a nut allergy should always ask what is inside. Once the pastry is shaped around the filling and cooked, it is dipped or drenched in warm honey or sugar syrup, which soaks in and makes the finished sweet glossy, sticky and very sweet indeed.
When Makroud Is Eaten
Makroud is above all a celebration sweet. It appears in great quantities during Ramadan, when it is eaten to break the fast alongside tea and coffee, and it is a fixture of Eid tables and family gatherings. Because it keeps for a good while and travels well, it is often made ahead in large batches, boxed up and shared with visitors or given as a gift, and it is a familiar sight on the trays of sweets laid out for weddings and other happy occasions.
Day to day it is enjoyed in small pieces, as a little something rich and sweet to go with a glass of mint tea or a strong coffee. Whether it is fried until deep gold or baked to a softer finish, and whether the syrup is honey or sugar based, it is treated as a treat to savour slowly rather than a large helping, because a small diamond of makroud carries a lot of sweetness.
Where to Buy Makroud Ingredients in the UK
To make makroud at home you need coarse semolina, good soft dates for the filling, oil or butter, and honey or sugar for the syrup, plus orange blossom water and cinnamon if you want the traditional scent. Ordinary supermarket semolina and dates will work, but many cooks prefer the specific semolina grades and the softer, stickier dates sold by North African grocers, which make a smoother filling and a better crust.
An African or North African shop is the easiest place to find all of these together, along with orange blossom water and the honey that finishes the dish, and the shopkeeper can point you to the semolina and dates local cooks favour. You can find African food stores near you and check what they stock before you go, and some grocers also sell makroud ready made if you would rather buy it than make it.
Frequently asked questions
What is makroud?
Makroud is a North African semolina pastry filled with a thick date paste, then fried or baked and soaked in honey or sugar syrup. It is most associated with Tunisia and Algeria and is also made in Morocco and across the Maghreb. It is rich and very sweet, usually shaped into small diamonds or bars, and eaten in small pieces with tea or coffee. It is also spelled makrout and maqrud.
What is makroud made of?
Makroud is made from a semolina dough bound with oil or butter and a little water, wrapped around a filling of cooked date paste. The dough is often scented with orange blossom water, and the finished pastry is soaked in honey or sugar syrup. Because it is made with semolina, it contains gluten. The filling is usually just dates, but some versions add nuts such as almonds or walnuts.
Is makroud fried or baked?
It can be either, depending on the region and the cook. In many places makroud is deep fried until deep gold and crisp before being soaked in syrup, while in others it is baked to a softer finish. Both versions are dipped or drenched in warm honey or sugar syrup after cooking, which is what makes the pastry sticky, glossy and very sweet.
When is makroud eaten?
Makroud is above all a celebration sweet. It is especially popular during Ramadan, when it is eaten to break the fast with tea and coffee, and it is a fixture of Eid, weddings and family gatherings. Because it keeps and travels well, it is often made in large batches ahead of time, shared with visitors and given as a gift. Day to day it is enjoyed in small, rich pieces.
Where can I buy makroud ingredients in the UK?
The main things you need are coarse semolina, soft dates, oil or butter, and honey or sugar for the syrup, plus orange blossom water and cinnamon if you like. African Stores lists African and North African food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks the semolina, dates and honey, and some grocers also sell makroud ready made.