What to Eat in Egypt: A Practical Food Guide

Egyptian food rarely gets the same attention as its ancient sites, which is a shame, because a handful of dishes are genuinely worth building a meal or two around.

Koshari

Widely considered Egypt's national dish, koshari layers rice, macaroni, and lentils with chickpeas, a spiced tomato sauce, and crispy fried onions, usually finished with a garlic-vinegar sauce and a chili sauce on the side. Its exact origins trace to the 19th century, with likely Indian and British colonial influences on the rice-and-lentil base — but the dish as eaten today, sold everywhere from street carts to sit-down restaurants, is entirely, unmistakably Egyptian.

Ful Medames

Egypt's most popular breakfast dish by a wide margin, ful medames is slow-cooked fava beans, typically mashed and dressed with olive oil, lemon, cumin, and garlic. Its roots go back to Pharaonic Egypt, making it one of the oldest continuously eaten dishes in the country — still served every morning in households and street stalls across Cairo.

Beyond the Basics

• Molokhia — a garlicky, jute-leaf stew, usually served over rice with chicken or rabbit
• Mahshi — vegetables stuffed with spiced rice, a common home-cooking staple
• Ta'ameya — Egypt's version of falafel, made with fava beans rather than chickpeas
• Fresh Nile-side seafood in Luxor and Aswan, and grilled seafood along the Red Sea coast

Eating Well on a Tour

A private guide is worth its weight here too — knowing which street stall is actually good, or which restaurant does koshari properly, makes a real difference, and it's exactly the kind of local knowledge a good guide brings to a day that otherwise defaults to hotel restaurants.