Finding the Best Moroccan Tagine Pot for You

What is a Moroccan Tagine Pot?

You may notice that I am making it a point to specify tagine pot and not just refer to this as a tagine. There is a simple reason for this. The word tagine has two meanings. A tagine refers to the food cooked inside the pot as well as the pot that is used to cook. You’ll also find them spelled both tagine and tajine pot. The spelling makes no difference.

Traditionally tagine pots are made out of clay. They can be glazed or unglazed, the finish just depends on what the cook likes better. In Morocco, you’ll also see lightweight aluminum tagines. Outside of Morocco, there are more companies are making pots out of other materials like cast iron tagines or even steel tagines.

Moroccan cooking pots come in a variety of sizes. There are small cooking tagines that serve 1 or 2 people, medium for a small family, and a large tagine pot for 6+ people. If the size is a factor the smaller tagines are good but a medium-sized tagine pot is a good investment for long-term use.

Choosing the best tagine pot for cooking has a few factors to consider;

• what will you be cooking?
• how much experience do you have using a tagine?
• how often will you be using your tagine?
• how much money do you want to spend on your tagine cookware?

Cooking in a tagine requires a little bit of experimenting until you understand how yours works. An unglazed clay tagine will cook a lot differently than a cast iron enameled tagine. For beginners who don’t want to spend a lot of time fussing with traditional clay tagines, it makes sense to opt for the glazed versions. These tend to be more expensive however you can use them to cook many different things with or without the lid.

Those who want a more traditional tagine should look for an unglazed clay tagine. These are very easy to purchase in Morocco and make a great item to pick up if you’re visiting and want to bring something home. They also can be purchased abroad which is a good choice if you don’t want to carry the extra weight.

Where Can I Buy a Tagine Pot?

If you would have asked this question even a few years ago your options would have been very limited. But, thankfully Moroccan food is really making waves in the food scene. Today it’s a lot easier to find and buy a top Moroccan tagine! Loads of places have Moroccan tagines for sale.

As mentioned above, if you’re visiting Morocco this is the best place to buy a traditional tagine. You will see two different types of pots. One is painted on the exterior, and one is plain.

The painted style is a decorative tagine and shouldn’t be cooked in.

When you are shopping you should make sure to double-check if the pot is able to be put on the stovetop and/or into the oven – this is especially the case when purchasing clay tagines.

If you are buying a tagine in Morocco you’ll also want to be aware that some do contain small levels of lead. The makers of the tagines are becoming aware of this and doing more and more to make sure that their tagines are safe however at the end of the day money becomes a factor. If you’re unsure you can purchase an at-home lead test.  You could even bring them along and check before you buy.

Best Moroccan Tagines Comparison Guide

As wonderful as it is that there are now so many tagines on the market, it can be really hard to determine which one is the right one for you. I have chosen some of the top tagines to compare in this post so that you can make the right choice. Here are some of the best places to buy a tagine online.

Large Lead-Free Cooking Unglazed Tagine

XL Traditional Moroccan Tagine Pot (glazed)

Simple Small Tagine

Kamsah Hand Made and Painted Tagine

Emile Henry Tagine

Le Creuset Moroccan Tagine

Uno Casa Cast Iron and Ceramic Tagine

MarocMama Reader Bonus! UnoCasa is giving you 10% off their tagines! Click the current prices below and the updated price will be given at checkout.

Bruntmor Enameled Tagine

Clay Coyote Tagine

Kook Cast Iron and Ceramic Tagine

Cooks Standard Steel Tagine

Name	Avg $	Best For	Use	Weight	Link
Large Unglazed	$75	Intermediate Advanced	Oven Stove	6 lbs	Buy
Large Glazed	$100	Beginner Intermediate	Oven Stove	15 lbs	Buy
Small Tagine	$30	Beginner	Oven Stove	6 lbs	Buy
Emile Henry	$150	Any	Any	8.2 lbs	Buy
Le Creuset	$250	Any	Any	7.2 lbs	Buy
Clay Coyote	$200	Intermediate Advanced	Oven Stove	11 lbs	Buy
Cooks Standard Steel	$150	Beginner Intermediate	Any	10 lbs	Buy
Kook Cast Iron and Ceramic	$75	Beginner	Any	9.5 lbs	Buy
Kamsah Hand Made and Painted	$100	Any	Serving	6lbs	Buy
Cast Iron Bruntmor	$75	Beginners	Any	11.2 lbs	Buy
Uno Casa Tagine	$65	Beginners	Any	11.5 lbs	Buy

One final opinion. Many people have asked me which tagine I would buy. I’m lucky to have a zillion traditional style tagines out my door (literally there’s someone across the street that sells them). I’ve used traditional tagines for years.

But, if I were buying one new and didn’t live here, I’d choose the Le Creuset tagines every time.

It’s a sturdy, versatile tagine that you’ll be able to use for years and they have amazing customer service if something ever did go wrong.

How to Season a Tagine

If this is the first tagine you will be buying then you may need a few pointers on how to make the best use of it. When getting started it will depend on the tagine you choose.

For clay tagines you should always season/prime it to begin with. This may sound like an arduous process but if you want to keep your tagine from cracking it is very important. Not only does it strengthen the clay from cracking but can help remove some of the clay taste that comes naturally.

1. Soak the lid and the base of the tagine in water for a minimum of 2 hours.
2.  Drain the water and air dry the tagine. For an unglazed tagine, rub the entire vessel (interior and exterior) of the lid and base with olive oil.
3. Put the pieces into a cold oven and turn the heat to 150C/300F for 2 hours.
4. Turn off the oven, and leave the tagine to cool.
5. Wash the cooled tagine by hand, and coat the interior again with olive oil before storing or using.

Why is this important?  

Clay and ceramic tagines will crack when put on high heat. They also can easily crack if put on any heat with nothing in the vessel so you should always take care to never do this. You should always use the lowest burner setting on a stove top and the oven unless you have chosen a tagine that specifically states it has a higher temperature point.

Tagine Pots for Electric Stoves

Using a clay pot on an electric stove is generally not a good idea. You need to have soemthing between the coils and the clay so that it doesn’t crack. A good way to protect your terra cotta tagine is to use a heat diffuser. This is a really inexpensive, simple instrument that you can purchase.

To use you just put the diffuser between the stovetop heat source and your tagine.

Really, that’s it! I’ve found that for those who are afraid of cracking their tagine this is an easy way to ease into using them. You still need to keep the temperature low but it does add an extra layer of protection.

Pick up a heat diffuser for your tagines

If you’d rather not worry about cracking your tagine, then choose a tagine for electric stoves. I have a post that specifically talks about these tagines and can be very helpful in your shopping quest. 

Best Tagines for Electric Stoves

Tagine Cookbooks

Once you’ve gotten your tagine and prepared it, it’s time to start cooking! There are countless tagine recipes out there so where should you start? You can browse my site for several different recipes. There are also a few cookbooks that I really love and think you will too.

Get my list of Moroccan cookbooks I love here.

Tagines for Induction Cooktops

If you have an induction cooktop not all tagines will work. If you’re wondering if you can use a clay tagine on an induction hob chances are no. Because of how these stoves work you will need to purchase a tagine that specifically works for this. I have another post that shares some of the tagines that will work for these types of stoves. 

Best Tagines for Induction Stovetops (Induction Hobs)

Once you start cooking with a tagine you will discover how easy it really is. I highly recommend investing in a piece that you can have for several years. Even though it may seem like another piece of cookware it has so many uses!

 

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