Group · Herbs & spices
Ras el hanout
Ras el hanout means « head of the shop » in Arabic: the blend a spice seller makes from the best he has. There is therefore not one recipe but as many recipes as there are merchants, with ten to thirty ingredients: ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, rosebuds, cardamom, sometimes twenty others.
On nutrition facts: 327 kcal per 100 g, 12.6 g of protein, 37.8 g of carbohydrate and 27.7 g of fibre. These are the values of the Ciqual line « Spice (average food) ». No table measures a blend whose composition changes from one souk to the next, and it is only honest to say so.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 327 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 1370 kJ |
| Protein | 12,6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 37,8 g |
| Fat | 7,9 g |
| Fibre | 27,7 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Manganese13,6 mg680 %
- Vitamin K1116 µg155 %
- Iron18 mg129 %
- Copper0,93 mg93 %
- Potassium1430 mg72 %
- Calcium479 mg60 %
- Magnesium186 mg50 %
- Vitamin E4,76 mg40 %
- Vitamin B9dietary folate equivalents26,3 µg
See the other 14 nutrients
- Vitamin B51,65 mg28 %
- Phosphorus190 mg27 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,53 g27 %
- Vitamin B60,31 mg22 %
- Selenium9,18 µg17 %
- Zinc1,63 mg16 %
- Omega-6 LA1,49 g15 %
- Vitamin B10,12 mg11 %
- Vitamin B31,52 mg10 %
- Vitamin B20,09 mg6 %
- Iodine9,12 µg6 %
- Vitamin A46,1 µg6 %
- Vitamin C4,29 mg5 %
- Vitamin D0,09 µg2 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
Tagine first. That is its territory: one tablespoon, or 6 g, is enough for a tagine for four to six people, which is about twenty kilocalories spread across the whole dish. It goes particularly well with lamb, prunes and almonds.
It needs to be heated. The aromas of ras el hanout are fat-soluble: thrown into the water of a stock, they are wasted. Fry it for thirty seconds in a drizzle of olive oil with the onion, before adding the liquid. The difference is immediate.
It is not only for stews. A pinch on roasted carrots, in a red lentil soup or on basmati rice transforms a side dish without adding any fat.
Salt or no salt. Blends sold in supermarkets are often salted, those from specialist shops rarely. Read the ingredients list once, remember the answer, and season accordingly: it is the only thing that really changes the salt content of the dish.
It ages badly. A blend this complex loses its fine notes first; after a year, often only the pepper and turmeric are left. Buy small quantities, even if it means buying again.
Sources
Average nutrition values per 100 g, given for guidance (spices and condiments are eaten in small amounts; values vary by brand and preparation).
