Merguez substitute

Best substitute

Ground Lamb, Seasoned Yourself

Use the same amount by weight as the merguez you are replacing

Best for couscous royale and tagines

Close match

The best substitute for merguez is ground lamb seasoned yourself: per pound, mix in a tablespoon of harissa, two teaspoons of cumin, a teaspoon of coriander, three cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of salt, then fry it as crumbles or roll it into fat fingers. Fresh Mexican chorizo is the closest ready-made swap in most supermarkets. Turkish sucuk is closest in flavour, and Spanish chorizo works but tastes distinctly Spanish because it is cured and smoked rather than fresh.

Other merguez substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Fresh Mexican Chorizo
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The nearest thing in an American supermarket: fresh, red, chilli-heavy and it renders coloured fat.
What changes
Best for
shakshuka and egg dishes, stews and one-pot rice, when time is short
It is pork rather than lamb, so it is sweeter and much less gamey, and the cure gives it a vinegary tang merguez does not have. Add a teaspoon of cumin per half pound and it lands close. If the dish is being served at a mixed or halal table, choose the lamb option instead.
3Turkish Sucuk
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Cured beef sausage, heavy on garlic and cumin, which renders the same red spiced fat.
What changes
Best for
shakshuka and menemen, stews and bean dishes, flavour accuracy above all
Of the ready-made sausages this is the closest in aroma, since cumin and garlic dominate both. It is cured rather than fresh, so it is firmer, considerably saltier and it never breaks down into soft crumbles. Slice it thin, fry it first, and salt the dish at the very end.
4Spicy Italian Sausage, Reseasoned
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Right texture and right fat content, entirely the wrong spice cabinet.
What changes
Best for
when the shop has nothing else fresh and spicy, crumbling into stews and sauces, grilling
Squeeze it out of the casings, break it up and cook it with a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of paprika and half a teaspoon of cayenne per half pound to redirect the seasoning. Left as it is, the fennel and black pepper make the dish read Italian, which fights a tagine badly.
5Lamb Kefta or Kofta Mixture
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The same meat and much of the same spicing, formed into meatballs instead of sausages.
What changes
Best for
tagines and couscous royale, serving to people who dislike heat, grilling on skewers
In a couscous or a tagine this is a genuinely fair swap, because the lamb and cumin overlap almost completely. It is milder, and it is usually mint and parsley forward rather than chilli hot, so the dish comes out fresher and much less fiery. Add harissa separately if you miss the heat.
6Spanish Chorizo (dry cured)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Good food, and a real change of dish, because it is cured and smoked rather than fresh and raw.
What changes
Best for
stews, bean dishes and rice, when nothing fresh is available, long-keeping store cupboard cooking
It brings smoked pimenton where merguez brings harissa, and being cured it stays firm and slices rather than browning into soft crumbles. Add it later in the cooking, since it needs no cooking through. The result tastes convincingly good and unmistakably Spanish.
7Harissa-Spiced Chickpeas or Crumbled Seitan
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 cup for every ½ lb sausage
The vegetarian route, which cannot imitate the meat but can do the sausage's actual job.
What changes
Best for
vegetarian shakshuka and vegetable tagine, vegetarian couscous, cutting the meat without losing the flavour
Per cup, add a tablespoon of harissa, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of paprika and two tablespoons of olive oil, and fry until the edges catch. Nobody will mistake it for sausage. What you do get is the heat, the cumin and garlic aroma and the red spiced fat, which is most of what merguez contributes to a shakshuka.

What is Merguez?

Merguez is a fresh North African lamb sausage, sometimes lamb and beef, packed into narrow casings and seasoned hard with harissa or dried chilli, garlic, cumin, coriander and enough paprika to turn it deep red, so that it renders spicy orange fat as it cooks.

Cooking tips

Merguez is raw sausage and must be cooked through, but cook it over moderate heat. Fierce heat splits those narrow casings and the spicy fat you actually want ends up dripping through the grill bars.
Do not oil the pan. Start the sausages in a dry pan with a splash of water, let the water boil off, and they will fry in their own red fat.
That rendered fat is half the point. Cook the sausage first, lift it out, and build your shakshuka, tagine base or couscous broth in the coloured fat left in the pan.
If you are mixing your own from ground lamb, use shoulder mince or add ten to fifteen per cent extra fat. Lean lamb makes dry, crumbly sausage that tastes of spice and nothing else.
Most Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian dishes are made without pork, so if your substitute is pork and the table is mixed, say so, or choose the lamb or beef option instead.
Rest a homemade lamb mixture in the fridge for at least half an hour before cooking. The salt firms the meat so it holds its shape and the ground spices lose their raw edge.

Frequently asked questions

Is merguez the same as chorizo?

No. Merguez is a fresh raw sausage of lamb or lamb and beef, spiced with harissa, cumin and coriander, and it must be cooked through. Spanish chorizo is dry cured and smoked with pimenton and can be eaten as it is. Fresh Mexican chorizo is much closer, being raw, red and chilli-heavy, though it is pork and has a vinegary tang merguez lacks.

Can I use ground lamb instead of merguez sausage?

Yes, and it is the best answer. Season a pound of ground lamb with a tablespoon of harissa, two teaspoons of cumin, a teaspoon of coriander, three cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of salt, rest it half an hour, then either roll it into fat fingers or simply fry it as spiced crumbles. In a stew, tagine or shakshuka nobody will notice the missing casing.

Can I just leave it out of couscous royale?

You can, since couscous royale usually also has lamb and chicken in it, and the dish survives. What you lose is the chilli heat and the red spiced fat that colours the broth, so compensate with a spoonful of harissa stirred into the broth and an extra teaspoon of cumin. Left out with nothing in its place, the broth tastes noticeably milder and paler.

Is merguez cooked or cured?

Fresh and raw, which is why it lives in the chiller cabinet rather than hanging up. Treat it exactly like a raw pork or Italian sausage and cook it through. Some producers sell a semi-dried version, but if you have bought it soft and bright red from a refrigerator, it needs cooking.

Is merguez always made from lamb?

Usually lamb, or a mix of lamb and beef, and it is traditionally halal, so it is never pork. That matters when you choose a substitute: if the reason a recipe specifies merguez is that the dish belongs to a cuisine without pork, then seasoned ground lamb or beef sausage is the appropriate swap rather than chorizo.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Merguez substitute

Other merguez substitutes

2Fresh Mexican Chorizo

3Turkish Sucuk

4Spicy Italian Sausage, Reseasoned

5Lamb Kefta or Kofta Mixture

6Spanish Chorizo (dry cured)

7Harissa-Spiced Chickpeas or Crumbled Seitan