Aladdin Themed Dinner

This week, our family set off on a magic carpet ride while enjoying an Aladdin themed dinner!

Aladdin was the first Disney movie I remember seeing in a theater, and a childhood staple growing up.  I’ve been wanting to do an Aladdin themed dinner for so long, but I’ve held off because I wanted to make sure to get it just right.

Well, this week I finally put in the work and completed all my research and planning.  And now, I’m thrilled to share our Aladdin themed dinner!

Our menu was inspired by the film’s setting in Agrabah.  Despite Agrabah being a fictional city, we know it’s somewhere in the Middle East.  And Walt Disney World fans also know the place to find Aladdin and Jasmine in the parks is EPCOT’s Morocco Pavilion!

So, while creating our menu, I did quite a bit of research on Middle Eastern cuisine with a focus on Morocco.  Plus, I included a few fun food references from the film!

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Fig and Pistachio Stuffed Dates

To kickstart our Aladdin themed dinner, I served an appetizer of Fig and Pistachio Stuffed Dates.  This dish was inspired by Jasmine’s trip to the marketplace where she overhears a vendor hollering “Sugar dates, figs, and pistachioooos!”

I don’t know why, but we love quoting that part of the film.  It’s just one of those random lines from a Disney movie that sticks with you.  And for that reason alone, I had to include it on our menu!

I searched for a recipe that combined those three elements into one dish.  I came very close with a recipe by Curious Cuisiniere for Stuffed Dates made with pistachios, honey, and cream cheese.  However, to incorporate fig into the dish, I swapped out the honey for a fig chutney.

I won the kids over with dates the last time I made them for our Beetlejuice Dinner, so I was hopeful this dish would be a winner too.

The dates were super simple to put together, and the fig chutney gave them a nice touch of sweetness.  My three-year-old absolutely loved them!

“Genie, Wake Up and Smell the Hummus”

Most of the food references in Aladdin come from Genie, which makes sense due to his endless supply of popular culture references!  One such dish referenced by Genie is hummus. 

Hummus is a traditional dip in Middle Eastern cuisine made with chickpeas, tahini, and spices.  And lucky for us, we already had a recipe for “Jasmine’s Hummus” in our Disney Princess Cookbook.  You can find the very same cookbook on Amazon by clicking the link below!

This recipe was very simple to put together, and very customizable depending on your tastes. 

I jazzed our hummus up with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of harissa, and sun-dried tomatoes.  It tasted great!

Moroccan Kefta Kabobs

The main entrée for our Aladdin dinner was Moroccan Kefta Kabobs. 

To make our kabobs, I used a recipe from Moribyan.  These juicy kabobs are flavored with fresh herbs and a Moroccan spice blend, and then prepared on the grill.  I enlisted the help of my husband for his grilling skills.

Looking over the ingredients, I knew my youngest two might find some of the spices overwhelming.  They can’t do spice – PERIOD.  But I really wanted to stay true to the traditional preparation, and I knew my teen would love them.  So, I made the recipe as written (selfish parent moment here). 

As I suspected, my youngest two thought the kabobs were too spicy.  Us big kids, however, loved them!  This is a recipe I look forward to making again. 

Moroccan Couscous

I knew couscous would be a fantastic accompaniment to our kabobs, so I made some Moroccan Couscous with a recipe from Cooking Classy.

The finished dish was so pretty to look at, and I absolutely loved the layers of flavors and textures.  I fully anticipated my youngest kiddos to dislike it for this very same reason.  But surprisingly, it was a hit with the whole family! 

Marketplace Watermelon and Apple Salad

This side dish was inspired by the various fruits stolen from the marketplace – specifically Abu’s stolen watermelon and Jasmine’s (unintentionally) stolen apple. 

I searched for a recipe that incorporated both fruits and stumbled upon a Watermelon and Apple Salad recipe from Deliciously Organic. 

This fruit salad marries watermelon, apple, fresh mint, cilantro, lime, and olive oil – all ingredients that complimented the rest of our meal!  I did, however, eliminate the cilantro in our version.

The combination of fresh mint with watermelon and apple was a hit with the family.  As the watermelon vendor in Aladdin states, “Your taste buds will dance and sing!”

“How ‘Bout a Little More Baklava?”

The dessert choice for our Aladdin themed dinner was obvious – baklava!  Genie offers this popular dessert to Aladdin while singing “Friend Like Me.”

The recipe I used to make our baklava came from The Mediterranean Dish.  Not going to lie, I was very intimidated by this undertaking.  But the recipe instructions were very easy to follow and included several great tips. 

We’ve only had baklava one other time (at the Morocco Pavilion in EPCOT, in fact!).  And I have to say, ours turned out great!  Maybe even better than Disney’s, I daresay.  I may have to start making baklava more often!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our Aladdin themed dinner.  Let us know which Disney themed dinner you’d like to see next in the comments!

Looking for other Disney themed dinners?  Check out our Emperor’s New Groove Dinner and our Dumbo Themed Dinner!

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