My easy shakshuka eggs recipe is one of my favourite easy brunch recipes. The eggs are lightly poached in a sweet, smoky sauce made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, aubergine and subtly spiced with smoked paprika, cumin & chilli.
This best shakshuka eggs recipe is a really delicious brunch dish. However, don't limit this dish to breakfast and brunch, I often serve this as a light dinner option too.
Shakshuka is a great way to use up leftover bits and pieces of vegetables that you might have in the fridge. Furthermore, whilst a great brunch dish, we happily enjoy shakshuka for both lunch and dinner also. Add a dressed green salad if you want to add a little extra to the dish!
Why you'll love this recipe
- The perfect balance of flavours smoky, sweet and with just a little bit of chilli spice.
- Uses a few cheap ingredients that most of you will have in your stores at home, make this is a relatively inexpensive dish to cook.
- Make the sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the egg and finish cooking the dish.
- Feed a crowd as this recipe is easily doubled up to cater for a larger group of diners.
Shakshuka ingredients
- Oil - I've used regular olive oil to sauté the veggies, you can use any other oil, try sunflower or avocado oil.
- Vegetables - I used onion, red peppers, aubergine and garlic, which are the vegetables found in a traditional shakshuka.
- Spices - I flavoured the sauce with smoked paprika, ground cumin and red chilli flakes.
- Tomatoes - I used a tin of chopped tomatoes in the sauce.
- Herbs - I used dried bay leaves in the tomato sauce, and fresh parsley and coriander leaf to garnish the dish before serving.
- Seasoning - I seasoned both the sauce and the eggs with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Eggs - I used 4 large free range eggs, allowing 1 egg per person.
- Cheese - I crumbled over some Lancashire cheese before serving.
How to make shakshuka eggs
- Place the olive oil in a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and peppers and saute for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add in the aubergine and garlic, and continue to fry for a further minute.
- Add the smoked paprika, cumin and chilli flakes to the vegetables and continue to cook for a few minutes over a medium heat until the vegetables have become soft.
- Add the tinned tomatoes along with the water, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- You want a thick consistency but don't make the sauce too dry.
- At this stage you can either use one large pan or 4 small pans. If using your large frying pan, make 4 small wells in the sauce, and into each well crack an egg. Season the eggs with a little extra salt and black pepper.
- If using 4 small pans, split the mixture between each pan, make a small well in the middle and crack an egg into each pan and season the eggs.
- With the heat on low, cover the pan/pans, and cook for 10-12 minutes until the egg white is cooked through, and the yolk cooked to your liking.
- To serve, sprinkle over the crumbled cheese and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.
Recipe variations
- Vegetables - I have used a combination of peppers, onion, aubergine and garlic in my shakshuka eggs recipe, which are traditional flavours. However, you can add any vegetables that you wish, courgette, mushrooms, sweet potato and butternut squash could all be substituted into this dish.
- Spice - this dish is flavoured with smoked paprika, cumin and red chilli flakes. However, if you don't like your sauce too spicy leave out the chilli flakes.
- Cheese - is crumbled over the top of this dish and adds a nice hint of creamy saltiness. You could also use feta, Cheshire or Wensleydale cheese. For a dairy free dish, leave the cheese off entirely or swap for a dairy free alternative.
What do you eat shakshuka with?
I like to serve shakshuka straight from the pan, topping it with fresh herbs like parsley and coriander. Add some warm pitta breads, a slice of crusty bread or toasted bread - perfect to dip into that runny egg yolk!
For added creaminess to this baked eggs shakshuka dish, top with a spoon of thick Greek yogurt.
Useful hints and tips
- If you don't have a cast iron pan, please don't worry. Simply use either a large or small frying pan instead, varying depending on numbers you are serving.
- The shakshuka sauce freezes really well so I often double the recipe, serving some now and freezing the rest for a quick and easy meal another day.
- Containing no gluten this dish is suitable for coeliacs or anyone following a gluten free diet.
- With a few simple swaps, this easy shakshuka is suitable for dairy free diners. Top the shakshuka with some dairy free cheese and swap regular Greek yogurt for a dairy free alternative.
- Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.
FAQs
Shakshuka is a dish originating in North East Africa in the Tunisian/Libyan region, as is believed to have been brought to Israel by Tunisian Jews. However, some historians believe that shakshuka originated in Yemen.
Wherever its origins, this dish is popular across North Africa and also in the Middle East, with dishes varying a little across the different countries.
Shakshuka eggs are traditionally served in a cast iron pan, or in Morocco a tajine.
Yes, I like to serve it in individual pans, that way you keep all the goodness in the dish. However, if you use a larger pan it can be tricky to eat. So on those occasions I serve the shakshuka into individual dishes, then leave everyone to garnish the dish, adding fresh herbs, Greek yogurt and cheese, to suit their own tastes.
Yes, this is a healthy egg dish, full of fibre and vitamin rich fresh vegetables and herbs. A homemade shakshuka tomato sauce does not contain excess amounts of salt or any additives. There is no sugar in my tomato sauce either, the sweetness coming instead from the tomatoes and other vegetables in the dish.
The tomato and vegetable sauce can certainly be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in the fridge. In fact as with most tomato based sauces, it will taste even better if left to sit, as the flavours will intensify. However, don't add the egg and finish the dish until you are ready to sit down and enjoy. The eggs is most definitely best served fresh.
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Additional recipe suggestions
If you like this recipe then try some of my favourite breakfast and brunch recipes:
Hosting your own brunch then take the stress out of it and head to my Ultimate Guide to Brunch. Here you'll find all my brunch recipes together with some great advice on how to get started.
Shakshuka Eggs
Equipment
- chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring jug
- measuring spoons
- 1 Large oven proof frying pan
- 4 Small cast iron skillets optional
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 2 peppers (sliced)
- ½ aubergine (cubed)
- 4-5 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes (optional)
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 200 ml water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 eggs
- 80 g lancashire cheese (or other crumbly cheese such as feta, wensleydale, cheshire or white stilton)
- 2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaf (chopped)
Instructions
- Place the olive oil in a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and peppers and saute for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add in the aubergine and garlic, and continue to fry for a further minute.
- Add the smoked paprika, cumin and chilli flakes to the vegetables and continue to cook for a few minutes over a medium heat until the vegetables have become soft.
- Add the tinned tomatoes along with the water, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. You want a thick consistency but don't make the sauce too dry.
- At this stage you can either use one large pan or 4 small pans. If using your large frying pan, make 4 small wells in the sauce, and into each well crack an egg. Season the eggs with a little extra salt and black pepper.
- If using 4 small pans, split the mixture between each pan, make a small well in the middle and crack an egg into each pan and season the eggs.
- With the heat on low, cover the pan/pans, and cook for 10-12 minutes until the egg white is cooked through, and the yolk cooked to your liking.
- To serve, sprinkle over the crumbled cheese and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Cat says
I made this for brunch last weekend as a bit of a change and it was so delicious! I'll definitely be making it again soon.
Lesley says
Thank you Cat, it's a great dish and I enjoy it for a light lunch.
Amy says
We are not big on brunch in our family, so I made this for supper and it went down extremely well with lots of requests to make it again!
Lesley says
Thank you Amy, I'm the same, this recipes features far more for a light dinner dish, than it does at Brunch.
Chloe says
I'm so pleased you suggested Lancashire cheese, it's such a good alternative to feta etc, especially for someone like me who only eats cow milk cheeses!
Lesley says
Thank you, I'm glad you liked the Lancashire cheese, it's always my go to when making this dish as I prefer it in both flavour and texture to feta cheese.
Kirsty says
This looks amazing - everything tastes better with a bit of paprika!
Michelle says
HI Kirsty, I agree a touch of smoked paprika lifts any dish! Thats why we love the flakes, used like black pepper they left the dish with a hint of smoke and heat.