Matzo Brei Recipe – Classic Jewish Comfort Food for Breakfast, Brunch or Brinner
A few years ago, my hubby and I drove over to one of our favorite Los Angeles breakfast spots, Factor’s Famous Deli on Pico Boulevard. Factor’s is a quintessential deli with a big menu full of American-style Jewish delicacies. Usually, when we go to a deli, I order the same delicious breakfast—toasted egg bagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and tomatoes. It’s sinfully yummy. But for some reason, on this occasion, I felt like trying something different. One dish stuck out to me, one I’d never tried before but had always been curious about…
Matzo Brei.
Now, I’ve been cooking Jewish food for several years, but because of my husband’s ancestry and birthplace I’ve focused more on the Sephardic side of the cuisine. Certain Ashkenazi dishes are foreign to me. While this dish is made by both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, it’s more of an Ashkenazi favorite. The only thing I knew about matzo brei was that it contained eggs and matzo. I like both eggs and matzo—the idea of the two being scrambled together was intriguing.
Not knowing any better, I’d always thought the dish was pronounced matzo bree. My hubby corrected me.
“It’s pronounced matzo brigh,” he said. “And it’s delicious. You should try it. It’s Stephen Spielberg’s favorite breakfast.”
How my husband knew that, I don’t know. So brei rhymes with try, huh? Feeling adventurous, I decided to try it and see what I was missing. The waitress came to take our order.
“I’ll have the matzo brei,” I said proudly, my pronunciation pitch-perfect.
“Would you like it salty or sweet?” she asked.
Yikes! I was caught off guard. “People eat it sweet?”
“Sure,” she said. “Some people like it with sugar. And some like it salty. It’s up to you.”
I was totally confused, but the thought of sweet eggs made me a little queasy. “Uhh, I guess I’ll have it salty?”
“Great,” she replied. “I’ll bring you a side of sour cream and applesauce, too.”
Sour cream and applesauce? With eggs? Maybe this breakfast experiment wasn’t such a great idea. But I wasn’t about to chicken out. I was in it to win it.
After about ten minutes, the waitress brought me a plate of matzo brei. It looked harmless enough, and it smelled good. I decided to dig in.
With my first bite, I tried the eggs and matzo on their own. Yum, I thought. Second bite, I tasted the eggs and matzo with a dab of sour cream on top. Double yum. Finally, I tried a bite with everything… eggs, matzo, sour cream, and applesauce.
Have mercy. I’m in matzo brei heaven.
Now I understand why some people like this dish sweet. After that first taste, I ended up piling on the applesauce. There’s something about that added sweetness that really enhances the egg/matzo mixture. I cleaned my plate. It’s the perfect comfort food, and it stuck with me all day… I skipped lunch.
What does matzo brei mean?
Matzo brei aka matzah brei, pronounce matzo brigh, as my husband so lovingly told me, translates to fried matzo since it’s fried in butter.
What is a typical Jewish breakfast?
While there isn’t a “typical” Jewish breakfast, there are some things that come to mind when you think of Jewish breakfast.. bagels and lox, matzo brei, french toast, blintzes – all of the Jewish daily staples. In Israel it’s also common to eat shakshuka and salads made from fresh produce and a simple olive oil dressing.
Fast forward to now. Matzo brei has become a regular part of our kosher for Passover meal rotation. It’s a great way to use up the extra matzo from the Seder. We eat it for breakfast, brunch and brinner. It’s so adaptable and tasty, we actually look forward to it all year!
How do you like your matzo brei?
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Matzo Brei
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 sheet matzo or egg matzo
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt and pepper
Optional Extras
- Applesauce, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, apples, nuts… you can even get creative and add grated cheese or diced veggies.
NOTES
Instructions
- Add eggs to a bowl and scramble with a whisk along with 1 tbsp milk or water until the eggs are nice and fluffy.Run a sheet of matzo under running hot water for 20-60 seconds until it just begins to soften. The amount of time you'll need to keep it under the water depends on the type of matzo you're using. Let it get soft, but don’t let it turn mushy! Shake off the excess water and reserve the matzo.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet or frying pan over medium heat.
- Break the matzo into small pieces and place them in the skillet. Sauté the matzo pieces over medium heat for about a minute, until they are evenly coated with butter.
- Pour the scrambled egg mixture over the matzo pieces. Stir the eggs with a spatula until they are well combined with the matzo. Cook the eggs for about 2 minutes over medium, flipping and stirring continuously—don’t let the eggs sit, or they will overcook. You want the eggs to be cooked soft- not runny, but just barely cooked. Overcooked or browned eggs ruin the flavor entirely. As you are cooking, sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste. This would also be the time to add sugar, if you want a sweeter matzo brei.
- Serve the matzo brei immediately with a small side of applesauce and sour cream, or maple syrup if you like.
Nutrition
Great recipe. I felt like I was channeling my mother and my two bubbies other whom I never got to cook because they lived far, spoke only Yiddish and died when I was little. But there is something about the little squeak the eggy matzoh makes as it’s cooking that literally transported me to another time and place.
Also— raspberry jam!
Entirely up to the cook, of course, but I prefer to crumble the matzoh into the egg and milk mixture to soak for a little while, and then to pour the combined mixture into the skillet, over other items, such as onions or green peppers, that need more time to be cooked properly.
I will have to try Steve Nathan’s suggestion of blending into the egg + matzoh combination a cheese that comes shredded.
I fry mushrooms and onions until well done before putting in beaten eggs & matza pieces Eggmatza or Mediterranean are good flavors of matza.
Nothing quite like a savory matza brei. Loc, onions, chives, cheese, good quality cottage cheese. The best! I do like Tory’s way of cooking a lot.
I actually soak my matzo in the water and drain it in a colander and press it dry. 1 egg per matzo and an extra egg per every 4 matzo. Then I cook it in schmatlz ( chicken fat) found in the freezer section by Empire. Trust me… it’s amazing. I like mine with cinnamon sugar… but however you prefer French toast is how you should eat it. Going to make some now… just couldn’t recall the egg:matzo ratio until I read your article. Thanks!
Yup, that’s how I just made mine for this morning’s breakfast…except for anything sweet. Crumble, soak in warm water and drain the matzo. Season to taste the add one egg for each sheet of matzoh and fry in chicken or beef fat enhanced with the jell from a roast chicken pan (collected and kept frozen until needed). After eating, go on a three mile walk or jug to work off the calories!
my dad’s secret was instead of butter, use schmaltz, [chicken fat]. yeah its not good for you, but a tbl spoon will give your matzo a crispy texture with a good flavor. we keep it salty.
Interesting to hear about how you learned about matzo brei. I’ve never tried frying them out first on its own before putting in the eggs. I may try that. My favorite way to make it as how my mother started making it in her later years. First fry up some chopped onions in butter then add the eggs and matzah however you do it. But the other secret is to crumble up farmer’s cheese in the egg mixture. It makes all the difference in the world!
When I was a kid, my Grandmother used to make this, but I of course hated it. I’m so glad I found your recipe! Your story really convinced me to try it again…and wow! It is SO good! Thank you!!
I love this article about your matzo brei escapade! My mothers family is Jewish and my fathers family Italian. Coupled with the fact we’ve been involved in the restaurant business on and off for 40 years means ALOT of food and culture. This is a great recipe and matzo brei reminds me of my grandfather who made this all the time. The only thing I do differently is that I add a teaspoon of chopped chives to my egg mixture. Applesauce and sour cream are a given. Thank you so much for sharing and Happy Pesach!
Thanks for correcting my pronunciation. My Dad and Mom’s best friends we’re Jewish and I made sure I was a regular at their home on Saturday morning for breakfast. Molly was like a second mom to me. She would make hers with strawberry jam on it and after 50 years I still make mine the same way.
This is a great recipe, but I don’t care how you make it, ehh, as long as you don’t burn the butter, you cannot go wrong. I eat mine with either sugar, sour cream or I dip it in some sweet Manischewitz wine. I almost always use egg and onion matzoh. A little sautéed onion mixed in doesn’t hurt, either.
Both my parents used to make this for us. I still make it today. I made it for my daughter when she was young.
I like to use egg n onion matzos for added flavor. I don’t break the matzo in such small pieces and I use 2 matzos. Another alternate is to dip the matzo into the egg mix, then cook. As a matter of fact..I just finished my breakfast of matzo n eggs.
I love this recipie. The only difference for me is my family puts maple syrup on it
Easy and delicious. I have a busy morning and this recipe came to help. Thank you!
I am so happy to find this easy recipe. Although I cook and bake very well matza brei always turned out yucky, until your recipe; it’s a keeper. THANK YOU SO MUCH Tori!❤️❤️❤️
This is easy and delicious
I’ve made this dish many times over the years during Passover, my family loves it. I tried your recipe this morning, a little different then mine, and I loved it! I may be daring and try it with applesauce and sour cream as recommended. I plan on making it again this week. Thank you for your easy Matzo Brei recipe! Happy Passover to all!
“Brei” is the German (or Yiddish) word for porridge or mush. Either way: yum!
Delicious! Thank you! I made 1 batch with a little garlic and shredded cheddar and another batch with a little sugar and syrup. Family loved it!
My mom used to tear apart the matzah and soak it in the egg mixture before putting it in the pan. I like your way so much more!