If you are not familiar with shakshuka, I am thrilled to introduce the concept to you! Shakshuka is a North African dish that is now popular throughout the Middle East. This easy and healthy egg dish is vegetarian, gluten free, and incredibly delicious. Shakshuka is one of the first recipes I ever blogged about, and has become one of the most popular posts on my site—a simple vegetarian meal that works as a breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or “brinner.”
The shakshuka concept is very simple. A dish of eggs soft cooked atop a bed of thick reduced spicy tomato sauce with peppers. In the maghreb, this chunky sauce is known as matbucha. Similar preparations are made throughout the world, including a popular Italian dish known as “eggs in purgatory.” Shakshuka is somewhat different than the Italian dish; it’s generally spicier, and has the addition of peppers.
Shakshuka is very popular in Israel, where it is often eaten for breakfast. I usually find myself serving it with a side salad as a light evening meal. It’s a versatile vegetarian one-skillet meal that is easy to make, healthy, and addicting.
In Israel, the most famous place to eat shakshuka is a restaurant known as Dr. Shakshuka.
The charm of Dr. Shakshuka is evident from the moment you enter. The restaurant is housed in an aging building in the old port city of Jaffa. It’s buzzing all day long with local patrons as well as tourists, everybody eager to taste the “Tripolitanian”-style cooking. The owner Bino Gabso was born to a Libyan family that immigrated to Israel in 1949. He’s been serving shakshuka and other north-African favorites to enthusiastic restaurant patrons in Jaffa for the past 18 years.
Old kerosene stoves hang from the rafters of the place, just like the moms and bubbes cooked with when Israel first became a country.
Dr. Shakshuka is known for its Libyan-style home cooking. It’s a kosher meat restaurant with many traditional tripolitanian-style dishes including couscous, chraime fish, and kosher merguez sausage.
Of course, they are best known for– what else?– shakshuka. I couldn’t very well visit Dr. Shakshuka without ordering their signature dish. For a twist, I ordered it with mushrooms.
The waitress served my shakshuka in a small, sizzling skillet, as is the custom with most of the local Israeli restaurants. Delicious! After you’ve eaten the eggs, it’s customary to scoop up the remaining sauce with a piece of fluffy white bread. The bread at Dr. Shakshuka has a light, spongy consistency making it ideal for this purpose.
Of course, if you’re watching your waistline, gluten intolerant, or serving for Passover, you can leave out the bread; the dish is also wonderful on its own.
I can’t very well write a blog about shakshuka without sharing my own recipe! This is a basic, simple shakshuka spiced just the way I like it. If you’re looking for variations on flavor, different ingredients can be added to the tomato base—jalapeños, green chilies, parsley, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, additional vegetables or anything else that sounds tasty to you. I’ve even made it with a spinach/tomato base that turned out great. Use your imagination!
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Video by Entice Films
Shakshuka
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, peeled and diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 4 cups ripe diced tomatoes, or 2 cans (14 oz. each) diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, or more to taste (careful, it's spicy!)
- Pinch of sugar (optional, to taste - omit for low carb)
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley or cilantro (optional, for garnish)
NOTES
Instructions
- Heat a deep, large skillet or sauté pan on medium. Slowly warm olive oil in the pan. Add chopped onion, sauté for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add garlic and continue to sauté till mixture is fragrant.
- Add the diced bell pepper, sauté for 5-7 minutes over medium until softened.
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste to pan, stir until blended. Add spices and sugar, stir, and allow mixture to simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until it starts to reduce. At this point, you can taste the mixture and spice it according to your preferences. Add salt and pepper to taste, more sugar for a sweeter sauce, or more cayenne pepper for a spicier shakshuka (be careful with the cayenne... it is extremely spicy!).
- Crack the eggs, one at a time, directly over the tomato mixture, making sure to space them evenly over the sauce. I usually place 5 eggs around the outer edge and 1 in the center. The eggs will cook "over easy" style on top of the tomato sauce.
- Cover the pan with a lid. Allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has slightly reduced. Keep an eye on the skillet to make sure that the sauce doesn't reduce too much, which can lead to burning.
- Some people prefer their shakshuka with more runny yolks. If this is your preference, let the sauce reduce for a few minutes before cracking the eggs on top-- then, cover the pan and cook the eggs to taste, making sure the egg whites are set before serving. Garnish with the chopped parsley or cilantro, if desired. A sprinkle of feta cheese on top is also nice!
Nutrition
Thank you for this recipe! We use this every time that we crave shakshuka. We tend to skip the bell peppers to help make it a bit lighter for us, but it still tastes great
Glad you’re enjoying it!
Awsome. You are an idol for me.
The recipe is incredible simple and tasty!
It’s the best choice to impress your family, friends, whoever in a beautiful and delicious way.
Love it!
Thank you for this fabulous recipe, it came out as good as the restaurant I first tasted this wonderful dish!!! I added feta cheese and it was fantastic!!!
Thanks for the great recipe. I was sent here from It´s Just Life blog. A perfect dish for a vegetarian. Can´t wait to try it.
I’ve made this twice (tonight will be the 3rd time). The first time I used chicken thighs instead of eggs, thinking my husband would prefer that. It was excellent. The 2nd time I used eggs and he loved that. Tonight I’ll make it again with eggs. I’m using 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes and 1 one can of dice tomatoes with green chili instead of cayene pepper. I’m also planning to add a package of baby spinich to up the nutrition.
I highly recommend this recipe.
My favoriteee meal so nice to hear a part of it’s history. It’s a traditional food in Greece as well. We call it “kayiannas”. I will try with the “bell paper” edition!!
Looks like a variation of the huevos con tomate my Sephardic grandmother cooked, then my mother, and now I cook. If kids or anyone else doesn’t like the onion and pepper, you can just use plain tomato sauce with whatever seasonings you like.
Wow
Thinking of Shakshuka and Cant wait To Try it
Looks Like Have to Eat Seven Days a Week !
Preparation video is excellent. Shows the steps & technique. Thanks!
So good and fairly simple. Great way to use up my bumper crop of tomatoes!!
This looks like it would be amazing served over white rice with the runny yolk option.
Some hot sauce on top! Will be making this soon!
Delicious!!! We cut the recipe in half and made it exactly as written. I’m wishing we had made a full portion so that there would be leftovers for tomorrow!
Hi! I made the recipe and we loved it for breakfast! However, my kids were partial to the eggs and less to the sauce, with the result that I now have about 2 cups of leftover delicious sauce. Any suggestions on how to use the sauce besides repeating the egg dish? I was thinking something along the lines of chilli, but that may be lack of creativity on my part. I hope you are well and keeping safe.
Bake chicken, whatever parts you prefer, in the sauce. It will be delish!
I freeze the leftover sauce for the next time I want shakshuka.
Hi Ana,
You can use the sauce in a pasta. Just warm the sauce, add 1 tsp butter along with flour,quickly add 1 cup of milk. Add lil bit of cream, black pepper,oregano and add cooked pasta. Garnish with parmesan or eat as it is.
Hana.
This was incredible! I’ve had this recipe saved for quite awhile and decided to just go ahead and make it this morning! I didn’t change a thing and it was soooo good! My kids and husband just chowed it down. So, it’s safe to say this will be in our breakfast rotation. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Love it!! Agree on having a crusty or toasted bread. Different textures elevate any dish Family favorite. Thanks Tori
This recipe made for a very delicious brunch and it looks very pretty! I served it with homemade bread rolls! I didn’t tweak anything except left out the garlic due to a food intolerance. Thank you for posting!
Been to Iseral, had lots of wonderful foods and would love some recipes.
My family made this. We call it Uova in Purgatorio. “Eggs in Purgatory”!.
Crusty bread a must!!
I must try the cauliflower. I make a great pasta and cauliflower but every time I’ve tried just roasting it ittame out tasteless. Just looking at these recipes makes my.mouth water.
Grazie! I need to eat more and healthier.!!
Mary DiOrio – my Italian family made this as you say and I still make it. We often had it on Sunday evenings as a sort of ‘light’ supper after having had our usual Sunday Gravy with meatballs, sausage, pork neck bones, usually a roast and potatoes, green salad to follow, all earlier in the day after church. Now as a wide, this wonderful egg dish is my go-to at least once a week using smaller ingredients, only one egg. We do not use many of the spices that Tori specifies but it is basically as you said, eggs in purgatory, eggs in a simple tomato sauce.
It a good recipe thank you
I’ve made this dish for years and an Italian version (light quick chunky tomato sauce). One thing I do differently. When making in summer I make in electric skillet in the middle of an outdoor table with everyone around the skillet. I baste the eggs with the liquid as they cook. Keeps yolk soft and cooks rest of egg.
This is the first an only shakshuka recipe I’ve made. Many times! It’s incredible.