Easy Shakshuka
Eggs poached in a spiced tomato-pepper sauce. One skillet, big flavor, and great with crusty bread for scooping.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil buy
- 1 onion, diced buy
- 1 red bell pepper, diced buy
- 3 garlic cloves, minced buy
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin buy
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika buy
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes buy
- 1 can (28oz/800g) crushed tomatoes buy
- Salt and pepper
- 5–6 large eggs buy
- Feta and fresh parsley, to serve buy
Method
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook the onion and pepper until soft, 7–8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, paprika and chili flakes; stir until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Pour in the tomatoes, season, and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Make wells in the sauce with a spoon and crack an egg into each.
- Cover and cook 6–9 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks still jammy.
- Scatter with feta and parsley. Serve from the pan with bread.
Cook's notes
- Cook the sauce until thick before adding eggs, or it'll be watery.
- Cover the pan so the egg tops set without overcooking the yolks.
- Add a handful of spinach to the sauce for an easy veg boost.
Why this works
The sauce has to reduce properly before the eggs go in — a watery base means the eggs poach in liquid rather than steam in sauce, and the whites spread. Making wells with a spoon holds each egg in place while the whites set.
If it goes wrong
Overcooked yolks are the usual failure; cover the pan and check at 5 minutes, because they go from runny to firm in about 90 seconds. Bitter sauce usually means the paprika caught — add it off the heat.
Make it your own
Green shakshuka swaps tomatoes for spinach, chard and herbs. Crumbled feta or dollops of labneh added at the end are traditional and excellent. Merguez or chorizo turns it into a heavier dinner dish.
Storing and reheating
The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes for 3 months — make a double batch of base and you have a 10-minute breakfast. Don't store it with the eggs in; poach them fresh.
More breakfast ideas
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
Tall, cloud-soft pancakes with crisp golden edges. The buttermilk and a rested batter do all the heavy lifting.
Classic French Toast
Custardy in the middle, caramelized at the edges. Day-old bread is the move, and a splash of vanilla makes it sing.
The Perfect Cheese Omelette
Soft, just-set, and folded around a melty middle. Low heat and constant motion turn three eggs into something French-bistro good.