Shakshuka (Poached Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
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As fun to say as it is to eat! Shakshuka is a North African dish that features eggs poached in a smoky and spicy tomato sauce. It’s an easy, nourishing meal that’s perfect for brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Shakshuka (shak-shoo-kah) is a beloved dish in the Middle East and North Africa, and it holds a special place in Israeli cuisine alongside classics like falafel and hummus. Meaning “mixture” in Arabic, it was brought to Israel by Jewish immigrants from North Africa and features poached eggs in a rich, spiced tomato sauce. I stick to the traditional recipe but add a splash of cream and crumbled feta for extra richness—these simple tweaks make all the difference!
Traditionally made in a cast iron pan, shakshuka starts by simmering the sauce on the stovetop. The eggs are cracked into wells, briefly cooked, then finished under the broiler. Be sure to serve with warm pita bread (or any crusty bread) for soaking up every bit of the rich sauce and runny yolks—it’s the best part!
“I have lived in Israel, and it is hard to find a better shakshuka than this recipe!”
Video Tutorial
What You’ll Need To Make Shakshuka
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Used for sautéing the onions, garlic, and bell peppers.
- Yellow Onion, Garlic & Bell Pepper: This veggie trio forms the foundation of the dish—onions and peppers bring sweetness and body, while garlic adds depth.
- Smoked Paprika, Cumin, Coriander, Red Pepper Flakes: This spice blend imparts warmth, smokiness, and a touch of heat.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: The base of the sauce.
- Chopped Greens, such as Swiss Chard, Kale, or Spinach: Add color, texture, and nutritional value, and help mellow out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Heavy Cream: Balances the acidity of the tomatoes, adding a creamy richness that complements the eggs.
- Feta Cheese: Adds a tangy, salty element when sprinkled on top.
- Large Eggs: Poached directly in the sauce, the yolks give the sauce a creamy texture when broken.
- Cilantro: Adds a fresh note that brightens up the dish; feel free to leave it out if you’re not a cilantro fan.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the veggies. In a large skillet, start the sauce by heating the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and bell pepper, and cook for about 8 minutes, until they’re softened.
Step 2: Add the seasoning and tomatoes. Add the smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt, sugar, and tomatoes to the vegetable mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened.
Step 3: Finish the sauce. Mix in the greens and heavy cream into the tomato mixture. Simmer until the greens are soft and wilted, about 10 minutes.
Step 4: Make wells for the eggs. Remove the pan from the heat and use a spoon to create six wells in the sauce. You’ll crack the eggs right into them so they stay nicely contained.
Step 5: Add the eggs and feta. Carefully crack an egg into each well, spooning a little sauce over the whites to help them set—just be sure not to disturb the yolks. Sprinkle with salt and scatter the crumbled feta around the eggs.
Step 6: Cook the eggs and finish the dish. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until the whites are mostly set, about 5 minutes. For runny yolks, pop the pan under the broiler for about 1 minute. If you like your yolks more cooked, just cook it a little longer. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot. Enjoy!
More Middle Eastern Recipes You May Like
Shakshuka (Poached Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
This shakshuka recipe is the ultimate one-pan dish—quick to make, healthy, and comforting any time of day!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small yellow onions (or 1 medium), peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 bell pepper (red, orange or yellow), diced
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 cups finely chopped greens, such as Swiss chard, kale, or spinach, tough ribs removed, gently packed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 6 eggs
- Handful chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and bell pepper and cook, uncovered, for about 8 minutes, until softened. Do not brown; reduce the heat if necessary.
- Add the smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, 1¼ teaspoons of the salt, sugar, and tomatoes. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Add the chopped greens and heavy cream to the sauce, and continue cooking, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the greens are soft and wilted, about 10 minutes more. While the greens are cooking, set an oven rack in the top position and preheat the broiler.
- Turn off (or remove the pan from) the heat. Using a spoon, make 6 wells/indentations in the sauce. Carefully crack an egg into each well, then spoon a bit of the sauce over each of the egg whites (this will contain them and also help them cook a bit faster than the yolks), being careful not to disturb the yolks. Sprinkle the eggs with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, then sprinkle the feta around the eggs. Set the pan on the stove over low heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the egg whites are mostly set but still translucent on top (check frequently towards the end as cook time can vary). Remove the lid, transfer the pan to the oven, and broil until the eggs are cooked to your liking, 1 minute or less for runny yolks (see note below on cooking eggs further). Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the cilantro over top. Serve hot with bread.
- Note: You can cook the dish entirely on the stovetop for just a few minutes longer (without using the broiler) if you like your egg yolks cooked through. If you like your eggs runny, however, I find that the stovetop-to-broiler method is the only surefire way to cook the egg whites thoroughly without overcooking the yolks.
- Make Ahead: The tomato sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat the sauce on the stovetop and proceed with the recipe when ready to serve.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 254
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 636 mg
- Cholesterol: 200 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was great! Loved the flavors and it was surprisingly easy to make. We added crumbled sweet Italian sausage and used goat cheese instead of the feta. Not sure why but my sauce turned out very thick, so the bread was nice to have but couldn’t really use it to sop up any sauce. While this was still amazing, I am hoping for a little more sauce-like consistency for next time — any suggestions on how to do that?
Glad you liked it, Kathryn! You could add a bit of chicken stock to the pan to make it a little more liquidy/saucy.
Have you ever used cod instead of egg!? Saw a recipe that used cod instead of egg and thought intetesting
Can’t say I have but it sounds like an interesting take on this dish. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Where I live in Central America it’s very difficult to find greens…I hunted for spinach yesterday but was unsuccessful. Do u think cabbage would work instead? I know the flavor is kind of strong but I really want to try this!
Hi Grace, I probably wouldn’t use cabbage but it’s perfectly fine to omit the greens (or you could always use frozen, if that’s available).
This was very yummy, the flavor was delicious. There are only 2 of us so I only made 4 eggs. I was going to freeze the extra sauce but when my husband saw me taking chicken cutlets out of the freezer he asked if I could make them smothered “in the sauce from the other night.” It was very good that way as well.
We just finished dinner and this was amazing!!!! I love so many of your recipes. The only change I made was using fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic because that was all I had on hand. We served it with naan bread and it was amazing. We will definitely have this again.
Like Jenny, I was skeptical as I was putting all the ingredients together. I even told my husband I wasn’t sure we’d like it, however, it all comes together amazingly! It is absolutely delicious!
Thank you Jenn for another winning recipe!
We are trying to eat more veggies and less meat so this was a perfect start for us. The flavor is great and I love that I can make the tomato sauce ahead of time. I didn’t have smoked paprika so I used regular, but I think I will use smoked next time. We like firm yolks so left the pan on the stove top for about 12 minutes until they were just firm. I served it was crusty multigrain bread to sop up the extra sauce. My 2 year old son who has suddenly become picky finished his bowl and asked for more!
Simply amazing! Made this for dinner tonight for our 5 children ages 9-20 and they all loved it. They were skeptical watching all the ingredients go in but the flavors are just perfect. We served it with a huge platter of pita bread and your feta dip. I have made several of your recipes and they are always a huge hit with the family. Our 20 year old is leaving on Sunday for Israel and the timing is perfect for all your new recipes. Can’t wait to try more! Thank you!
FABULOUS! Made this for dinner the other night and my family is STILL talking about it! I did manage to squeeze in an additional egg in the pan as we are soft yolk lovers 😉 Thanks Jenn!!
Wondering if you think 8 eggs would be too much? We are big egg eaters! 🙂
You should be able to squeeze another one in, Flo. Enjoy!
Amazing as always! Only thing I changed was fat free ricotta for the heavy whipping cream. So delicious! Thanks as always…you’re my go-to!
Wow! This was so so so good and easy! Thank you for the delicious recipe!!!!