Mediterranean 🫒 📅 2026-01-25 ⏱️ 30 min total ⭐ Easy

Perfect Shakshuka, Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato Sauce

One pan, 30 minutes, and one of the most satisfying meals you can make. Eggs poached in a rich, cumin-scented tomato sauce, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Perfect Shakshuka, Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato Sauce
🥄
Prep Time
10 min
🔥
Cook Time
20 min
⏱️
Total Time
30 min
🍽️
Servings
2

🛒 Ingredients

Serves 2
  • 4large eggs
  • 1 400gcan crushed tomatoes
  • 1onion, diced
  • 1red bell pepper, diced
  • 3cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbspolive oil
  • 1 tspground cumin
  • 1 tspsweet paprika
  • ½ tspchili flakes (adjust to taste)
  • ½ tspsugar (balances acidity)
  • Salt & pepper
  • Fresh parsley or cilantro, to serve
  • Feta cheese crumbles (optional but recommended)
🌿 Vegetarian, Gluten-Free

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1
Heat olive oil in a wide, lidded skillet (or cast-iron pan) over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
2
Add the cumin, paprika, and chili flakes. Stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir well, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and deepens in color.
3
Taste and adjust seasoning. The sauce should be rich, slightly spicy, and balanced. Make 4 small wells in the sauce with a spoon.
4
Crack an egg into each well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium-low for 5-7 minutes. Check frequently, you want the whites fully set but the yolks still runny and glossy. Overcooked yolks are the number one shakshuka mistake.
5
Remove from heat. Scatter feta crumbles and fresh herbs over the top. Serve directly from the pan with warm pita or crusty bread for dunking.

💡 Chef's Tips

Yolk timing: Pull it off the heat when the whites look just set but still slightly jiggly at the very edges. Residual pan heat will finish cooking them while you garnish. Err on the side of underdone.

Sauce first: Make the tomato sauce the night before and refrigerate it. In the morning, just reheat the sauce, add the eggs, and breakfast is ready in 8 minutes.

Add-ins: Merguez sausage, chickpeas, spinach, or crumbled halloumi all work beautifully in the sauce layer.

📜 A Short History

Shakshuka is widely believed to have North African roots, most likely Tunisian, and its name is thought to come from a word meaning roughly "mixture" or "all mixed up" in regional Arabic dialects, a fitting description for a dish that's essentially eggs poached directly into a spiced sauce. It spread across the wider Middle East over generations, but its rise to being a genuinely international breakfast dish is fairly recent, driven largely by Israeli and broader Middle Eastern diaspora cooking over the last few decades.

🍽️ Nutrition (per serving)

423
Calories
19g
Protein
28g
Fat
30g
Carbs
7.5g
Fiber
508mg
Sodium

Estimated from standard ingredient nutrition data for this recipe as written, serves 2, without the optional feta. Add roughly 106 calories and 367mg sodium per serving for a generous 40g feta crumble on top.