This traditional menemen recipe is an easy Turkish breakfast made with eggs, ripe tomatoes, green peppers, and spices. It’s a simple, one-skillet meal that’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even a quick weeknight dinner.
Why You’ll Love My Menemen
- It’s authentic. I traveled to Turkey and ordered menemen several times (for “market research”), so I could bring you an authentic version that would make my Turkish friends proud.
- Simple, wholesome ingredients. Made with fresh ingredients and a few pantry staples, this recipe is proof that simple ingredients can create an incredible meal.
- Naturally gluten-free. Menemen is a protein-packed breakfast that’s naturally gluten-free. It is traditionally served with warm, crusty bread for scooping, but you can always use your favorite type of bread or omit it.
- Ready in about 25 minutes. With just a little chopping and one skillet, you’ll have a cozy breakfast or brunch on the table in no time.
When I was planning my recent trip to Turkey, the one food item I was most excited to try was menemen. It’s sort of a cross between softly scrambled eggs and shakshuka. In shakshuka, the eggs are poached in a deeply spiced tomato mixture, while in menemen the eggs are gently folded into a lighter and brighter tomato mixture, creating soft ribbons throughout the sauce. Thus, menemen is quite creamy and almost spoonable.
One of the fun things about this dish is that every family seems to have their own version. Some Turkish chefs I spoke with said menemen should never include onions, while others start by sautéing a diced onion. Most of the versions I tasted did not include onion, so I left it out of this recipe.
Another debatable ingredient is cheese. I did try one menemen in Istanbul that had cheese, but honestly, it was so rich and creamy that I felt the cheese overpowered the dish. My favorite version was a cheese-free menemen from a farm-to-table restaurant in Cappadocia that really let the vibrancy of the vegetables shine—and I just loved that! So that became the inspiration for my recipe (see photos at the end). But keep reading for additional variations and tips!
Menemen Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes are the star here. Extra-juicy is ideal! I’d avoid Roma tomatoes, which tend to be less juicy, if possible.
- Green pepper: Traditional Turkish menemen is made with sivri biber, a mild, thin-skinned green pepper. An Anaheim pepper is the closest substitute, and what I used.
- Eggs: Large eggs are gently folded into the tomato mixture until they’re just barely set.
- Seasoning: A little salt, pepper, and Aleppo pepper is all you need. If you don’t have Aleppo pepper, you can swap in paprika. But I do think it’s worth buying, as you can use it for this dish, my Turkish eggs, and my Turkish-inspired red lentil soup!
- Fresh parsley: A sprinkle of chopped parsley adds a pop of freshness and color before serving.
Lisa’s tomato tip: For the most authentic version, make sure to peel your tomatoes before dicing. Yes, it’s a bit more work, but it keeps the sauce nice and smooth. Alternatively, you could grate the tomatoes on a box grater, leaving the skins behind. And if you’d like your menemen more tomato-y, feel free to add another tomato! I find 2 to 3 tomatoes is best with 4 eggs.
How To Make Menemen
1. Sauté the green pepper with a bit of oil over medium heat. It just need 3 to 4 minutes, until it’s perfectly softened.
2. Sauté the tomatoes with salt, Aleppo pepper, and black pepper. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up any larger tomato chunks with your spatula as you stir.
3. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the pan over the vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the eggs are barely set. Then, remove from the heat. The goal is to keep the menemen saucy. You do NOT want firm scrambled eggs, like my Greek scrambled eggs.
4. For garnishes, all you need is chopped parsley! You can also season with additional salt and pepper before serving.
The many ways to order menemen! My recipe is the classic sade (plain) version, but I found many cafés offering creative variations. You can order it with cheese (peynirli), spicy sausage (sucuklu), cured beef (pastırmalı), minced meat (kıymalı), and more! So have fun with this recipe in your own kitchens.
Common Questions
Traditional menemen is usually mild, but you can add as much or as little Aleppo pepper or pul biber for gentle heat and spiced flavor.
I don’t recommend it. It’s best served fresh because the eggs can become firm when reheated. But if you’d like to save time, you can cook the tomato and pepper mixture in advance, then reheat it and add the eggs just before serving.
While ripe tomatoes provide the freshest flavor, canned whole peeled tomatoes are a great substitute when tomatoes aren’t in season. Just crush them with your hands before adding them to the skillet!
You can, but the texture won’t be as rich and creamy. Whole eggs provide that classic flavor and consistency.
More One-Pan Breakfast Ideas
- Crustless Quiche: My favorite weekend holiday brunch.
- Green Shakshuka: The perfect veggie-heavy twist.
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash: My kind of balanced breakfast.
If you try this menemen recipe, let me know how it turns out in the comments below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re looking for more healthy food inspiration, join my free newsletter here.
Description
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Anaheim pepper (or 2 Turkish green peppers), seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 medium to large vine-ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes (about 1¾ cups diced)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Sauté the green pepper. Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the green pepper and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened.
- Sauté the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, salt, Aleppo pepper, and black pepper. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up any larger chunks of the tomato with your spatula as you stir.
- Pour in the eggs. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the pan over the vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the eggs are barely set. Remove from the heat.
- Serve the menemen. Garnish with chopped parsley and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, before serving.
Lisa’s Tips
- Storage tip: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Though I think fresh is best since it’s so easy to make.
- This is the Aleppo pepper I bought to make my Turkish Eggs, and now this menemen!
- You can see that my recipe is slightly more egg-forward than the inspiration image below. If you’d like it to be more tomato-forward just add 3 tomatoes.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Eating Menemen In Turkey
Oh, how I LOVE traveling to countries and doing food “market research.” On my recent trip to Turkey, I ordered menemen several times so that I could compare approaches and ingredients.
In the photo on the left, I enjoyed menemen in Istanbul from a restaurant literally called Menemen that had good reviews. So I had high hopes! Unfortunately, there was so much beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese) added that it felt overly rich and weighed me down. And the biggest bummer was that I couldn’t even taste the eggs.
The menemen I enjoyed in the photo on the right was at The Museum Hotel in Cappadocia, where we stayed. The hotel and restaurant were both phenomenal, and I loved their focus on farm-to-table cooking. The tomatoes and peppers were fresh and softened, the spice was subtle, and you could see the ribbons of eggs throughout the dish. This was exactly the menemen that I imagined, and what became the inspiration for my approach in this recipe. 😊
