Shakshuka is an easy, healthy meal in Israel and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It’s a simple combination of simmering tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and gently poached eggs. It’s nourishing, filling and one recipe I guarantee you’ll make time and again.
The first time I had shakshuka was years ago on a trip to Egypt with my mom. I remember instantly loving the meal and the simple yet bold flavors and spices. So when I recently visited Israel and Jordan, where shakshuka is almost a national dish, it was the meal I was most eager to dive into, once again.
I spent two weeks traveling throughout Israel and Jordan (on the most glorious trip) and was able to enjoy shakshuka many times over. To be honest, I considered it “research” so that I could bring you the most authentic rendition.
What is Shakshuka?
Shakshuka is a classic North African and Middle Eastern dish and one that’s eaten for breakfast or any meal of the day. It’s made from simple, healthy ingredients and is vegetarian. Shakshuka literally means “a mixture” and the traditional version uses tomatoes, onions and spices as the base with eggs poached on top.
Today, you can find many variations of shakshuka, like my Green Shakshuka with Brussels Sprouts and Spinach and Orange Shakshuka with Butternut Squash. You can also add feta or goat cheese and adapt it to your taste. The options are endless – which is what makes this dish such a national favorite (of so many countries!).
Shakshuka Ingredients
- Vegetables: The base of shakshuka is a mix of sauteed onion, bell pepper, and garlic, along with tomatoes (I use a can of whole peeled tomatoes).
- Spices: The simple combination of paprika, cumin, and chili powder imparts incredible flavor. And the aroma instantly takes me back to meandering the spice souks in Cairo and Amman.
- Eggs: The eggs gently poach in the spiced tomato mixture. You can cook them as long as you’d like for your perfect yolk texture. I personally prefer my yolks a bit runny.
- Fresh Herbs: A sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley and cilantro not only adds a pop of green, but also adds yet another layer of flavor.
How to Make Shakshuka
It’s really easy to make shakshuka, especially if you use canned tomatoes (though you can always use fresh tomatoes as well – see my tip below).
Saute the veggies. Dice an onion and red bell pepper and add that to a sauté pan with a little olive oil over medium heat. Stir the veggies for about 5 minutes, or until the onions become translucent. Then add the garlic and spices and stir for another minute, until the mixture is nice and fragrant.
Simmer the eggs on top. Pour in a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes and use your spatula to break up the tomatoes into smaller pieces. Once this entire mixture is lightly simmering, you can crack your eggs on top. Use your spatula to make little holes for the eggs, then crack an egg into each hole. I use six eggs, though depending on the size of your pan you may use more or less. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking.
Garnish with fresh herbs. Before serving, season the eggs with salt and a generous amount of freshly chopped parsley and cilantro. Enjoy!
Common Questions
Shakshuka spices may vary, but you’ll commonly find paprika, cumin and chili powder, along with fresh garlic. I’d consider it flavorful spicy, not hot spicy. Though you can always add cayenne pepper if you’d like to heat it up.
The eggs should cook fully after simmering for 5 to 8 minutes in the pan. But if you’d like to speed up the process, go ahead and add a lid. They’ll cook in about half the time.
Yes, you sure can. I’m using whole peeled tomatoes which break down easily into a soft texture (as there’s no skin). But you can use diced fresh tomatoes as well. If using fresh, you’ll need about 10 to 12 tomatoes.
Shakshuka is abundant in tel aviv
Tel Aviv is a bustling, vibrant, hip, outdoor cafe-vibe kind of city. I didn’t know what to expect with Tel Aviv, but I can tell you this, it blew me away. There’s a youthful energy to the city and I encountered some of the friendliest, most hospitable people.
There’s gorgeous Mediterranean weather year round in Tel Aviv, but let me tell you, the food scene is definitely something to write home about. I ate. And ate. And ate. Everything is fresh, veggie-heavy, loaded with herbs and layered with flavor. It’s a dream city for vegetarians and those who just like phenomenal food.
The photo below is one shakshuka I enjoyed in Tel Aviv. How adorable is that single-serving portion served up in a mini sauté pan? Shakshuka with freshly squeezed juice and a side of fruit, yes please!
What To Serve With Shakshuka
It’s quite common to serve pita or some type of bread with shakshuka. You can dip it in the sauce to soak it all up! I was fortunate in Tel Aviv to find several restaurants that served gluten-free pita, much to my delight! But here are a few other ideas:
- For breakfast: Make my falafel or falafel flatbread for a delicious bread alternative. I’ve been known to break the falafel in half and then dip them in my serving. Can’t let any of that sauce go to waste! A side a fresh fruit is always a great idea as well.
- For lunch or any time of day: Serve up a tasty mezze platter with sides of hummus, baba ganoush or white bean dip. And for salads, my Mediterranean chickpea salad, lentil salad, or Israeli salad are always winners.
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes
- Healthy Breakfast Casserole – This meal prep friendly breakfast casserole is a go-to!
- Smoked Salmon Frittata – A favorite for brunch and entertaining.
- Zucchini and Prosciutto Egg Muffins – These grab and go egg muffins are healthy and convenient.
- Baked Eggs in Avocado – It’s so simple and so tasty.
I hope you enjoy this authentic shakshuka recipe from my travels to Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. If you make it, let me know how it turned out. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Shakshuka Recipe (Easy & Traditional)
Description
Video
Equipment
- Stainless Steel Pan My go-to pan in the kitchen!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 (28-ounce can) whole peeled tomatoes
- 6 large eggs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add garlic and spices and cook an additional minute.
- Pour the can of tomatoes and juice into the pan and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well. Cook the eggs for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking. You can also cover the pan with a lid to expedite the eggs cooking.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and parsley before serving.
Lisa’s Tips
- If you’re not dairy-free, crumbled feta or goat cheese on top is delicious addition. Traditionally it’s also served with pita, but I love to serve it with slices of avocado.
- Many photos online show shakshuka cooked in a cast iron pan. Tomatoes are acidic and may erode the seasoning on your cast iron pan as well as dull the finish. You may also get a slight metallic flavor to the dish. So I recommend not taking any chances and cooking it in a stainless steel pan, like this beauty from All Clad.
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.
Recipe originally posted December 2018, but updated to include new photos, video, and information for your benefit!
Thank you for sharing your delicious, easy, and healthy recipe!
Of course! Glad you enjoyed this Shakshuka recipe :)
I will foolishly admit that while in Israel when I was younger, I steered quite clear of the shakshuka simply because all I saw was a tomato sauce and eggs. I could not imagine it tasting good. Now I am kicking myself as this was absolutely delicious! My 11 year old son even went back for seconds. Thanks for another easy and tasty recipe Lisa!
DELICIOUS! I served it over couscous and with pita. Yum! Thanks so much!
Yum! Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe April :)
I think it would be great over hash browns, diced potatoes or hummus.
An absolutely stunning recipe! My family loved it. Thanks so much :)
Happy to hear the whole family enjoyed this Shakshuka recipe!
The best shakshuka I’ve ever had!
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Iris!
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. One question, I am allergic to bell peppers any suggestions on a substitute?
Thanks!
Hi Renee – you could swap any other veggie in, like carrots or zucchini!
Easy, good and tasty. Would try it this morning. Thank you for sharing. Love it.
FINALLY made this shakshuka. So simple, yet soooo good!
Glad you finally got around to making this shakshuka recipe Leone!
Excellent. A great working day dinner, only 30 minutes start to finish and DELICIOUS 😋
This really is the perfect, quick and easy meal!
Hi. Great video. Can these be put in the fridge if there are leftovers? If so, how long can it stay in the fridge? Cheers.
Yes! You can store this in the fridge for up to 3 days :)
Thank you.
I spent 2 months in Tel Aviv and was introduced to Shashuka by the chef in the hotel and was glad he did. It became my staple in my remaining weeks in Tel Aviv.
Great and easy to follow ( I do not cook at all) great taste and certainly brings back good memories of my time there. Thanks
Would love to try this is there a single serve recipe conversion?
Easy , good , tasty . Thanks you very much!
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe!
Just made this. Delicious and so easy. I will make again
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Barbara!
I make this recipe alllll the time! Super delicious and healthy!
Happy to hear you make this shakshuka recipe all the time Jay!
7
I loved it, i made it just like you said and served orange, kiwi and fruit juice with it and it was gorgeous. Thank you for this beautiful recipe 🥰
Love the fresh fruit juice pairing with this :)
Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to share this recipe. May I ask, roughly many grams is one serving? :)
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, we don’t typically measure serving size by grams here, but there are 6 servings in this recipe (so one serving is 1/6th of the recipe).
Love this recipe.
I am from Libya, and this meal is just one of our most delicious meals here, and yes we learnt it from the Jews who were living here long time ago :)
This was delicious and so easy! I didn’t have fresh parsley so I added a bunch of spinach instead and it was yummy.
Spinach works just fine for added greens :)
Haven’t even tried it yet, but it’s an ugly soup. Egg whites aren’t cooking, too much moisture to have the consistency I see in the video and photos… this is a huge bummer. Keeping the liquids from the peeled tomatoes may be the problem. I followed the recipe and the video directly. Very unfortunate.
Hi Sally – Shakshuka is not a soup. It’s a simmering mixture of tomatoes and spices with poached eggs. If your egg whites haven’t cooked, they simply need more time and you can add a lid to the pan, as is mentioned in the recipe.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, I love it :D. It tasted and smelled delicious and the colors are so vibrant – it will be one of my favorites now.
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed this recipe Sarah :)
I had never made this before. I had heard about it in a show my 2 year old was watching.
Upon searching, I came across your recipe. We just had it for lunch. It was so delicious and flavourful! I will definitely be making this again soon and sharing it with everyone I know! Thank you
Happy to hear your first ever shakshuka was a success with this recipe Brandie :)
Love it very delicious thank you for the recipe and sharing with us.
Of course Gabriela :)
How do I make this using real tomatoes instead of canned ones?
Steam them until the skins are loose then peel and add to pan. They take longer because the canned ones are precooked, but it gives the flavors more time to come together.
I absolutely love shakshuka. I use a generous amount of cubed lamb, make it a bit spicier than this recipe and add a generous amount of cilantro and goat cheese after plating. I generally make a large batch on Sunday for work lunches. I skip the eggs on Sunday and just make an over easy egg while the sauce is in the microwave.
That sounds amazing with cubed lamb in this Brady!
My husband didn’t like it. He thought it was too sour. I loved it. It tasted even better next day:) Thank you for the recipe.
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Anastasia!
I’ve tried this recipe before and it was amazing! Making it again today.
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Bianca!
Looking for nutritional information on this product. It looks amazing but I need diet plan for it. Can you help?
Hi Debrenda – you can always find the nutritional information towards the bottom of the recipe card :)
Hi how to serve this shakshuka? Rice, sidedish for rice or sidedish for rotis?
Hi there! You can serve however you like. It can be with rice, some gluten-free toast, or with roasted veggies!
Delish!
Where can I find the single serving recipe?
You can make the tomato base as is, then portion out one serving and crack an egg on top to cook. Then save the rest of the tomato base for another time :)
This looks like an amazing recipe, but I was just wondering, how much olive oil should I use in the pan? Does it matter?
You can measure out 1 tablespoon or a just a drizzle.
I made this for lunch for my best friend and me. Believe it or not, I am usually a fan of tomatoes, but this dish has had my curiosity for years. Your recipe is WONDERFUL! We added a combo of cilantro and curly parsley, and crumbled goat cheese. DELISH! I cannot recommend this enough! We only cooked eggs for the two of us, saving the sauce to cook more later. Great recipe, that m you!
So glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Carrie!
Omg so easy and so delicious my go to brunch meal and so easy to make it suitable for vegans too.
It’s definitely one to keep in your rotation :)
My wife and I are taking a gastronomic journey around the world since travel is currently out of the question. She’s going one direction, I the other.
I “landed” in Tunisia last week and made Shakshuka. By popular request I am lingering in North Africa for another week and repeating this recipe tonight. It has become cemented as one of our favorites – either that or she’s stalling while she finds somewhere that sells Moose! I’ll be flexing my culinary muscle and using smoked paprika tonight. The smells out of the kitchen are already getting the mouth watering. Thank you for this recipe, easy enough for mere males to impress their spousal units :)
Love that you’re taking that gastronomic journey! What a lovely way to enjoy food and flavors from around the world.
I also learned to love Shaksuka on my trip to Israel. Your video inspired and guided me. Thank you. BARBARA EDENS
Loved by myself and my fiancee. We have also experimented with adding in seasoned lamb.
Glad you both enjoyed this recipe Damien!
Fantastic!
This has become a staple for us on Saturday mornings! I add avocado and goat cheese to the top before serving and it’s just perfect.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Glad this has become a staple in the kitchen!
Very tasty! I also added a can of chickpeas to increase the protein since I don’t eat eggs. Thanks for the recipe :)
Great idea on adding the chickpeas Hannah!
Thank you for the recipe and the lovely description of this ARABIC dish!
Please note that Israel is not a country… It is a military occupation of the original Country Palestine.
The reason why I decided to reach out to you is: As an Arabic woman from North Africa, I can’t accept describing our traditional recipe as an “Israelian traditional dish”.
Apart from that, I really love your content and follow you on Instagram as well.
I hope you take my comment above into consideration and make the required changes :)
Thank you!
Hi Nour – I’m glad you love my recipes and thanks for your feedback! In the post I describe shakshuka as “… a classic North African and Middle Eastern dish and one that’s eaten for breakfast or any meal of the day.” I myself have enjoyed it in numerous countries throughout those regions. :)
Yummy 😋 I had it in Israel. Israel is a country.
Geographically, yes it is. I’ve been there!
No. Sadly it’s an illegal occupation. X
Delish! The whole family was happy. 🙂
Glad this was a win with the whole family Melissa!
We tried this today using tomato puree, garlic powder, and Italian peppers. We also put a little shredded mozzarella on top. Next time we’ll try to do it with the more traditional ingredients, but it was delicious and a nice change from our usual breakfasts. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka Dave!
Fool proof and delicious. My friend posted it on facebook. Her friend asked her to take her to the restaurant!
Happy to hear you enjoyed this Shakshuka recipe!
I used to eat this lovely dish when I lived in Middle East. It brought back so many memories. It’s amazing. I’ve just made it and my husband was delighted. We had it with a slice of homemade sourdough bread. Thank you very much!
Glad this recipe brought back some nostalgic memories Juli :)
I love it!
Easy to make and delicious, my husband isn´t a veggie person but he loved it.
Now is one of his favorites breakfast
Glad you and your husband enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Claudia :)
This was outstanding! Thank you for recipe. I served it over butternut squash that was spirilized…fantastic & very healthy & filling too. We loved it!! Mary & Jim
Sounds amazing! You should also take a peek at my orange shakshuka which is made with roasted butternut squash :)
I loved this recipe!! My in-laws are Jewish and we were supposed to do a birthright trip this last year. Thanks a lot covid. Anyways. I wanted to make an authentic breakfast- like you’d find in Tel-aviv. And I came across this restaurant by Dr. Shakshuka and it just looked delightful. So I wanted to make this. And it was delicious. The spices filled my kitchen and the bell pepper and onion were so tender. We did add feta and avocado. We had it with some Mediterranean pane. I accidentally overcooked the eggs but it was still yummy. There was some broth and just used the bread to soak it up. My in laws loved it they had two helpings.
So happy to hear this Shakshuka recipe was reminiscent of Tel-Aviv and that your in-laws enjoyed it :)
So glad I found your page. Definitely spending some time reading your recipes. I am making Shakshuka tomorrow.
Excited to see what recipes you make Michele!
It actually tastes like I remember and I’ve already made this TWICE! Great recipe and well written; My entire family loves it. Easy to make and so healthy.
Thank you.
Happy to hear this resembles the authentic version :)
Thank you for this recipe! Really enjoyed traveling to the middle-east through taste! Turned out great.
Glad this brought you on a taste journey!