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!
- Turkish Eggs – The most flavorful brunch!
- 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.
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!
Amazing! Super simple dish with so much flavor.
I made this for my son who is recovering from a broken jaw. I left out the red pepper but everything else was the same. He loved it. I will be making this again for sure!
I’ve made shakshouka before but this recipe and video were very clear and helpful! I appreciated the lack of ads too…
Hello,
I was wondering how many fresh tomatos would I need to make this recipe.
Thank you Elin
I added jalapeños and a serrano pepper to kick it up a notch. So good garnished with feta cheese and eaten with homemade pita bread. Incredibly filling and so healthy!
Dear Lisa – please let me know – the calories are referring to what amount of the food? 100g or 1 porsion or any other? I cannot find it anywhere on your blog. Thank you!
The nutritional information will always be per serving, and this recipe has 6 servings (which is stated in the recipe card!).
How do I make one serving of this shakshuka? Thx
Hi Maureen – I’d recommend making the entire batch of the sauce and storing it in the fridge. When you’d like to enjoy it, use a portion of the saue in a small skillet and continue the recipe with one egg. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe. Easy to follow directions for a really delicious meal. I add sriracha sauce for a little added spice. I’ve made it several times now.
My 13 yr old son was inspired to make this after watching a youtube video, we found your recipe
and made it for breakfast! So good. And fun to eat right out of the pan 😃
Yum! Simple and delicious.
I made this for dinner tonight and was pleasantly surprised how good it was!
Love this .
Added chirzo sausage which gave it another dimension! Served with bacon and capsicum pesto on top with the herbs.
Love this! Have made this a few times now for a quick, satisfying and delicious lunch. Love the richness from the tomatoes and spices! Pairs perfectly with a slice of crusty sourdough bread :)
Glad you enjoyed this shakshuka recipe Aisha and thanks for leaving a review :)
I am making this for lunch today. Can’t wait. Will be back comment. ❤️
Fantastic!
I’d never even heard of shakshuka until a couple of months ago. Finally got around to trying to make it and went with this recipe. Very glad I did!
Been trying to transition to a much healthier way of eating, cutting out all the processed crap I’ve learned on out of convenience for far too long.
This was so good and surprisingly filling! Going to work this into regular meal rotation at home now.
Thrilled to hear your first time making a shakshuka was a success! This is definitely one to add into your weekly rotation when you need a fast yet delicious meal.
I made this today for breakfast. It was so good my daughter had seconds.
Thrilled to hear both you and your daughter are enjoying this breakfast idea!
DEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!!!!! Just came back from my first time in Israel and ate tons of this dish. So now I am craving it big time !! Followed your recipe to a T and it came out perfect. Thank you !!!!!
Glad you can now have a taste of Israel in the comfort of your own home!
Oh my God Amazing! My vegetarian daughter talked me into making this. I’m so glad she did!
Just tried this recipe last night for the first time and it was a success! My boyfriend and I loved it 😊 we used 2 peppers instead of one and we didn’t have cilantro. We ate it with bread, but I can imagine it’s also delicious with rice or pasta. Very easy and quick to make, we’ll be repeating for sure! Thank you!
This was fantastic. We had it for dinner with some gluten free French Bread and it really hit the spot on this cloudy day. Used smoked Paprika and added ground chicken for added protein.
I’ve enjoyed this dish out many times in the past but never had the confidence to make it at home until now. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. At my surprise, it was absolutely delicious and very flavorful without being too spicy. I would recommend it to anyone for the ease of preparation and its delicious exotic flavor. I cooked it in my very seasoned cast iron skillet because that’s all I had to use, and it didn’t seem to affect the many years of seasoning.
I added canned sardines to it (mashed em up right before putting em in) and just used rotel diced tomatoes (i think it comes with onions and green bell pepppers) and yuuummm
My Sicilian grandmother used to make a version of this. No bell pepper, cumin, or paprika. Instead garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley. And she used fontanelle cheese.
Made this for tea tonight, it was delicious. I added Chorizo so only used 1tsp of paprika and crumbled Feta cheese on top just before serving. Had it with crusty bread
Will definitely be making it again.
I took a photo but not sure how to add it.
Thank you
would love to know if its sweet or smoked paprika you are using here.
so excited to try this, I had Shakshuka out at a cafe once, it regularly became my favourite but always seemed to magical and hard to make, like I would never be able to understand how to make something so flavourful. its so nice that you have explained what spices in particular you use, as lots of recipes just say, “now add whatever spices you like” – which doesn’t help when you don’t have too much knowledge on spices yet.
I’m using sweet paprika instead of smoked :)
I was very impressed by the ease you had in putting this recipe together. I can’t wait to cool It for my vegan friend. I’ll have avocado and pita with it.
Hope you and your friend enjoy this shakshuka recipe Linda!
This can also be made with baked sweet potatoes instead of tomato. Scoop out and mash the potatoes. Use the tomato and onions mixture to put over the dish at serving time. Same recipe just with potato as the base. Crispy toast squares as a side.
I’ve been wanting to make Shakshuka for a long time (never have), and I love this video! It simplifies what I always thought was a complicated dish. Looks so yum! Also, I’ve spent time in France since I was a teenage and was so surprised to learn that there, too, sometimes eggs are for dinner, too. Great video!
Hi the ingredients are listed but I don’t see the portion size for the Sauce with and without egg or eggs
Hi Melissa – this will create 6 servings!
Every time I make this dish I have to put my second helping aside because my son eats the entire skillet. A family favorite!
Thanks for specifying that shakshuka very much originated in North Africa. Food appropriation is a real thing and I’m glad to see your disclaimer that you were sponsored by an Israeli group, so at least I’m aware of the reason behind you mentioning it so much in the post, despite the very rich North African history of this dish.
I once did the pre-made Trader Joe’s shakshuka in my 6″ cast iron skillet and it stripped at least half of the seasoning down to bare metal. This was a very well-seasoned pan with years of use.
Anyway, I made shakshuka in a non-stick pan and it came out so good. Also the pan was not destroyed.
It was indeed easy to make and very good. Thank you
Made this for breakfast this morning. Thanks for another delicious recipe, Lisa!
So simple and delicious! Thank you for sharing, I love your recipes cause they always turn out great !
Perfect recipe! Easy to make, easy to add to and great to eat! On permanent rotation.. thank you for sharing! 🙌 💞
In tuscany Italy we call it “papparino” or at least my grandmother called it this way when I was a child. For children is prepared without pepper and paprika and no cumino.
She used to ask me if I want in the plate the “eye of the cow” , that mean the egg yolk entire , or not, that mean scrambled egg. I always asked scrambled because this eye looking at me from yhe plate was a little bit frigtening. :-)
I love it very much! It’s semm so be delicious
Thank you for using organic ingredients and showing us how to make this amazing dish. Wondering if this is served with pita to sop up the juices?
Yes, you can serve with pita!
How long will this keep?
This will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge!
Didn’t expect to love this as much as I do! Whole family approves! Had it with sliced avocado on the side, YUM! I’ve made it a couple times now, I think next time I’ll try diced tomatoes. Cheaper, and as the tomatoes break down anyway?
Yum! I’m going to try fer sure!
Hope you enjoy this recipe Gillian!
Made this tonight for 3 people, used the recipe for 6 and we loved it thankyou. ( one egg each though)
DELICIOUS! added several mushrooms & used all peppers for addition al colour. Recommended to all who are looking for an easy dinner.
May be a dumb question… Do you use ground cumin? Or cumin seeds
I’m using ground cumin for this recipe.
No potatoes? Really??
Added a small jalapeno and a few shakes of red pepper flakes as another poster suggested. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Mine turned out way juicier, probably just because of the brand of canned whole tomatoes, but still very, very good. Definitely a keeper. Thanks!
Mine turned out juicier too..I think you’re right about the canned tomatoes. Still was a HUGE hit in my house! :)
I think that a few whole tomatoes in a blender are a better option than the canned tomatoes. Mix in a little tomato paste with the oil as your onions and peppers saute and it’s a hit.
My go to breakfast meal for the past months ! Totally bursting with flavors and budget friendly 😊 I live alone, so I make a big batch with 6 eggs that I eat during the week.
My add-ons :
-a toasted slice of gluten free bread under the eggs
– half avocado sliced with lime juice and sea salt
– small portion of oven cooked sweet potatoes
– feta cheese
– cilantro or basil
😊
Hey Diane, I tried out a similar breakfast today, and it tasted great! Thank you so much for your recommendations!
Ever since I picked up an RTE from Trader Joe’s, I’ve been craving it!
It’s a keeper!
I used half regular paprika & half smoked paprika, as well as Chipolte chili powder to amp up the smokiness & heat.
Made this recipe for my birthday this morning, as I’m missing the Middle East (spent 17 months in Qatar). Varied the recipe slightly by adding chopped jalapeños and mushrooms. This tasted just like I remember having it, for the first time and then every subsequent morning, at a resort in Salalah, Oman. Thanks for making my day!
Love the idea of adding mushrooms and jalapenos into the mix! Hope this got your birthday morning off to a great start Nancy, and Happy Birthday :)
Looks great. If I want to use fresh tomatoes over canned, how many would you recommend?