The best baked eggs in the world – Shakshuka! A Middle Eastern and North African dish traditionally served up for breakfast or lunch, this can be made entirely on the stove or finished in the oven. However, bread for dunking/mopping is not optional!
Shakshuka
I’ll let you in on a trade secret – usually, the photos you see of so called baked eggs aren’t really baked at all.
When eggs are baked, the thin film of egg whites covering the yolks becomes opaque, fogging up the beautiful bright yellow yolks.
“This is a catastrophe!” said some food magazine editor, somewhere. “We cannot have foggy yolks! They must be bright yellow. This must be fixed!” (I hear this in my head with a French accent, but I don’t know why)
And so some food stylist scuttled off, and came back with a solution now adopted by food stylists everywhere: pan fry the eggs sunny side up then slide them into whatever sauce or vehicle they were supposedly baked in.
It’s always obvious when this is done because you don’t get the messy bleed of whites mixed in with the sauce, like you see in these photos.
So yes, I sacrificed glaringly yellow yolks to make this the way the recipe is written. I did cheat a bit though- I carefully wiped off as much of the egg whites from the yolks before baking them.
I assure you I do not do that in real life. 😂
Now that I’ve changed the way you’ll look at baked eggs photos forever, let’s talk about the world’s best baked eggs – Shakshuka.
WHAT IS SHAKSHUKA?
It’s basically eggs that are baked or poached in a fragrant tomato sauce, usually with capsicum (bell peppers), onion and spices like cumin and paprika, reflecting the Middle Eastern and North African roots of this dish. It’s actually quite similar to Huevos Ranchos – the Mexican version of Shakshuka!
Though traditionally thought of as a breakfast or brunch recipe, I’m forever on my “eggs anytime of the day” crusade and I’m sitting here at 5.18pm on Wednesday 25 July 2018, wondering what to have for dinner tonight and I just decided to make this (again).
BRILLIANT FOR CAMPING – AND MAKING IN BULK
Though I call Shakshuka a type of baked eggs, ironically my favourite way of making it is over campfire, poaching rather than baking. One of my best friends had a remote wild-river wedding and the outdoor caterers they hired made Shakshuka for 80 wedding guests over campfire.
It worked brilliantly because eggs take mere minutes to cook, so they made large pots of this fragrant tomato sauce then cooked dozens and dozens of eggs in them. Poach, serve, then repeat in the same pots.
I had all good intentions of helping. But I had a very sore head that morning… 🥂🤢 Hey! I was a bridesmaid – I had to do lots of toasts! …. – Nagi x
MY FAVOURITE BREKKI/BRUNCHY EGG RECIPES
-
Healthy Egg Muffins – grab ‘n go brekki!
-
Frittata – a classic everyone should know!
-
Quiche Lorraine (must try at least once!)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Shakshuka (Middle Eastern Poached or Baked Eggs)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small red onion , peeled, halved and sliced
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 small red capsicum (bell pepper) , halved lengthways and sliced into 0.5cm/1/4” strips
- 1 tomato , diced
- 400 g / 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml chicken or vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 tsp EACH paprika and cumin
- 1/4 tsp EACH black pepper and cayenne pepper (or other hot spice, adjust to taste)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs eggs (up to 6 eggs ok)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley or coriander / cilantro , roughly chopped
- Pita or crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (if intending to bake them).
- Heat oil in a medium size cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add capsicum, cook for 1 minute. Add diced tomato, cook for 2 minutes until broken down and it becomes a bit pasty (see video).
- Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix to combine well.
- Lower stove to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes until just thickened enough to make indentations (don't want dry sludge, needs to still be saucy).
- Make indentations in the mixture and carefully crack the eggs in. Leave to cook for 1 minute until edges of whites are set (Note 1).
- Transfer to oven and bake for 7 to 12 minutes until whites are just set but yolks are still runny (or to your taste). OR cover with lid and steam on stove for 3 minutes (runny yolks), or just simmer them without a lid.
- Remove from oven/stove and serve immediately, scattered with the coriander or parsley. Serve with crusty bread, or pita bread.
Recipe Notes:
Original recipe published in May 2014, officially one of the very first recipes I ever shared. So it's 4 years overdue for new photos and a video! Recipe slightly tidied up but is fundamentally the same.Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
And he’s back in the water!!! The vet tells me it’s excellent for rehab*. So I’m making him do laps back and forth along the beach – not allowed to run on the sand!
* For those playing catch up: Dozer busted his knee a couple of months ago and had to undergo surgery. We’re 8 weeks into a 12 – 16 week post op recovery period. He’s doing fantastic! A little too well – if he had his way, he’d be bolting after rabbits in the backyard, then he’d end up back on the operating table… 🙄
First time I’ve had shakshuka, cooked for breakfast – so tasty my son is coeliac and fussy ate the whole lot – thank you
Made this for breakfast for my wife this morning, a fantastic dish, spice and heat balance perfect! Thanks.
This is such a flavourful and comforting dish. Absolutely delicious! Easy to put together too. Another winning recipe, Nagi!
Looks delicious!
Hi Nagi.
I was at that river wedding as well! Stoked to be reminded of this way of cooking eggs for the weekend.
Best. Frank
I have cooked many of your recipes Nagi, and have never been let down, so am looking forward to giving this a go! I am hosting 20-30 people for Mother’s Day in a few weeks and thought I might do this as individual ramekins with one egg each as part of a brunch spread. Is there anything I need to watch out for if cooking in individual serves? (Timing, quantities…anything I might not have thought of!) I’m thinking of making up a big batch of sauce and baking to order, or maybe just making a dozen or so and see if we need more?
Any suggestions gratefully appreciated!
hey, just wondered if you ended up making these individual? I was thinking of doing the same, not sure how long to cook for etc. Appreciate any tips if you did it!
I didn’t sorry Joy 🙁
Amazing!
What would I do without you? Your recipes save me time and time again. Thank you for all your hard work
As suggested by Israeli friends, I added a bay leaf and used lovely ripe chopped tomatoes instead of tinned. Served with roasted cauliflower and bread. Quick, healthy and delicious 😊
Made this for lunch with Turkish bread. My daughter requested it and we all loved it. So tasty and easy to make.
This was really, really good. And so quick and easy.
I noticed some people adding bacon or chorizo… Well some Spam goes with this too when the cupboard is getting low! Ha! This recipe makes everything tasty! Thx Nagi!
This is delicious. Used the job for the whole recipe. Another amazing Nagi recipe.
Meant “hob”
Currently in iso and cooked this for breakfast. Added chopped chorizo and paired with sourdough toast.
Yummo! Even with slightly over cooked egg yolks husband thought it was fantastic.
I can see this being requested frequently in the future.
Nagi, your recipes never disappoint. Thank you.
Your recipes are always reliable but this one was a stand-out. I had this for the first time at a Cafe yesterday and enjoyed it so much I wanted to recreate myself. Your recipe was perfect, the spiciness of the sauce was spot on and the eggs poached wonderfully. Will try baking next time maybe.
Yummy, easy & really healthy! Smells incredible when cooking. Becoming a quick favourite teamed up with some freshly made bread.
Made this for brekky this morning. Amazing! So easy too. Definitely making this again.
I am so glad that you enjoyed it Sarah! N x
Shakshuka…
This was so easy to make. Finishing the eggs in the oven made them incredible.
I didn’t have red onions so I substituted leeks. Sorry about that.
Yummy! I didn’t have capsicum so I used spinach and chorizo. Still yummy yummy
Nagi, you’re my hero. I’m 78 & learning to cook.
Your recipes are so clear & complete, even a dumbass like me can do it.
Shakshuka next,
Geoff x
Geoff, good on you for learning how to cook now. Nagi is my go to. She never fails me.
Made this for 4 but only husband and myself were hungry and shameful to day we ate it all so delicious going to be a regular I. Our household love every one of your recipes