Shakshuka with feta is an easy one-pan vegetarian Mediterranean egg recipe you’re going to want to add to your recipe folder for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Eggs are simmered in a tomato-based sauce with peppers, onions, and warm spices. Then, it’s topped with melty feta cheese.
Shakshuka is a common Tunisian breakfast recipe, but versions of it can be found all over the Mediterranean- across North Africa, all the way to Italy (where it’s more commonly called eggs in purgatory). Common other spellings include Chakchouka and Shakshouka.
First, there’s a simple tomato sauce, boosted with sautéed onions and peppers and savory spices (cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper, and cilantro). Then, eggs are cracked directly into the sauce and simmered until cooked to your liking. Crumbled feta cheese is sprinkled on top of the shakshuka and melts into every warm bite.
It’s perfect served with crusty bread or pita. And while traditionally a breakfast food, I love it any time of day!
Best of all, you only need 25 minutes and one pan to make it!
(For more Tunisian recipe inspiration, check out Our Tunisian Table!)
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Aromatics: onion, pepper, and garlic. I used a yellow onion, but you can use sweet or red. Any color bell pepper will do.
- Spices: ground cumin, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes. I love the smoky flavor from the smoked paprika, but you can use regular paprika or chili powder if you want. Omit the crushed red pepper for a mild version (or add more for a spicier version!).
- Canned crushed tomatoes- you can use fresh or canned diced tomatoes if you don’t have crushed, or you can hand-crush tomatoes from whole canned tomatoes.
- Cilantro- or parsley, if you don’t like cilantro! No judgement. OK, just a little judgement :-)
- Feta cheese- you can substitute queso fresco, cotija, or another crumbly farmers cheese if you prefer.
- Eggs
Recommended Equipment
You’ll need a large skillet, preferably with a lid, to make Shakshuka. I recommend (and personally use) this Calphalon 12-inch nonstick skillet with a lid. If you just need a lid, try this 12-inch tempered glass lid.
If you’ve ever simmered tomato sauce on the stove before, you know how splattery it can get! A lid not only helps contain the splatters, but also traps in the heat so the eggs cook evenly without overcooking the yolks.
You can get away with a 10-inch skillet, but you may need to reduce the amount of eggs from 6 to 4.
If you don’t have a large skillet with a lid, don’t worry! You can finish cooking the shakshuka in you oven (375 degrees F for about 10 minutes), as long as the skillet you used is oven-safe.
How to make Shakshuka
- First, sauté the peppers and onions in olive oil. You want to develop deep flavor, so make sure you give them enough time to brown and begin to caramelize (about 10 minutes).
- Then, add the garlic, spices, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat and cook only long enough for the garlic to become fragrant- too long and it may burn.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and cilantro. Be careful- tomatoes splatter! You may want to lower or completely turn off the heat for this part.
- Create wells with a spoon and crack the eggs into each one.
- Cover the skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your desired doneness (for me, 5 minutes yielded a perfect slightly runny yolk).
- Finally, garnish the shakshuka with crumbled feta cheese and more cilantro if you want.
What to serve with Shakshuka
I love serving shakshuka with feta with a side of homemade crusty bread. You can also serve it with pita bread or anything else to mop up the yummy sauce!
For a gluten-free serving suggestion, I recommend mashed potatoes or rice.
Other easy egg recipes
- Baked Eggs with Potatoes, Spinach, and Marinara
- Olive Oil Scrambled Eggs with Feta and Tomatoes
- Baked Egg and Sweet Potato Nests
- 15-Minute Egg Drop Soup
- Greek Yogurt Egg Salad with Dill and Lemon
Browse all Breakfast and Brunch Recipes here!
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Easy Shakshuka with Feta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced (or any other color)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, plus more for serving
- 6 large eggs
- 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
- crusty bread or pita, for serving optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil (2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick). Sauté the diced onion and pepper until softened and browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the minced garlic (2 cloves), ground cumin (1 teaspoon), smoked paprika (1/2 teaspoon), crushed red pepper flakes (1/4 teaspoon), kosher salt (1 teaspoon), and black pepper (1/4 teaspoon). Stir to coat and sauté for about 30 seconds more, until fragrant.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes (28 oz.) and chopped cilantro or parsley (1/4 cup) and stir together. Bring to a gentle simmer, and turn the heat to low (or off momentarily, if the tomatoes are splattering a lot).
- Use a spoon to form 6 wells in the tomato sauce mixture. Crack an egg into each well. Cover the skillet and simmer until eggs are set (about 5-8 minutes, depending on how runny you like the yolks).
- Sprinkle with crumbled feta (4 oz.) and additional chopped cilantro/parsley, as well as more salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper if desired. Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
- If you don’t have a lid for your large skillet, you can finish cooking it in your oven, as long as your skillet is oven-safe. Just crack eggs into the wells and transfer to a 375 degree F oven for about 10 minutes, or until eggs are set to your preference.
- To use a 10-inch skillet, use the same amount of ingredients except 4 eggs instead of 6. Anything smaller than that and you’ll probably have to cut the recipe in half (use the slider bar on the servings above to help out with this).
- For a paleo or dairy free version, omit the feta cheese.
- Ingredient Substitutions: Chili powder or regular paprika can be used instead of smoked paprika; cayenne pepper can be used instead of crushed red pepper (or omitted for a mild version); goat cheese, queso fresco, or cotija cheese can be substituted for feta; canned diced tomatoes or chopped whole tomatoes may be substituted for crushed.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Pam Stephens
We’ve been trying to incorporate 2 ‘meatless’ meals per week and we recently tried this. It was a flavor explosion and was so simple. I made some grilled Naan bread to dip in the sauce and the meal was raved about for days, honestly. I’m looking for more meatless meals to add to my rotation but I can’t wait to have this again. It paired nicely with Eccentric Merlot for a nice quick weeknight dinner.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Sounds like a delicious meal with the naan bread :-)