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:
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… 🙄
nagendra says
I love baked egg and it looks delicious to eat them. So I want to try this in my house.
Nagi says
I hope you love it!
Yvonne says
I made this and added feta cheese on the top. Would highly recommend this modification/suggestion.
Nagi says
Sounds delicious Yvonne!
Joey & Quynh Mollica says
Bless us, Nagi– for we have sinned. We tried a few recipes over the last few weeks from other sites… we swear it won’t happen again! 😛
Made this tonight and not only was it easy, but Quynh (who usually *hates* tomatoey things) loved it. I’ve been eyeing this recipe for months and finally decided to try it. How you continually manage to make 5 star recipes so easy is beyond me, but it’s appreciated! Happy holidays to you, Dozer, momma, and the fam!
Maria J says
Can I use fresh tomatoes only? As we don’t get canned tomatoes here
Nagi says
You could, just crush them ☺️
Mandy says
I just made this for lunch and it was yum! Thank you for another fantastic recipe x
Anahit says
Hi Nagi. Thank you for the recipe. Made it today. It was delicious.
Nagi says
You’re so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!!! N xx
Chit says
Hi nagi. Is it possible to make this recipe without going to the overn. Just stovetop and covered. I wonder what would be a big difference in taste. Thanks.
Yagmur says
Hi Nagi,
I have just cooked this but I think I may have overcooked the yolks a bit, still delicious tough, next time I will take it out of the oven on the 7th minute mark, one question what is the best way to reheat them?
Nagi says
It works great! I put the directions in the recipe 🙂 I do that all the time over camp fire
Elise says
Hi Nagi, Do you think this recipe could be made and reheated next day? (Would love this for breaky!)
Nagi says
Oooh yes! I would make the sauce, reheat in a saucepan then make dents, add eggs and cook. YUM!
Essie says
Thank you Nagi! These were so quick, easy and not to mention delicious! I found myself feeling sad as the meal ended because I wanted to keep eating it, haha! The crusty bread is definitely a great accompaniment to this. I’m always looking for more vegetarian meals that leave me feeling ultra-satisfied and this definitely did the trick.
Nagi says
Glad you enjoyed it Essie! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Alexa | Doorstep Organics says
First of all, your recipe is awesome and I couldn’t imagine how you come up with this idea. You just level up the eggs. Drolls all throughout the read. Cheers.
Nagi says
Ohhh, this is an old favourite I’ve been making for years and years!!
MaryTognazzini says
First thing I check Dozer (every ones dog) and then the recipe. A must try this week!
Nagi says
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!!!! N xx
Meg says
This was delicious!!i added some left over chickpeas and kidney beans and it was like a chilli with baked eggs-awesome .Thanks -I love your recipes 😍
Nagi says
You made it already!! YOU ROCK Meg! N x
Lisa says
Soooooo happy to see Dozer back in the water again! Fabulous and happy pic. x (Honest – I don’t just follow you for Dozer…no really…love your food).
Nagi says
No no, forget the food if you want, just come here for Dozer! 😂
Vera G says
Bravo DOZER! HE NEEDS couple OF footballes to recover. IT WOULD BE HARD to control him BECAUSE OF HIS size and STRENTH . Good Luck! AS for dish Nagi, EUROPE has THAT to. Maybe NOT AS spiceas Middle East But THATS breakfast in summer in COUNTRY and its CALLED Farmers dish hearty, healthy stuff from garden to table and eggs ARE SO Fresh from CHOOK nest to pot, YUM, Summer time due to having the Best Tomato from garden. Love IT. Am still cooking But THIS days more SO in Autumn . HAVE good week. Do NOT WORRIE about photos can’t Eat THEM , ITS more IMPORTANT what is on a Plate . Ciao!
Nagi says
I took him down again this morning and it was a nightmare! He is far too confident!!
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Nagi! I have seen many versions of this dish and many were VERY spicy. Your version sounds like it has a little kick which is great for me. I like spice, but not mouth burning hot. Dozer looks like he is really enjoying his swim! Water therapy allows for muscle strengthening without putting a load on the injury which land exercise does. It’s hard to come to terms with what you used to do and what you can now for animals as well as people! I’ve learned that the hard way 🙂
Nagi says
Except to keep him in the water, I have to get in there too…. reminder: it’s WINTER here….
Leah says
OK!!! So, I just had to make this, hence my camping out on your site for the last 2 hours! 😀
In a word?: Fantasmagorical!!
This is definitely in the top ten of favorite dishes ever made, and will be served for all meals. Brekkie, Lunch, Dinner.
It IS that good!
It made my day to see Dozer Dawg in the water again! He looks totally ecstatic! Bet Mom was too. 🙂
Nagi says
YES!!!!! So glad you’re on the Eggs-Anytime-Of-The-Day bandwagon!!! PS Mom was not ecstatic, it is winter over here and keeping him in the water required me getting in there to stop him dashing out to run around like a maniac on the sand….
Mary says
What a happy boy Dozer looks. He thinks he’s in heaven. Just imagine all his doggie thoughts.
Love Shakshuka and make it often, always have trouble getting the eggs right – I DON’T like bright yellow eyes looking at me on my plate, so I have to ‘white’ them over for me and keep the others yellow!! Yeah I know, crazy eh?
Nagi says
I am not convinced about his doggie thoughts…. I really don’t think there is much going on inside that golden furry head! (And I love him anyway 😂)
J says
Hi Nagi! This looks like a yummy dinner, breakfast meal! It’s healthy too! If I don’t know what to make, then I make eggs and toast. This was one thing my kids didn’t complain about when they were little bc of no leftovers…I made alot to eat for a few days. Lol. My dog loves scrambled eggs and toast…with dog treat bacon.
Thanks for another new recipe for me to try, when it’s not muggy out. Ugh!
Your recipes are 5 stars all the way all the time!
So happy to see that Dozer is getting better. I bet you are too esp with all the lifting…dogs do get heavy after awhile. Lol.
Have a great weekend!
Nagi says
Still heaving him in and out of the car….. so over it!!!
Marissa says
Aww…I love to see Dozer back in the water!
Shakshuka is one of my all time favorite dishes! Can’t wait to try yours knowing that it will be stellar!
Nagi says
Hiiiii Marissa!!! How are you?? I love seeing your amazingness on IG! N x
Gail says
Look at that happy happy face on Dozer! 😂 That water looks awesome (am jealous😂).
Nagi that recipe looks yum, quite easy and simple. Super! Giving it a try soon.
Hugs! … Have a great Thursday!
Nagi says
Honestly, I swear he had a giant smile on his face the whole time we were down there!!