The best shakshuka recipe with perfectly spiced tomato sauce, peppers, onions, and eggs. The most epic brunch served with pan-fried potatoes or crusty bread!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of American Egg Board. The opinions and text are all mine.
Let me begin by saying I owned a cast iron skillet for a solid year before I used it.
A YEAR. It intimidated the heck out of me. How do I wash it? How do I store it? How do I season it? How do I keep it shiny? What does it like to eat?
It was kind of like how I get really stressed out about simple tasks. I overthink and overthink and once I finally just DO IT, I realize I spend way more time fixated on how I’m going to conquer something than the time it takes to finish the damn thing. Better done than perfect, that’s what I’m sayin’.
To answer the above questions, the skillet I have comes pre-seasoned so I didn’t have to worry about seasoning it. I just make sure to coat it with oil before and after I cook, to not use a bunch of soap when I wash it, and to fully dry it versus letting it sit out wet so it doesn’t rust. Easy peasy!
Today I’m teaming up with The American Egg Board to spread the good word about their new campaign that’s putting a new twist on the age old question, “How Do You Like Your Eggs?” We’re breaking out of the ordinary to inspire you think about eggs differently, beyond the usual. Check out the Incredible Egg’s website for more recipe ideas and inspiration!
SO. How do I like my eggs? Many ways, but most recently, in shakshuka!! I made my first shakshuka a few months ago when I was craving something savory but was bored with eggs and avocado toast. The first try was good, but it wasn’t great. Nowhere near blog-worthy. I made it again a number of times after Jeff repeatedly requested “charcuterie” (he meant shakshuka) on Sunday morning. I played with the spices, the tomatoes, the eggies. And here we are today with the perfected version. THE ONLY SHAKSHUKA RECIPE YOU’LL EVER NEED!
What is this word that sounds like a gibberish shoe, you ask? Some say it’s Israeli and some say it’s North African and some say it’s Middle Eastern. It’s basically yummy cuminy spiced tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and poached eggs.
Now. This serves two people. If you’re feeding a crowd, I would double it; although I would do that in a way larger pan than the 10-inch cast iron skillet I used for this baby or else the eggs will be all crowded.
I love to serve this epic shakshuka with crusty bread or pan fried taters. To make pan-fried potatoes, first heat a tablespoon of oil (I use avocado oil for all my high heat cooking) and half a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Dice up two medium sized potatoes and add them to the hot pan along with half a teaspoon of kosher salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste. Cook for a while (maybe 15-20 minutes?), stirring often and turning down the heat if they get too browned. Season to taste with more salt and pep!
I think what makes this shakshuka the best ever is the spices. I use a full teaspoon each of paprika, smoked paprika, and cumin plus half a teaspoon of oregano and plenty of salt and pepper. Be sure to let the onion and pepper brown and really let the tomato juices cook down to enhance the flavor. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, no worries. You can totally use whatever pan you fancy.
Remember not to toss the yolks! They house the vitamin D, B12, selenium, and 40% of the egg’s protein. Team whole egg, over here!
It’s 2018, guys. Brunch hard or don’t brunch at all.
- 1 tbsp oil (I used avocado oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp kosher salt + more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1-14oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 large eggs
- Cilantro or parsley, for garnish
- Heat oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet or medium skillet of choice.
- Once hot, add onion plus a good pinch of salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add bell pepper and jalapeño and sauté for another 5 minutes or until veggies are getting nice and browned. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add spices, salt, and pepper. Stir for another minute.
- Immediately add tomatoes and their juices, stirring well to combine. If you have extra parsley or cilantro, stir that in too. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
- Use a spoon to make 4 wells in the sauce and crack eggs into holes, spooning a little sauce over the white edges. Sprinkle with salt. Keep heat on low, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until whites are set. Make sure you don't overcook them or they'll be rubbery.
- Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve immediately with potatoes or crusty bread!
Been waiting for a shakshuka recipe from you for a long time! It goods so good! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
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It’s become one of my FAVORITE brunch recipes. Hope you love it!!
This sounds amazing! This weekend, I have shakshuka on our meal plan! We’ll be brunchin’ hard. ✌🏻
You and I both!! Let me know how it goes!
I wanted to come back and rate this recipe. If I could give it more than five stars, I would! It gave me an idea – next time we have leftover spaghetti, I am going to reheat it in our iron skillet and cook eggs on top just like this. I. cannot. wait. Thank, Alexis! You keep outdoing yourself with these recipes!
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Ha omg I bought a cast iron skillet a few months ago (after YEARS of wanting one but not doing anything about it) and still am too scared to use it too! This may be the perfect first thing to make with it…
Haha why is it so intimidating?! This recipe is easy peasy so it’s perfect for overcoming the fear of the cast iron!
Delish!!! I know what I’m making for brunch this weekend!
It’s gonna rock your world!
Considering I’m in the same boat that you were, could you let me know: what kind of oil you use in your cast iron, do you use soap at all?, do you wash the pan right away or after you’ve eaten, and do you mean you dry it with a dishtowel instead of letting it air dry??
thanks!!
This sounds great, my mouth is watering already! I do something similar with salsa instead of canned tomatoes so I am sure your Shakshuka will be on a whole other level. One thing I noticed with cooking with spices is the higher quality the spice the better the flavor outcome. I now buy my spices at a local spice shop and I noticed an immediate difference in a soup I regularly make – flavor explosion in my mouth. Every bite.
I have been using cast iron skillets and a griddle for years and the key takeaways are: never use soap because whatever food is not completely cleaned up will help ‘season’ the pan even more, get some legit oven mits that you can use easily while holding that big boy because it gets awkward with certain types, and lastly dry with a rag not paper towels. We cook our eggs on the cast iron flat top griddle – great way to incorporate iron into your food 😉
Love those tips!! The cast iron is my new kitchen bff.
I have been looking at this brunch meal on your Instagram all weekend and am so excited you have the recipe posted! Can’t wait to try this out with a side of breakfast potatoes for a yummy weekend brunch!
It gives me all the cozy feels for weekend brunching!
A quick Wiki search gave me this: “The word Shakshouka (Arabic: شَكْشُوكَةٌ) means “a mixture” in Arabic slang, from Tunisian Arabic, itself derived from the Arabic verb شَكَّ’ ‘translit’. shakka, meaning “stick together, clumped together, adhere or cohere”.
So, not quite “gibberish”, just means something in a language that is not English 😉
Hi Mary!
The foods and words of other cultures certainly are beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to look up a little history on Shakshouka! When I said it sounded like gibberish, I was simply referring to fact that the word may be unfamiliar to a lot of readers, as it was new to me when I discovered the dish. I in no way meant to imply that other languages are gibberish or unimportant. Hope you understand!
YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS!
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It’t not brunch without Shakshuka!!
Made this yesterday for brunch and it was delicious! <3
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Yay!! Brunch twins forever!
Where is your gold cutlery from? It’s gorgeous!
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Target!
I’ve never heard of Shakshuka before but that sure does look awesome. I frequently cook brunch for the family on Sundays and I think I’ll have to give this a shot! Thanks.
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Hope you love it!
Made this last night for dinner and loved it! I added some feta based on other Shashuska recipes I’ve seen (I know, I know, not vegan, but Cheese <3 )
My husband, who vehemently is opposed to breakfast for dinner actually liked it! Win-win!
The ultimate compliment with the hubby approval! I’m not vegan nor is this eggtastic recipe so bring on the feta, girl. I’ve actually eaten it with feta, too! So good.
I love almost all of your recipes, but not this one. I thought you were vegan.
The amount of suffering chickens endure to produce eggs is inhumane and wrong. I’m disappointed to see you supporting this cruel industry.
Take a look here to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utPkDP3T7R4
I know that you can come up with a vegan version of this recipe! I’ll be waiting…
Please get off your high horse and stop deliberately offending others. There’s no call for that. These days it’s super easy to source ethically-produced eggs. SOOOO many people these days have backyard chickens (cherished family pets!) or know a local farmer who farms happy free-range chickens.
This recipe is amazing!!! I made it already 10 times. Only once in my cast iron and that I stopped doing because when I wanted to reheated the leftover the next day the eggwhite turned black from the black iron of my pan 😝 I don’t think that can be healthy?? So I prepare it in a regular non stick pan. Do you have any idea why the food absorbs the black of the pan ?