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!
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!
- Caprese Baked Eggs
- No Washing Up Ham Egg Bread Bowls & Ham Egg Pockets
- Quiche Lorraine (must try at least once!)
- Fluffy Egg White Omelettes
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… 🙄
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 😍
You made it already!! YOU ROCK Meg! N x
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).
No no, forget the food if you want, just come here for Dozer! 😂
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!
I took him down again this morning and it was a nightmare! He is far too confident!!
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 🙂
Except to keep him in the water, I have to get in there too…. reminder: it’s WINTER here….
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. 🙂
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….
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?
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 😂)
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!
Still heaving him in and out of the car….. so over it!!!
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!
Hiiiii Marissa!!! How are you?? I love seeing your amazingness on IG! N x
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!
Honestly, I swear he had a giant smile on his face the whole time we were down there!!
Dozer looks so happy to be in the water again. Nice to have one restriction lifted, at least!
Those eggs look wonderful! Great recipe to have for a quick and satisfying meal, since the ingredients for those are things I virtually always have handy, too.
How is it exactly that Aussie breakfast beans differ from American beans? Very curious about that and about “Poms?”
I was wondering the same thing about the baked beans, coming from Canada and living in Oz for 30 yrs. I know both the dk brown beans and the more tomatoey ones in both countries. I like both and learned to eat beans on toast in Oz which is a nutritious breakfast, lunch or dinner! Yum.
I like both kinds, too! Which kind had you usually had on toast? My dad had actually been a good cook, but when we’d been very small he’d sometimes given us brown sugar baked beans tucked into buttered sliced of folded white bread as a weekend lunch, and had called those bean sandwiches. We’d thought he was absolutely brilliant, and wonderfully funny too, because he’d chanted “beans, bean, a wonderful fruit, the more you eat the more you toot…” While serving them. He’d been like the king of pre-schoolers in the neighborhood too, with 5 generations of little kids knocking at my parents’ door asking if he could come out to play.
Your dad sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing your story.
He really was, thanks!
HI Wynn! We have baked beans that is served for breakfast on toast, it’s basically a dialled down version of yours. No bacon, the sauce is not as strong. It’s a very popular canned product over here!!
Ok, Thanks. The-beans-on toast beans! The beans with a more pale, tomato-y base? We have those sorts of beans in the US too, as well as the darker brown sugar Boston baked beans or brown sugar baked salt pork & beans type. Barbeque sauced beans are somewhat popular too.
I did a search for Poms, btw…and think I got the right answer! LOL!!!
Could you make large quantities of the sauce, freeze it, then thaw what you needed, add the eggs, and bake then?
GENIUS idea 🙌🏻
Oh! This is good! Easier than my Southwestern baked eggs. Instead of bell pepper, I use Hatch, or Anaheim green chili. Also add potato and chorizo, and leave out the paprika. I pined this one. 🙂
Oooh YES to chorizo and potato!!!
Once while staying at the Dead Sea, the buffet included a green sauce, I’m guessing it was spinach. Have you ever had Shakshuka that way? Would you happen to have a recipe?
Gosh I haven’t! Did it taste Indian? I wonder if it was like paneer sauce??
I didn’t detect Indian flavors. I’d have to research it a bit more. Most of the hotels are Russian owned, so I thought maybe it was a variation they brought with them.
Also, there were no tomatoes, no harissa, just greens and super creamy! Probably with Jalapeño to give it a little kick. I love shakshuka, but loved this green version even more!
Hello Nagi. I have never ever seen a site like yours!!! Astounding to say the least. Your recipes are better than any other’s. You work so hard to make it easy to follow and the video’s help so much. You are so much better than a five star. Thank you so much and I look forward to so many more of your recipe’s.
Gosh Lesley, you are making my head REALLY BIG! 😂 But thank you very much for the compliment 🙂 N x
Your so welcome. I have always believed you have to give credit where it is due. Your recipes are simply put over the top and I just love them. Thank you again. I get so excited every time I open my e-mail and I see Nagi knowing it will be another hit for me to make!!!
Good for you for revealing the trade secrets of those who take such tainted images. I think we should all go “au naturel” when shooting food. Now, I was not referring to what the photographer is wearing, but the food they’re shooting. “Shoot them how they lie”, is my motto (with a little wipe up here and there). No Elmer’s glue, WD-40 or hair products in my images. If It can’t be eaten after, I don’t shoot it. Now, about that Shakshuka. Your video made it look brilliantly simple. Something we must try up this way.
So glad Dozer boy is getting back to his lovable self.
I hear you! Staples in lettuces aside, I eat everything I shoot – usually within seconds of the last shot….
First off love shakshuka tks for recipe I laughed my head off when you said you had a headache and could not help at the wedding. .probably tooo much BUBBLY THE night before😂😂.
Good news DOZER happy to see you are back in the water.best wishes for recovery from your Canadian buddy Luca..BTW luca’s conjuctivitis has cleared so he can see stealing food off counters much better😈
I’m so glad to hear Luca has a clear line of sight for food attacks again!! N xx