Shakshuka
شكشوكة
Eggs poached in a spiced tomato-pepper sauce. Maghrebi-Levantine family food, not a brunch fad that appeared in 2014.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: شكشوكة.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Shakshuka is a skillet of tomatoes, peppers and spices with eggs cooked until the whites set and the yolks stay soft. It is eaten with bread across North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean under several names and spice blends. This version uses cumin, paprika and a little chilli — a home skillet, not a claim that one city invented eggs in tomato. Reduce the tomato-pepper base until a spoon leaves a trail before the eggs go in; watery sauce makes poached eggs in soup. Crack into wells, cover, and watch the whites. Done is set white and a yolk that still runs into the chilli. Stale paprika tastes like dust — buy a tin you will actually finish; bread is the utensil; a fork-only plate is how the sauce gets wasted.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Warm olive oil in a wide skillet. Cook onion and peppers with salt until soft and sweet, 10–12 minutes.
12 minStep 2
Add garlic, cumin, paprika and chilli. Stir 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and simmer until thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail, 10–15 minutes.
15 minTip: Watery sauce makes watery egg whites.
Step 3
Make wells, crack in eggs. Cover and cook until whites are just set, 5–8 minutes. Yolks should still run.
7 minStep 4
Scatter parsley and optional feta. Serve in the pan with bread. Do not plate it like a sad fried egg on salsa.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Feta → Nothing
Still complete.
Peppers → More onion and a pinch of smoked paprika
If the crisper is empty.
Tips
- A lid is more reliable than an oven for setting whites.
- Harissa instead of chilli flakes is a good Maghrebi turn.
History & culture
You will find related dishes in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Israel, Palestine and beyond, with different heat levels and whether there are peppers, merguez, or feta. Brunch menus did not invent it. They did make it globally photogenic. Tunisian and Libyan tables often run hotter; Israeli and Palestinian restaurant versions vary on peppers, cumin and whether feta appears. It is weekday supper in the Maghreb as much as weekend brunch abroad. Merguez on the side is a shop variation, not a rule. Photogenic cast-iron service is café culture; the skillet at home can be uglier and better.
Tomato is a New World crop; egg-and-vegetable skillets are older. The dish as commonly cooked now is a Maghrebi-Levantine conversation. We file it with Morocco on this map as a Maghrebi doorway, while naming the wider family on the cuisine page. Tomato reached the Maghreb long after egg-and-vegetable pans already existed. What brunch menus sell under this name is a Maghrebi and Levantine conversation, spread globally by late-twentieth-century restaurants. It is not biblical and does not belong to one city. We file a cumin-paprika home skillet and leave the wider family named, not owned.
Regional variation — Cumin-paprika skillet without merguez. Feta is a Levantine-adjacent addition, optional.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Photograph: I Want Some Food generated editorial photography (Editorial supply).
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Shakshuka take?
45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 3 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Feta → Nothing. Still complete. Peppers → More onion and a pinch of smoked paprika. If the crisper is empty.
Any tips from this recipe?
A lid is more reliable than an oven for setting whites. Harissa instead of chilli flakes is a good Maghrebi turn.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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