Shakshuka with Feta and Crusty Bread
Shakshuka with feta and crusty bread: eggs baked in smoky tomato and pepper sauce — a one-pan breakfast or brunch built for sharing and serious dipping.
Shakshuka is the breakfast that behaves like a main event: eggs poached directly in a pan of tomatoes, peppers and spices that have simmered down into something rich enough to need bread — proper crusty bread, for dragging through yolks and sauce.
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It is also more forgiving than it looks. The sauce can be made the night before, the eggs take minutes, and the whole thing lands in the middle of the table in the pan it cooked in. Weekend brunch for four, from one frying pan.
Why this recipe works
The sauce needs to reduce before the eggs go in. Tomatoes straight from the tin are too watery; give them fifteen minutes of simmering and they turn jammy and concentrated, so the egg whites set in sauce rather than steaming in tomato juice. Smoked paprika and cumin bloom in the oil at the start, which is what makes the dish taste like it cooked for an hour.
Making little wells for the eggs sounds fussy but matters: the white sits down in the hot sauce and cooks through at the same pace as the yolk warms, instead of spreading into a thin, rubbery sheet across the top.
The key ingredients
Two tins of good chopped tomatoes beat one tin of watery ones; if your tomatoes are pale and sharp, the pinch of sugar in the list is not optional — it rounds them off. Feta goes on at the end, in fat crumbles, so it softens into salty pockets rather than melting away. Flat-leaf parsley or coriander both work; use whichever is in the fridge. Tinned tomatoes vary more than any other ingredient here — if yours taste thin, ten extra minutes of simmering is never wasted, and a teaspoon of tomato purée stirred in with the spices deepens the base.
Tips for runny yolks, set whites
Cover the pan for the last few minutes. The trapped steam cooks the tops of the whites while the yolks stay liquid — the difference between good shakshuka and eggs with a film of raw white. Pull the pan off the heat while the yolks still look slightly underdone; they carry on in the hot sauce on the way to the table. If breakfast needs to stretch further, our Overnight Oats with Berries and Honey can be waiting in the fridge alongside.
Storage and reheating
The sauce alone keeps for three days in the fridge or three months in the freezer, and reheats in minutes — poach fresh eggs into it each time rather than reheating cooked eggs, which toughen.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make shakshuka for two?
Halve the sauce and use four eggs in a smaller pan; the method is identical. Leftover sauce is excellent on toast the next day.
Is it very spicy?
As written it is warm, not hot. Add a fresh red chilli with the peppers if you want real heat, or leave the chilli flakes out for children.
Shakshuka with Feta and Crusty Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 × 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 75 g feta, crumbled
- A small handful of coriander or flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat. Soften the onion and pepper with a pinch of salt for 8–10 minutes until sweet and collapsing.
- Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Tip in the tomatoes and sugar, season well and simmer for 15 minutes until thick and jammy.
- Make six wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each. Season the eggs, cover the pan and cook gently for 5–7 minutes until the whites are just set and the yolks still runny.
- Scatter over the feta and herbs and serve in the pan with plenty of crusty bread.
Next recipe Overnight Oats with Berries and HoneyThe Recipe Nook is an independent recipe publication. Times and yields are stated plainly, as written — see our Editorial Policy.
