The Tunisian cuisine shakshuka, also known as chakchouka or shakshouka, consists of tomatoes, onions, pepper, spices, and eggs. Although it’s typically consumed for breakfast or lunch, I think it tastes good at any time. And making it is simple. It is comparable to the Latin American breakfast meal huevos rancheros and the Turkish dish menemen.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ⅓ cups chopped onion
- 1 cup thinly sliced bell peppers, any color
- 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
- 2 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 hot chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook and stir until vegetables have softened and onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together tomatoes, chile pepper, cumin, paprika, and salt in a bowl.
- Stir tomato mixture into onion mixture. Simmer, uncovered, until tomato juices have cooked off, about 10 minutes.
- Make 4 indentations in tomato mixture; crack eggs into indentations. Cover the skillet and cook until eggs are firm but not dry, about 5 minutes.
- You may use drained canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 209 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 13 g |
| Cholesterol | 164 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 654 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Remind me to never eat breakfast in Tunisia. Could have been helped with some ground pork sausage.
Wonderful flavors and an excellent way to enjoy the end of summer tomatoes. Had to sub chili pepper for 1/4 tsp Tabasco. Served it with french fries. Thank you for contributing this recipe
Made the recipe as written and it was delicious!
Add in some cilantro and and tortillas and you’ve got Huevos Ranceros …. or ‘Ranch Eggs’ Mexican style.
Look’s
I haven’t actually tried this yet, but sure looks great! I just thought tomatoes and iron skillets didn’t mix. I’m going to make this dish, though. It’s right up my alley!
Easy to make, but i put it in a cast iron skillet and bake the eggs instead on the stove top. I’ve once prepared it and got interrupted and finished it off in the microwave. It worked! I like to add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and hot sauce. The recipe is so easy, you’ll make it by rote,
I make this often! I change up ingredients whenever the mood strikes. I’ll use my homemade salsa in place of tomatoes, for instance and sometimes add feta cheese.
Delicious!
Added turmeric, andouille sausage, fresh mozzarella- and whatever veggies were plentiful in the garden! Served on rice for dinner with some avacado slices. YUMMY!! ❤️
I’ve found that to get the eggs to cook faster or become firmer, place the oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven under the broiler for a few minutes.
Delicious! Made it for me and my husband and then went to my parents house to visit and made the dish for them as well. Wasn’t enough for everyone after they got a taste of it. Will be making this again and again!
My kids can’t handle spicy hot so I replaced the hot chile pepper with a teaspoon of chili powder instead. I really loved the flavors of this but it didn’t make enough for everyone. I will double the recipe next time and use a larger skillet.
I’ve made this three or four times now and my family loves it! I do have to cook it quite a bit longer than the recipe calls for, we do like our eggs cooked hard and that 5 minute cook time just is not enough for what we like. BUT it is delicious and well worth the wait.
The eggs didn’t cook right. The top of the eggs were under cooked and the bottom of the eggs were overcooked.
Very good. I used red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon, and that was enough heat for me. I also had to cook the sauce a little longer than 10 minutes to get the the water out the sauce.
Excellent recipe – minimal prep and maximum flavor! Made as directed using a large can of original Rotel as suggested in the editor’s note. Adding as a regular into my breakfast/brunch rotation.
Fab recipe. I added a few more spices like Corriander powder, Cumin, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Nutmeg. (Go very light on these heavy spices) Create deep well in the crused tomato to break the eggs. Garnish with paprika and Arugula leaf around each egg.
This is an excellent recipe, but I have one addition that, I believe, elevates it to the best it can be and that addition is goat cheese. I learned to make this after first having it at a wonderful restaurant owned by Israeli’s in Oaxaca, Mexico. Their recipe was almost identical to this one with the addition of dollops of goat cheese which get added just after the egg.
Oh, my goodness! Breakfast heaven! I hardly had any tomatoes, and this still turned out absolutely delicious! The caramelization of the onions and peppers lends an amazing fruity sweetness which complements the eggs perfectly. I made one serving: Used half an onion and half a yellow bell pepper (about 1/4 c. each), half a jalapeño, and about 5 cherry tomatoes. Sprinkled on the seasonings without measuring, and more or less cooked as directed in a little cast iron skillet. After cooking the eggs for a bit, threw in a handful of fresh baby spinach and about a tablespoon of grated sharp cheddar and replaced the lid. My yolks cooked too much, unfortunately, (my fault for getting distracted), but it all tasted so delicious anyway! Served with buttered toast. Absolutely will be making this again… maybe even for company! Highly recommend this recipe! Why is this not served at breakfast restaurants????
Terrific dish! I’ve been collecting shakshouka recipes for some time (a lot of similarities among them but each is a riff on the basic recipe). Then I came across this one over the weekend and decided now is the time to make shakshouka. Straight-forward and easy to follow – came together quickly – all the ingredients are things I typically have on hand. I will make this again