Quick Summary: Eggs baked in a simmering tomato, pepper, and onion sauce seasoned with cumin and harissa. A classic North African dish that works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. One-pot, slow carb compliant, ready in 35 minutes. Serve with crusty bread for dipping (or skip for slow carb). Prep: 15 min | Cook: 20 min | Serves: 4
Jump to: Recipe | Shakshuka vs Mediterranean Baked Eggs | FAQ
Shakshuka is one of those dishes that sounds fancy but is actually quick and forgiving. You build a spiced tomato sauce in a skillet, crack eggs into wells in the sauce, and bake until the whites set but the yolks stay runny. It’s North African in origin, though versions exist across the Mediterranean and Middle East. I use harissa from my farmers’ market line to add depth, but any harissa works.
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Mediterranean Baked Eggs vs Shakshuka
There are a number of versions of this type of egg dish, from the Latin American Huevos Rancheros to the Tunisian Shakshouka. The Tunisian version of this egg and vegetable dish is traditionally served in a cast iron pan with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
The recipe below started with the vegetables that I had on hand, then added a harissa spice blend and cumin as the primary spices, and baked the eggs in the simmering ragout in a hot oven.
There are endless variations to this dish, depending on the vegetables and spices you like. My family was quite pleased with this version, which I am calling Mediterranean Baked Eggs.
How to Make Shakshuka
The full instructions are in the recipe card below. In short: Sauté onions in a cast iron skillet until softened, add garlic, roasted peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Stir in cumin and harissa and simmer 5-10 minutes. Make shallow wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each. Bake at 400°F for 10-12 minutes until whites are set but yolks are still runny. The eggs continue cooking in the hot sauce, so remove them slightly underdone.
Other Easy Egg Recipes
Like many of you, I enjoy eggs for dinner almost as often as for breakfast! Here are a few of my favorites:
Low Carb Baked Eggs with Chile Verde Sauce
FAQ
Yes. Eggs, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices are all slow carb compliant. Skip the crusty bread that traditionally accompanies it.
Eggs continue cooking in the hot sauce after you remove the skillet from the oven. Take them out when the whites are barely set and the yolks still look jiggly. They’ll firm up in the residual heat.
Yes. Spinach, kale, zucchini, or eggplant all work well. Add heartier vegetables earlier in the cooking process; add greens just before the eggs.
Both are eggs in tomato-based sauce, but huevos rancheros is Mexican with chile-based salsa, typically served on tortillas. Shakshuka is North African with cumin and harissa, served in the skillet with bread.
Yes. Use a larger skillet and add more eggs. Each egg needs its own well in the sauce. A 12-inch skillet can hold 6-8 eggs.
Check out this collection of popular tomato recipes for a range of tomato recipes, from fresh salsas to slow cooked stews, to tomato martinis.
Mediterranean Baked Eggs
Equipment
- skillet 8” or larger
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- ½ Large onion chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 7-8 oz. can roasted peppers
- 5-6 mushrooms sliced
- 8 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 Teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon harissa sauce
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 4 large eggs
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In a large (about 8 inch) cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened and caramelized, about 5 minutes.2 Tablespoons Olive oil, 1/2 Large onion
- Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add roasted peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes and cook until soft and thoroughly mixed in with onions. Add cumin and harissa and simmer everything together 5-10 minutes3-4 cloves garlic, 7-8 oz. can roasted peppers, 5-6 mushrooms, 8 oz can diced tomatoes, 2 Teaspoons ground cumin, 1 Tablespoon harissa sauce
- Remove pan from heat and stir in parsley. Taste and season with salt and more harissa, if desired.2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, Salt & Pepper to taste
- Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the bottom of the cast iron pan.
- Make 4 shallow wells in the mixture and gently crack 1 egg into each well, being careful not to break yolks. Season to taste with salt and pepper4 large eggs
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until eggs are barely set. Eggs can overcook quickly so check them often and remove from oven when they still look a little underdone as they will continue to cook in the hot mixture (known as a ragout).
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve immediately
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[…] Piperade is the simple, elegant and quintessential dish of the small Basque region that sits partially in France and partially in Spain. The signature ingredients are those found readily in this region and consist of onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes (and usually a spicy paprika). As with any regionally popular dish, there are slight variations and controversy over which version is truly authentic. Apparently there is also controversy over the exact nature of the dish also… is it a sauce to be paired with eggs, a side dish, or a supper dish accompanied by poultry, meat or fish? I have chosen to adapt it to the Slow-Carb-Diet and use it as a base sauce for chicken. For a similar version of a pepper sauce paired with baked eggs see this post on a North African Shakshouka. […]
Made this recipe, exactly as written, for dinner with my 11yr child and myself. We each had different opinions. My daughter found the individual uncooked ingredients good but the overall dish, once cooked was bland. I liked all the ingredients also and thought the dish, once cooked, was “okay”. It definitely could use more spices. If you are a fan of spicy food, I would recommend adding a few dashes of Japanese Seven Spice while everything is cooking.
I would make it again, but add more spices. Oh and watch those eggs, I found 10mins @ 400 degrees in my electric oven cooked the eggs past runny.
Hi Elissa, which spices did you use? Harissa varies a LOT depending on which kind you bought or which chiles you used if you made your own.