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Israeli Shakshuka

Israeli Shakshuka is extremely easy to make, and this recipe is bound to impress. Shakshuka can be eaten any time of day and is perfect for brunch. In addition, this Israeli classic is filling, healthy, and incredibly low in calories.

shakshuka in a cast iron pan

I love Shakshuka!  I love everything about it!  Really, what’s there not to love?  It’s easy to make, low in calories, and impresses anyone I serve it to.

Most of all I love that it is pretty much impossible to mess up and makes for a great breakfast, brunch, and lunch.

Oh, and did I mention that this dish is my specialty?  I don’t even order it in restaurants because it never compares to mine.

Shakshuka is one of Israel’s most famous dishes, and if you’ve never tasted it, you’re really missing out.  It has an extremely rich tomato base, lots of cooked onions, and delicious gooey eggs.

You can make it spicy or mild and it is great either way. For me it just depends on if I have hot peppers on hand. In Israel it is most commonly served not spicy.

Shakshuka is my specialty. I’ve been making it since I was about 16 or 17 years old. Any time we had a few soft tomatoes, I’d make myself Shakshuka for one.

What is the difference between shakshuka and Menemen?

The main difference is that in shakshuka, you add the eggs at the end, keeping them whole or slightly mixed, whereas in menemen, the eggs are mixed into the tomato sauce, similar to scrambled eggs.

Recipe Tip:

If you want to drastically cut the cooking time on this dish, use canned tomatoes. 

Also, covering the frying pan with a lid or tinfoil after adding the eggs will really shorten their cooking time. 

However, covering the egg will also cause them to look poached instead of like Sunny-Side-Up.

Shakshuka SNAFU:

The big mess-up I did when making this dish is that I didn’t make sure the sauce was very thick. 

This caused the eggs to sink into the sauce and take forever to cook. 

The quick fix for this is either to lift the eggs out of the sauce once they start to cook or to cover them like in the tip above.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Israeli Shakshuka

shakshuka in a cast iron pan

This authentic Shakshuka recipe is easy to make and never fails to impress.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 10 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder, vegetarian
  • water
  • salt to taste
  • 6 eggs

Instructions

  1. Coat the bottom of a large skillet in oil. Sauté the onions and garlic until they start to soften. 
  2. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken bouillon powder, and enough water to almost cover the tomatoes.
  3. Simmer on a low flame, occasionally pressing down on the tomatoes with the bottom of your spatula until you have a very thick sauce. Add salt to taste.
  4. Indent the sauce and drop the eggs into that spot and continue simmering until the whites are cooked but the yolk is still runny.

Notes

For best results, cover the shakshuka with a lid after adding the eggs so that they cook more quickly and evenly.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 315Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 380mgSodium: 183mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 6gSugar: 15gProtein: 20g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Chana

Wednesday 24th of April 2024

Why say chicken broth (vegetarian)? Meat is ok. Or someone can sub with vegetable broth. Are you worried about the crazy vegans? 😂

ElissaBeth

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

In Israel, chicken flavored vegetarian bullion powder is a staple. Israeli Shakshuka is never made with chicken broth and I'm not sure I've ever seen broth or stock in stores here where bullion powder is very easy to find.

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