The scent of spices rising from an iron pan
On a morning in Tel Aviv, there's a sight in every café. A black cast-iron pan comes straight to the table, eggs with whites still quivering in tomato sauce, and guests tear off bread to scoop up the sauce. This is shakshuka (שקשוקה / شكشوكة).
The name is said to come from a Amazigh (Berber) word meaning "mixture," and the dish is thought to have started as home cooking in North Africa, around Tunisia and Libya. North African Jews who emigrated to Israel in the 1950s brought it with them, and it eventually spread across Israel.
In the English-speaking world, chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi helped introduce it through books and recipe sites. Over the past decade it has become a new brunch standard on café menus in Europe and the United States.
Shakshuka is friendly to the home cook in both ingredients and method, but it is easily confused with the Chinese-style tomato and egg stir-fry (fānqié chǎodàn) and isn't recognized as a dish of its own. In fact the use of spices and the way the tomato sauce is simmered are completely different. Please experience the depth of flavor that is characteristic of Middle Eastern cooking.
One pan, 35 minutes, yet a real taste built from layers of spice. Serve it alongside falafel (in Japanese) and hummus (in Japanese) and your home becomes a Middle Eastern café.
Ingredients (serves 2)
A detailed guide to choosing ingredients
Canned tomatoes are the foundation of shakshuka's flavor. Chopped and whole are both available, but chopped needs less simmering time. If possible, choose a good brand, such as San Marzano tomatoes from Italy. Cheap canned tomatoes tend to have more water and stronger acidity. In summer, 5 ripe fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped, make a shakshuka that highlights fresh tomato sweetness.
Eggs should be brought to room temperature before use. Cold eggs straight from the refrigerator drop the sauce's temperature at once and cook unevenly. Cracking each egg into a small bowl first before sliding it into the sauce prevents broken yolks.
Feta cheese is traditionally crumbled by hand and scattered over, but if hard to find, cottage cheese, ricotta or drained firm tofu can substitute. The cheese's saltiness balances the tomato's acidity.
English-language recipes often use smoked paprika (smoked paprika powder). Sweet paprika also makes it perfectly tasty, but the smoky aroma makes the flavor much deeper.
Eggs are the star of shakshuka. For people with an egg allergy, "tofu shakshuka," which crumbles drained tofu in instead, is a popular variation in the vegan community. You can still enjoy the spices and tomato sauce as they are.
Nutrition: a well-balanced breakfast
Shakshuka has an ideal makeup for breakfast in nutritional terms too.
Two eggs (one serving) contain about 12 g protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12, choline and selenium. Choline in particular is an important nutrient for maintaining brain function, and some research suggests that eating eggs at breakfast may benefit cognitive performance during the day.
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, and cooking increases lycopene's bioavailability. Cooked tomatoes absorb lycopene better than raw ones, and eating them with olive oil lets the fat-soluble lycopene be taken up efficiently. Shakshuka meets exactly this condition.
One serving (2 eggs plus sauce) is about 380 kcal, with 18 g protein, 22 g fat, 28 g carbohydrate and 6 g fiber. Even with a slice of bread, it comes to about 500 kcal, a well-balanced calorie level for breakfast.
In addition, vitamin C in bell peppers is so abundant that one red bell pepper covers nearly the whole daily recommended amount. Quercetin (a type of flavonoid) in onions has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects, and cumin is said to aid digestion. Shakshuka is not just delicious; it is a nutritionally sensible combination.
Cooking tips
A cast-iron pan is best for shakshuka. Its heat retention keeps the sauce temperature stable even after the heat is off, so the eggs finish as ideal soft-set eggs. It can be made in a nonstick pan, but we recommend a skillet, including for the effect of serving in the pan. However, if acidic tomato sauce is left in cast iron for a long time, the seasoning on the surface can come off, so wash it soon after eating.
1. Add a little sugar: 1/2 tsp sugar softens the tomato's acidity. 2. Simmer longer: acidity cooks off, so simmering 10 minutes or more rounds it out. 3. Add a little butter: a technique that English-language chefs call a "secret weapon." Dropping in 10 g butter at the end adds richness and tames the acidity.
The time after covering decides how the eggs turn out. 5 minutes = soft and runny (best for scooping with bread), 7 minutes = just set (the yolk barely flows), 10 minutes = fully cooked (yolk firm). In English-language recipes, a "runny yolk" is the standard.
Sauce is watery: not simmered long enough. Reduce it well, to two-thirds of the volume. Eggs sink: a sign the sauce is too thin. Reduce another 1–2 minutes before adding the eggs. Spices scorched: the heat during blooming was too high. Stir quickly over medium heat or lower. Scorched spices cause bitterness, so if they burn, it's best to start over.
Variations
Green shakshuka (shakshuka khadra): a version based on spinach or greens instead of tomato sauce. In Israel it is a standard menu item alongside red shakshuka. Using 200 g spinach and plenty of feta, and za'atar in place of cumin, gets closer to the real flavor. The key is to cook the spinach briefly first to drive off its moisture before dropping in the eggs.
Mexican-style (huevos rancheros-style): a Latin twist that adds jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice to the tomato sauce. Add avocado and sour cream for the feel of a Mexican breakfast table.
Miso twist: a fusion version that stirs in 1 tbsp miso instead of paprika and tops with shiso and bonito flakes. The umami synergy of tomato and miso makes a flavor that, like gapao rice (in Japanese), goes well with rice. Miso works with the glutamate of tomato to create deep umami.
Cheesy version: scatter mozzarella over the sauce before dropping in the eggs, then cover to melt it. It adds a pizza-like satisfaction and is a popular style at American brunch cafés.
With sausage: adding merguez (North African lamb sausage) or chorizo to the tomato sauce makes a substantial dish. The fat from the sausage adds richness to the sauce. Sliced coarse-ground sausage works well too.
With beans: adding drained canned chickpeas or white beans greatly increases the protein and fiber. Chickpeas, the base of hummus (in Japanese), go very well with tomato sauce.
Background: from a Tunisian home dish to an Israeli staple
There are several theories about the origin of shakshuka. In the leading one, it is rooted in the Tunisian traditional dish ojja. Ojja is characterized by stirring the eggs into the sauce, while shakshuka differs in that the eggs are dropped on top of the sauce.
Food historian Rafram Chaddad has pointed to the "Amazigh triangle," spanning eastern Algeria to northwestern Libya, as the birthplace. The dish could not exist before tomatoes arrived from the New World in the 16th century. Its first appearance in writing is in a French source from 1894. In other words, shakshuka's history is, surprisingly, only about 130 years, in contrast to the thousands of years of hummus and falafel.
After the founding of Israel in 1948, North African Jews (Mizrahim) emigrated and brought this flavor with them. Shakshuka, made easily with inexpensive ingredients, suited the limited food situation of the new state. It appeared in restaurants, though, only from the 1990s.
Spreading around the world
From the 2010s, shakshuka spread rapidly through brunch menus in New York, London and Paris. Its looks on Instagram and Pinterest (the contrast of red sauce and white eggs in a cast-iron pan) also gave it a tailwind in the social media era. English-language food media have repeatedly featured it as "the perfect brunch dish."
For a broader view of Middle Eastern cooking, see also the guide to the appeal of Middle Eastern cuisine and classic recipes (in Japanese).
FAQ
Q. Can I make it a day ahead? The tomato sauce made the day before has time to blend and tastes even better the next morning. In the morning, just warm the sauce and drop in the eggs. The sauce keeps 3 days refrigerated or 1 month frozen. Add the eggs just before eating.
Q. What if my pan doesn't have a lid? Cover it with aluminum foil. Trapping steam lets heat reach the top of the eggs too, cooking them evenly. Without a cover, the tops of the whites stay unset while the bottom burns.
Q. Can I make a non-spicy version? Just leaving out the cayenne makes it mild enough. For children, use sweet paprika and top with extra feta, which also tames the acidity.
Q. How do I reheat leftover shakshuka? A microwave can make eggs burst, so reheat in a skillet over low heat. Best of all, set the eggs aside, warm only the sauce, and drop in fresh eggs.
Q. What if I want to use more than 4 eggs? Adjust the number of eggs to the size of your pan. In a 26 cm (10 in) skillet, 4–5 is the limit. For 6 or more, use a larger pan (28–30 cm / 11–12 in), or increase the sauce 1.5 times and make it in a deeper pot. If the eggs crowd each other, the whites merge into one.
Q. Can I eat shakshuka without bread? Bread is standard, but it goes well with rice too. The miso variation in particular goes very well with rice. Serving with couscous or bulgur is also one Middle Eastern way. There is also an Italian-style variation that uses it as a pasta sauce.
Q. What can I use if I don't have canned tomatoes? Ketchup tastes completely different and can't substitute. 400 ml unsalted tomato juice works, but simmer about 5 minutes longer to drive off the water. In summer, 5 ripe fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped, are the best substitute.
Q. Can I make a single serving? Halve the sauce and make a mini shakshuka with 2 eggs in a small 15–18 cm (6–7 in) skillet. That is the right amount for a solo breakfast or a snack with drinks.
In Israel it is often served with challah, a braided bread, but baguette, ciabatta and naan all go well. Thick-sliced toast is fine. The point is that it can "scoop up the sauce." Thin sandwich bread gets overwhelmed by the sauce, so choose a bread with a sturdy crumb.
Sources
- J. Kenji López-Alt. "The Food Lab: How to Make the Best Shakshuka." Serious Eats, 2025.
- Suzy Karadsheh. "Best Shakshuka Recipe." The Mediterranean Dish, 2025.
- Yotam Ottolenghi. "Shakshuka." Ottolenghi, 2024.
- Claudia Roden. The Book of Jewish Food. Knopf, 1996.
Encyclopedia:
- "Shakshouka — History and Origins." Wikipedia, 2026.
