Equipment
Ingredients
Aromatics & Base
- 45 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic, minced
Spices & Tomatoes
- 4 g sweet paprika
- 4 g ground cumin
- 1 g cayenne pepper
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
- 30 g tomato paste
- 800 g canned crushed tomatoes
Eggs & Garnish
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 10 g fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 288 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbohydrates
- 22 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fiber
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 12 g
- Sodium
- 568 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 10 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 186 mg
- Potassium
- 357 mg
- Calcium
- 64 mg
- Iron
- 2.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 25 mg
- Phosphorus
- 141 mg
- Zinc
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 229 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 93 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.0 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 3.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 19 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.5 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.08 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.30 mg
- Niacin
- 0.7 mg
- Folate
- 50 mcg
- Water
- 116 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Dice the onion and red bell pepper into uniform half-centimeter pieces. Mince the garlic cloves.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and red bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onion becomes translucent.
Add the minced garlic, sweet paprika, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir continuously to toast the spices until highly fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for one minute to deepen its flavor. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and mix well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce gently bubble and thicken.
Use the back of a spoon to create four small indentations or wells in the thickened sauce. Carefully crack one egg into each well.
Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and cook gently. For safety, especially for vulnerable populations, ensure egg whites are fully opaque and reach at least 71°C/160°F. The yolks should remain soft.
Remove the skillet from the heat immediately. Garnish generously with chopped cilantro and serve directly from the pan with crusty bread.
Chef's Notes
- Using high-quality canned tomatoes, such as San Marzano, will dramatically elevate the natural sweetness and depth of your sauce.
- Do not skip cooking the tomato paste before adding the crushed tomatoes. Toasting the paste caramelizes the sugars and removes its raw, metallic edge.
- If you prefer your eggs entirely hard-cooked, baste the tops of the eggs with the hot tomato sauce before covering the pan to speed up the cooking process.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store sauce only. Fresh eggs should be poached when reheating.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze sauce only in an airtight container.
Reheating: Warm sauce in a skillet over medium heat until simmering, then add fresh eggs and cover to poach.
Troubleshooting
Eggs are hard and overcooked
Cause: Lid was left on too long or the stove heat was too high, trapping excessive steam.
Fix: Cannot be fixed. Mask textural dryness by spooning extra hot tomato sauce over the yolks.
Prevention: Remove the pan from the heat while the whites still look slightly underdone; residual heat will finish them.
Sauce is too thick or burning before eggs are cooked
Cause: The simmer was too aggressive, reducing the moisture too rapidly.
Fix: Stir 30 to 50ml of water into the sauce before adding the eggs to restore consistency.
Prevention: Maintain a gentle simmer and cover the pan sooner.
Cultural Context
Shakshuka, which translates to a mixture or shaken in Maghrebi Arabic dialects, is a foundational dish across North Africa and the Middle East. Brought to international prominence largely by Jewish immigrants from Libya and Tunisia arriving in Israel, it has evolved into a beloved communal meal usually eaten straight from the pan, traditionally scooped up with warm pita, challah, or crusty bread.
