Harissa Shakshuka is a slightly spicy version of our favorite one-pan breakfast recipe. A little harissa paste is added to the rich tomato sauce and the eggs are baked right into it. It's healthy and delicious!

Looking down at a pan of harissa shakshuka.

Have you guys heard of shakshuka before? It's a breakfast dish I've been making for years without knowing it had an official name, and without knowing that other people make it too. It's basically a tomato, onion and pepper stew that you cook eggs on top of. Can you imagine anything better for breakfast? Hardly possible.

A man's hands holding a pot of harissa shakshuka.

I've never been a sweet breakfast person. Sure the pictures of pancakes stacked high and waffles dripping with maple syrup look incredible, but what I really crave is something warm and savory.

Which do you prefer: sweet or savory breakfasts?

If you're on team savory, like me, you're going to love harissa shakshuka.

I've always thought of it as a kind of breakfast skillet and have made versions of it for ages, like that Spicy Chorizo Breakfast Skillet I shared with you a while back.

It's a funny thing to find out that other people (like whole other countries full of people) have been cooking the same thing as you. When my sister and I were kids we used to put honey on our aged cheddar cheese. The first time I saw honey on a cheese and charcuterie platter I genuinely felt ripped off. It was like someone had stolen our best idea. I felt a little like that when I first stumbled upon shakshuka.

A pan of harissa shakshuka with a serving spoon in it.

Apparently, shakshuka is a popular breakfast dish served throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

I spent quite a few months traveling around the Middle East several years ago but never ran across shakshuka. Or harissa shakshuka. If I'm ever fortunate enough to spend some more time in that fascinating part of the world I'll have to make sure I get my hands on some. I love going places and trying the authentic version of a dish. It's the best, right?

A pan of harissa shakshuka on a black table.

Making harissa shakshuka

Luckily for us, making harissa shakshuka is super simple and involves only 3 easy steps:

  1. Caramelize the onions
  2. Simmer the onions with tomatoes, peppers, and spices till it thickens
  3. Add the eggs and let them cook

A Few Words About Cooking the Eggs

You can cook the eggs on the stovetop if you like. You will need to cover the pan so that the whites cook through. The eggs won't look as pretty if you do it this way but they will still taste great.

If you cook the eggs in the oven it can be a little hard to tell if they are done. 5 minutes will usually do it. Keep an eye on the yolks, not the whites, to judge if they are done. The whites will look undercooked but it is because of the moisture from the pan, not that they are actually undercooked.

Make Ahead Harissa Shakshuka

If you are making this for brunch (i.e. Christmas morning) and want to make your life as simple as possible, you can make most of this ahead of time. Prepare the stew up until the point where you add the eggs (don't make the eggs ahead!) then let it cool and put it in your fridge. The next morning all you have to do is heat it until it is bubbling on your stovetop, add the eggs then pop it in your oven for 5 minutes. Easy!

A close up of harissa shakshuka in a pan.

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A pan of harissa shakshuka on a black table.

Make Ahead Shakshuka

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 55 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Harissa Shakshuka is a slightly spicy version of our favorite one-pan breakfast recipe. A little harissa paste is added to the rich tomato sauce and the eggs are baked right into it. It's healthy and delicious!

If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!

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Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, you can get away with less if you're using a non-stick pan
  • 1 ½ large onions, diced
  • 2 medium bell peppers, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons harissa paste
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes, see note
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • ¼ cup goat or feta cheese, omit for dairy-free
  • 8 large eggs
  • A handful of flat-leafed parsley and some good quality olive oil to finish

Instructions 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until the peppers and onions are very soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
    3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ large onions, 2 medium bell peppers, 5 cloves garlic
  • Add the harissa, cumin, paprika, and turmeric to the pot and let it cook for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, honey, red wine vinegar, sea salt, and pepper and stir until everything is mixed together. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce is quite thick. Add the goat cheese or feta and stir. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Remove the skillet from the heat.
    2 teaspoons harissa paste, 1 ½ teaspoons cumin, 1 ½ teaspoons paprika, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper, ¼ cup goat or feta cheese
  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • Make 8 small holes in the sauce, making sure that the bottom of the pot isn't showing. Carefully crack an egg into each hole. It is easiest to do this by cracking an egg into a small bowl and then pouring it into the hole in the sauce.
    8 large eggs
  • Put the skillet in the oven for 7-10 minutes to finish cooking. Watch the eggs carefully as they are a little tricky to see when they are done. They can often look undercooked when they are actually cooked through. The easiest way to check them is simply by gently touching the top of the yolk. You want the yolk to be soft.
  • Remove the skillet from the oven, sprinkle the top with parsley and serve it right away.
    A handful of flat-leafed parsley and some good quality olive oil to finish

Notes

* You can substitute canned diced tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes when tomatoes are not in season.
Serving: 1 serving = ¼ of the recipe, Calories: 326kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 372mg, Sodium: 1933mg, Potassium: 664mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 3420IU, Vitamin C: 100mg, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 3mg
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