This easy curry spiced Shakshuka is a flavourful, vegetarian brunch, lunch or dinner made with go-to pantry & freezer staples. Only one pan is required so cleaning up is a breeze.
When I was travelling in Israel, I was introduced to the eat-any-time staple, Shakshuka. I love the simplicity, the flavour, and how delicious that sauce and runny egg is on a nice piece of hearty bread or flatbread.
Shakshuka or shakshouka is a Middle Eastern and Israeli dish made of a thick tomato sauce flavoured with herbs and spices that make the bed for eggs to be baked on top. It’s a saucy meal that’s perfect for eating with bread or flatbread. It’s also easy to make it vegetarian or throw some leftover meat in there.
Why This Recipe Works
So while I have a more classic veggie-packed shakshuka already on the blog here, and another one in Mindful Glow, I thought it would be fun to switch up the sauce flavour a bit and add some heat. Other than being perfect for any time of the day, here are a few more reasons as to why you’ll love this shakshuka:
- One pan recipe = less dishes
- Packed with healthy goodness
- Budget friendly
- Super easy to make
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Table of contents
Key Ingredients
Aromatics — For this curry flavour, I use onion, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, cumin and curry powder. I like mine spicy so I use a lot of the curry paste, but if you want it to be milder, you can always cut back.
Tomato Passata — This is the base that mixes with the spices to yield that rich sweet tomato sauce for dunking your bread in.
Coconut Milk — Feel free to use either lite or regular, depending how rich you want the sauce.
Frozen Veggies — I use frozen butternut squash, shelled edamame and kale to add some extra protein and fibre without any effort at all!
Eggs — This is an egg based dish so make sure you get some really nice eggs. I like omega-3 enriched eggs, or at least a free range / grass fed egg which will have a nice deep orange yolk.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375F. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the curry paste, cumin, and curry powder and stir until fragrant and the onions are coated in the spices.
Step 2: Add the tomato sauce and coconut milk and simmer on medium low heat with the lid off for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
Step 3: Add the squash, edamame, kale and raisins, stir everything until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Step 4: Using a large spoon, make 4-6 wells (or however many you need for serving). Add one egg into each well and season with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set about 9-11 minutes. Serve topped with pistachios and cilantro.
Expert Tips
Want to add some cheese to this? Try topping your shakshuka with feta or goat cheese. Skip this suggestion if you need this to be dairy-free.
Be sure to use a cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet as this goes from stovetop to oven. Don’t have a cast-iron skillet? Transfer to a sheet pan before adding the eggs to bake. Don’t want to use your oven? You can also place a lid over top of your skillet to steam your eggs through. The end result won’t be exactly the same but it works in a pinch.
Want to add some meat to this? Spanish style chorizo or spicy chorizo is a great addition to shakshuka!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, in fact I regularly make shakshuka for a large crowd but it does require an extra step. Since most cast iron frying pans are not going to be big enough for 8-12 eggs or more, I like to make my sauce in the pan (you can do this up to 3 days ahead) and double the sauce recipe. Then when your guests arrive, put the sauce in a large 9×13″ baking pan and add your eggs on top and bake until set. Voila! Shakshuka for a crowd!
Like I said, with all of that curry paste, it can be spicy. My kiddo would not be able to handle the 2 tsp of curry paste that I personally prefer to add. But if I was making this for a family with young children, I would omit the curry paste or add just a tiny bit.
This curry shakshuka is very versatile, so you can add whatever fresh or frozen veg you have on hand. Spinach, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, peas would all be super delicious in this!
What leftover sauce? LOL Honestly, I would go to down with a nice bread and sop that up, but if there’s still extra, I would definitely use that curry on rice or noodles the next day. It’s also really good on a quickly microwaved or baked sweet potato!
Whether you’re having this shakshuka for brunch or dinner, I do like to serve it with a nice bread and salad. Here are some recipe ideas:
Roasted Broccoli Salad with Tahini
Everything Bagel Salad
Flax focaccia
Storebought or homemade Naan
More Recipes You Might Like
Here are some delicious breakfast recipes you might also enjoy:
- SWEET POTATO WAFFLES LATKES
- VEGAN ORANGE POPPYSEED WAFFLES
- EVERYTHING BAGEL SALAD
- SHEET PAN PROTEIN PANCAKES
- VEGAN STUFFED SWEET POTATOES WITH PB&J
What are you making for breakfast or brunch using pantry or freezer staples? Leave me a comment below with your ideas!
Shakshuka Breakfast with Curry Spice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1-2 tsp red curry paste depending on how spicy you like it – I like it spicy!
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 680 ml bottle of passata/ tomato puree
- 400 ml can lite or regular coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups frozen butternut squash
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 2 cups frozen kale
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4-6 eggs depending on how many servings
- ¼ cup crushed pistachios
- Cilantro as garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the curry paste, cumin, and curry powder and stir until fragrant and the onions are coated in the spices.
- Add the tomato sauce and coconut milk and simmer on medium low heat with the lid off for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
- Add the squash, edamame, kale and raisins, stir everything until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using a large spoon, make 4-6 wells (or however many you need for serving). Add one egg into each well and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set about 9-11 minutes.
- Serve topped with pistachios and cilantro.
Notes
- Want to add some cheese to this? Try topping your shakshuka with feta or goat cheese. Skip this suggestion if you need this to be dairy-free.
- Be sure to use a cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet as this goes from stovetop to oven. Don’t have a cast-iron skillet? Transfer to a sheet pan before adding the eggs to bake. Don’t want to use your oven? You can also place a lid over top of your skillet to steam your eggs through. The end result won’t be exactly the same but it works in a pinch.
- Want to add some meat to this? Spanish style chorizo or spicy chorizo is a great addition to shakshuka!
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Aria says
Shakshuka isn’t middle eastern :/
It’s North African/Tunisian but loved the recipe!
Jess says
This was delicious! I ended up using unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of coconut milk because I was out. I was worried, but it turned out amazing! Thank you Abbey!
Abbey Sharp says
Great Idea! Thanks Jess 🙂