This Shakshuka is a spicy and savory breakfast also known as Eggs in Cheesy Purgatory. With just a few ingredients and very easy to follow steps, this recipe of baked eggs in a delicious spicy tomato sauce, fully loaded with cheese, is the perfect start to any day!

Shakshuka, also known as eggs in purgatory, is basically a dish of eggs poached in a tomato sauce, onions and spices. It’s a very popular Middle Eastern dish. I also love to add lots of fresh mozzarella cheese, because tomato sauce without cheese? I think not!
Shakshuka Recipe
- Quick Breakfast Idea
- Simple Easy Steps
- Delicious Tangy Flavor
- Impressive
This Shakshuka is perfect for weekends for breakfast, brunch or lunch. I love to serve this right from the skillet with some crusty bread. It’s delicious and truly decadent. And, let’s not forget about the cheesy part. I used fresh mozzarella cheese, cut it in slices and then added it around the eggs. As this bakes the cheese melts, turning this dish into cheesy goodness. To me this is the perfect start to any day.
Ingredient Notes
- Cheese – Fresh Mozzarella cheese melts beautifully in this recipe, but you can work with either feta or goat cheese as well. You can use either shredded mozzarella or you can buy a mozzarella ball and cut it into slices.
- Eggs – I used six fresh eggs to add to the recipe.
- Onion and Garlic – This is what’s going to flavor our tomato sauce.
- Sauce – I used my homemade marinara sauce, but your favorite store-bought marinara sauce works as well.
- Oil – Olive oil or any vegetable oil.
- Basil – Fresh roughly chopped basil leaves to garnish.
- Salt & Pepper – To taste.
How To Make Shakshuka
- Prep oven: Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook onion and garlic: In a large ovenproof skillet heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds just until the garlic becomes aromatic.
- Make the sauce: Add the marinara sauce, chopped basil, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. For more heat add more red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil the remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add the eggs and cheese: Gently crack the eggs in the skillet over the tomatoes and top the fresh Mozzarella cheese around the eggs.
- Bake and serve: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Garnish with additional basil and serve warm.
FAQ’s
It’s a simple breakfast recipe made of spiced tomato sauce and poached eggs. Its origin is Middle Eastern, some say Israel is the birth place of this delicious recipe, but there are quite a few places in North Africa that make this delicious recipe.
As I mentioned, I love to serve this right out of the skillet with a great French baguette or other crusty bread. However this is also great served with a salad and turn it into dinner. The great thing about Shakshuka is that it’s also quite versatile. Use Feta cheese instead or even blue cheese. This is a great simple dish perfect for breakfast, brunch or dinner!
Expert Tips
- I cooked my eggs so that the yolk was still runny, but you can cook them however you prefer.
- While store bought marinara sauce works very well with this recipe, I preferred to use my homemade recipe of Marinara Sauce to keep the flavors as bold and fresh as possible.
- If you would like to add a bit more texture to your dish, you can sub the mozzarella with crumbled feta or goat cheese, then serve it with a pita on the side to dip into that heavenly sauce.
Leftovers
This recipe is best served fresh. If you do end up with any leftovers, you can let your dish cool down at room temperature, before adding it to an airtight container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
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Shakshuka
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups marinara sauce store-bought
- 4 leaves basil fresh, chopped
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 6 eggs
- 4 ounce Mozzarella cheese fresh, cut into slices
Instructions
- Prep oven: Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook onion and garlic: In a large ovenproof skillet heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds just until the garlic becomes aromatic.
- Make the sauce: Add the marinara sauce, chopped basil, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. For more heat add more red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil the remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add the eggs and cheese: Gently crack the eggs in the skillet over the tomatoes and top the fresh Mozzarella cheese around the eggs.
- Bake and serve: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Garnish with additional basil and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
- I cooked my eggs so that the yolk was still runny, but you can cook them however you prefer.Â
- While store bought marinara sauce works very well with this recipe, I preferred to use my homemade recipe of Marinara Sauce to keep the flavors as bold and fresh as possible.
- If you would like to add a bit more texture to your dish, you can sub the mozzarella with crumbled feta or goat cheese, then serve it with a pita on the side to dip into that heavenly sauce.
- This recipe is best served fresh. If you do end up with any leftovers, you can let your dish cool down at room temperature, before adding it to an airtight container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
The ingredients don’t list tomatoes, yet it says crack the eggs over the tomatoes. Please specify.
Over the marinara sauce which is basically tomatoes. 🙂
eggs add an extra yummy to it. yahoo i like it