Shakshuka Recipe | The Ultimate All in One Breakfast

Last updated on October 16th, 2026

Most shakshuka recipes stop at eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce. This one goes further: a base of pan-fried potatoes to make it more substantial, and a homemade pilpelchuma, a chilli and garlic paste from Tripoli in Libya that is in the same family as harissa, standing in for the usual dried spice mix. It’s built for the colder months, and it holds its own as a dinner just as easily as a breakfast. It’s the same kind of all-day egg dish as the savoury Breton galettes eaten in France from morning to night.

Pilpelchuma Recipe: The Paste That Makes This Different

Soak two dried ancho chillies in boiling water for around 30 minutes (any other dried or fresh chilli will do if you can’t get anchos). Squeeze out the excess water, remove the stems and any seeds, and chop them small so the food processor can break them down, then blend them with 90 g of peeled garlic. Dry toast the caraway seeds, ground cumin, cayenne, and sweet paprika first: toasting them before they hit the blender wakes the spices up in a way that stirring them in raw never quite does. It’s the same reason I toast whole spices for my fresh garam masala. Keep the heat low for the ground spices and stir them constantly, because they burn easily: two minutes and no more. Add the hot spices to the processor and blend to a thick paste, then add 80 g of neutral oil and blend again for about 30 seconds until it comes together. The flavour keeps developing for 24 hours, so make it a day ahead if you can. Be warned that it stains everything it touches, wooden chopping boards included.

Why the Potatoes Go In First

Dice two potatoes into roughly 1 cm cubes, skins left on (Maris Piper, King Edward or Yukon Gold all work), and fry them in olive oil over a medium-high heat with a pinch of salt for a couple of minutes. Then turn the heat down low and let them cook gently for about five minutes, giving them a toss now and then. You’re not looking for any colour at this stage, just to get the cooking process started and the salt into the potato before the peppers and tomatoes join the pan.

Peppers and Tomatoes

Dice two large red bell peppers small for sweetness; they go into the pan once the potatoes have taken on the pilpelchuma, as below. Yellow peppers work too, but steer clear of green, which is too bitter for this dish. If you don’t like peppers or find them hard to digest, use the same weight of onions instead. Shakshuka with tinned tomatoes works very well: I used fresh Romas because my local market had ripe ones, but in most cases I’d recommend a good tinned tomato, as they’re picked and processed at their ripest. Roughly dice seven Romas (about 750 g), and if the skins bother you, peel them or use peeled tinned tomatoes.

Building the Sauce

Add about half of the pilpelchuma (or harissa) and two teaspoons of tomato puree to the potatoes, keep the heat low and stir until every piece is coated, then cook for around three minutes, stirring regularly. Add the diced peppers and cook for two to three minutes more, until slightly softened. Now add the diced tomatoes and a pinch of salt. The pan will look too full, but the tomatoes break down and you want that room for the eggs later. Add a shot of water, put a lid on and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or as little as 15 with tinned tomatoes, until the potatoes are soft. The sauce should be darker and keep a little liquid: if it’s too dry add a shot or two of water, and if it’s too wet cook it with the lid off for a few minutes. Taste, then add salt if needed, or a pinch of sugar if the flavours seem flat. Keep the leftover pilpelchuma in a sterilised jar with a little oil poured over the top to seal it. It’ll keep in the fridge for about a month, and it’s worth having around for more than just this dish. Just like my fifteen-minute chilli oil, it’s the kind of jar you’ll find yourself adding to everything.

Getting the Eggs Right

Crack the four eggs into small dishes first, so they all go into the pan close together and cook evenly, and so you can catch any shell. With the sauce at a gentle simmer, make a well, slide in the first egg, then remake the next well and repeat for all four, because the wells fill back up with liquid. Season the eggs with a little salt and cook uncovered at a gentle simmer for at least 10 minutes. By about 12 minutes the whites have mostly set and the yolks are still very runny. For runny yolks, turn the pan off at that point and leave it for two to four minutes so the residual heat finishes the eggs.

What to Serve With Shakshuka

Serve it straight from the pan in the centre of the table, with warm pitta or flatbread for scooping and a bowl of thick natural yoghurt on the side to cut through the spice. My quick flatbread recipe is ideal for this and comes together while the sauce simmers. Between the runny yolks and the depth the pilpelchuma brings, this is a shakshuka recipe that earns its place well beyond breakfast.

Shakshuka Recipe | The Ultimate All in One Breakfast

Ben Goshawk

A shakshuka recipe with a few twists for autumn: diced potatoes fried in a homemade pilpelchuma, a chilli and garlic paste from Tripoli in Libya, with sweet red peppers and tomatoes. The eggs cook in wells in the sauce until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Serve it from the pan with pitta or flatbread and thick natural yoghurt.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Light Meal

Cuisine North African

Servings 4

Calories 378 kcal

Equipment

• Blender (jug, liquidiser)
• Food processor
• Stick blender
• Dish / Ramekin
• High-sided container
• Mixing bowl / Bowl
• Kettle
• Chef’s knife
• Chopping board
• Digital scales
• Measuring spoons
• Frying pan
• Non-stick frying pan
• Spoon (table, dessert, tea)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 x Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 x Potatoes 430g / 15.2oz
• 80 g / 2.8oz Pilpelchuma or harissa more or less depending on how spicy you want it
• 2 x Teaspoons tomato puree
• 2 x Red bell peppers 300g / 10.6oz
• 7 x Roma tomatoes 750g / 26.5oz canned is a great option as well.
• 4 x Eggs
• PILPELCHUMA
• 2 x Ancho Chillies 20g / 0.7oz
• 90 g / 3.2oz peeled garlic
• 2 x Teaspoons caraway seeds
• 3 x Teaspoons ground cumin
• 5 x Teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 5 x Teaspoons sweet paprika
• 80 g / 2.8oz Neutral tasting oil grapeseed, peanut, avocado etc

Instructions

 

• Begin by making the pilpelchuma (chilli and garlic paste) by soaking two medium-sized dried ancho chillies in boiling water for around 30 minutes. Use any other dried or fresh chilli if you can’t get anchos.
• Peel 90 grams (3.2 ounces) of garlic.
• Squeeze any excess water out of the soaked chillies, remove the stems and any seeds, and chop them into a small dice. Add them to a food processor with the peeled garlic.
• Heat a dry pan over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds and toast for 1 to 2 minutes, moving them regularly, until they start to pop.
• Turn the pan down to a low heat and add 3 teaspoons of ground cumin, 5 teaspoons of cayenne pepper and 5 teaspoons of sweet paprika. Stir constantly and toast for 2 minutes, no more, as ground spices burn easily.
• Add the hot spices to the food processor with the chilli and garlic and blend to a thick paste.
• Add 80 grams (2.8 ounces) of neutral-tasting oil and blend again for about 30 seconds until incorporated. The flavour keeps developing for 24 hours, so make it a day ahead if you can. It stains, so keep it off light wooden boards.
• Dice 2 potatoes, skins on, into roughly 1 cm (1/3 inch) cubes. Roughly dice the red peppers (about 5 mm) and the Roma tomatoes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a 28 cm (11 inch) non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and a pinch of salt and fry for a couple of minutes, tossing. Turn the heat to low and cook gently for about 5 minutes, tossing now and then, without colouring them.
• Add about half of your pilpelchuma (or harissa) and 2 teaspoons of tomato puree. Keep the heat low and stir well so the potatoes are coated, then cook for about 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Add the diced red peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring regularly, until slightly softened.
• Add the diced tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Add a shot of water, cover with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes (as little as 15 with tinned tomatoes), stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the potatoes are soft.
• Check the consistency and seasoning. You want a little liquid: add a shot or two of water if it is too dry, or cook with the lid off for a few minutes if it is too wet. Add a little more salt if needed, and a pinch of sugar if the flavours are underwhelming.
• Crack the 4 eggs into small dishes. With the pan on a gentle simmer, make a well, slide in the first egg, then remake the next well and repeat for all four eggs.
• Season the eggs with a little salt and cook uncovered at a gentle simmer for at least 10 minutes. After about 12 minutes the whites should have mostly set and the yolks should still be very runny.
• For runny yolks, turn the pan off and leave it for 2 to 4 minutes to finish cooking the eggs.
• Serve straight from the pan in the middle of the table with pitta or flatbreads and a side of thick natural yoghurt.
• To store leftover pilpelchuma, press it into a sterilised glass jar with a clean spoon, removing as much air as you can, and pour a little oil over the top to seal it. It keeps in the fridge for about a month.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 378kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 13.3gFat: 20.3gSaturated Fat: 3.8gCholesterol: 190mgSodium: 188mgPotassium: 1311mgFiber: 7gSugar: 10.5g

Keyword pilpelchuma recipe, shakshuka eggs, shakshuka recipe, shakshuka with tinned tomatoes

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