Quick and easy Shakshuka with eggplant, chickpeas, and chard – a well-balanced breakfast or dinner that requires right around 40 minutes to prepare.
Is there anything a runny yolk can’t solve?
In all seriousness, yolks are best when gooey, and if you feel the same, this easy vegetable-packed Shakshuka recipe is yours for the taking.
This fabulous meal of poached eggs in spiced tomato sauce is warm, rich, and satisfying, while staying nice and healthful.
You don’t need to be an expert at poaching eggs or have any background in African or Middle Eastern cuisine to become a Shakshuka aficionado!
When all is said and done, you’re basically making a one-pot meal in a skillet. It’s very similar to making soup or stew!
Let’s dive in!
What is Shakshuka?:
Shakshuka is a classic North African and Middle Eastern meal of eggs stewed in a generously-spiced sauce made from tomatoes, red peppers, and often harissa paste (which is a combination of roasted red peppers, vinegar, garlic, caraway and coriander seeds, cumin, and herbs).
It is eaten any time of the day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
The sauce is an art in and of itself, as creating that perfect balance of spice, cutting the acidity from the tomatoes and peppers.
A traditional approach to Shakshuka involves sautéed onion, bell pepper, some warm spices, and either whole peeled or diced tomatoes with spices like cumin, cayenne, and chili powder (and/or harissa paste). Once this mixture becomes nice and flavorful, eggs are cracked into the sauce and cooked just until the whites set up for a nice runny yolk.
I take creative liberties to add more veggies to my Shakshuka – in this case, eggplant, chickpeas, and chard!
Toasting up bread to serve with the Shakshuka enables everyone to enjoy the meal by dolloping the sauce and eggs on top of the bread for easy transport to your mouth. 🙂
Is Shakshuka Spicy?:
In a word, no. Shaksuka is mild, unless you intentionally raise the heat using spicy harissa paste and/or add more cayenne. While Shakshuka contains plenty of spices, it isn’t hot unless you want it to be.
If you’re very spice averse, skip the cayenne altogether and the meal will be very mild.
Do You Need Harissa Paste For Shakshuka?:
You can make Shakshuka without harissa paste by using ground cumin, cayenne, and a touch of chili powder. Adding bell pepper to shakshuka also helps take the place of harissa paste.
If you have harissa paste on hand and/or enjoy cooking with big bold sauces, you can always add 1/3 cup of it for more flavor. Simply add it when you add the diced tomatoes.
You can also make your own homemade harissa paste if you’re a real go getter!
Recipe Adaptations:
- You can can get as creative as you’d like and toss in virtually any fresh seasonal vegetables. Simply sauté up your fresh vegetables to incorporate them into your Shakshuka!
- Add 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, or regular cane sugar to the sauce to cut some of the acidity.
- Replace the chickpeas with black beans, kidney beans, green peas, and/or omit them altogether.
- Use baby spinach or kale instead of chard.
- Omit the eggplant.
How to Make Eggplant, Chickpea, and Chard Shakshuka:
Heat the avocado oil in a large cast iron skillet (10-inch or 12-inch recommended) over medium-high. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and sauté until golden-brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, cumin, cayenne, chili powder and sea salt and bring to a full boil.
Add the chopped chard leaves and chickpeas. Cover, and cook until chard has wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Dig 4 to 6 wells into the Shakshuka mixture and crack eggs into the wells. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the egg whites have set up, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with feta cheese and fresh parsley.
For serving, I toasted up some gluten-free bread. Simply spoon the eggs and sauce onto the bread and enjoy like an open-faced sandwich!
More Incredible Egg Recipes:
- Easy Spanish Omelette
- Spaghetti Squash Egg Nests
- Ground Turkey Egg Roll Bowls
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Avocado and Jammy Egg
- Tomato, Kale and Parmesan Baked Eggs
Team runny yolk, and away we go!
Eggplant, Chickpea, and Chard Shakshuka
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups eggplant peeled and chopped
- 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup mild harissa paste
- 4 to 6 eggs
- 1 head Swiss chard chopped
- 1 (14-oz) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
For Serving:
- 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles see note*
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 4 slices bread of choice toasted
Instructions
- Add the avocado oil to a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet and heat to medium-high.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and sauté until golden-brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes (or diced tomatoes), cumin, cayenne, harissa paste, and sea salt and bring to a full boil.
- Add the chopped chard leaves and chickpeas. Cover, and cook until chard has wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Dig 4 to 6 wells into the shakshuka mixture and crack eggs into the wells. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the egg whites have set up, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with feta cheese and fresh parsley. Serve with toasted bread.
Notes
Nutrition
I’m in the process of making this recipe right now. It’s shaping up well as I’m cooking along, but I have a few comments:
1. Chili powder isn’t listed in the ingredients, but it is included in your instructions – we weren’t sure how much to use, so we used about 1 1/2 tsp.
2. In the ingredients list, you indicate crushed tomatoes, but in the directions, you mention diced tomatoes. Not sure which to use? We had a can of diced already opened, so we pureed them.
3. I had a really hard time finding Harissa paste in the grocery store. I had dried Harissa seasoning on hand, so I mixed it with tomato paste and we’re hoping for the best.
Shakshuka is something I have wanted to try making for quite some time, and your version with swiss chard and eggplant is perfect…I have all the ingredients on hand. So, here goes… Smells great in my kitchen right now!
Hi Nadia! Thanks so much for bringing all of this to my attention! The chili powder was a typo – It should have been harissa paste, lol…Not quite sure how that got lost in translation in my brain, but I fixed it! In terms of the tomatoes – I’ve made both versions, using either crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes, so I cleared this up too. I think I have a slight preference for the crushed tomatoes 🙂
I’m happy you were able to make the recipe work using harissa seasoning and tomato paste – how genius! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! xo
This was delicious and easy to make! I followed the recipe except I only had extra virgin olive oil. I chopped a whole eggplant and used six small red and yellow peppers. Loved the eggs and feta cheese and seasoning although I had no harissa paste. My husband also loved it and we both had two helpings! There are leftovers for tomorrow- bonus! Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m so thrilled you and your husband enjoy it, Laura! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xo
Wow, Amazing I’ll try to make this at home. Looking so tasty and wonderful.
I must try this one!!!
Yeees! It’s definitely a tasty breakfast/dinner! I’m pretty obsessed. 😉 Let me know if you try it!
I often eat bread with this dish but actually I didn’t make it good like your recipe. Thank you. It looks so good.
Well, This is great and I need to know if you have any Dish which I recommend for summer and in Hot places.
Yummmmo! this sounds so delicious- I didnt realize that harissa was the secret in shakshuka. Pictures look absolutely divine btw.
Thank you, Cara! It was a really fun shoot 🙂 Yup, harissa plays a big role in giving the dish lots of flavor. In the past, I’ve used store-bought harissa rather than making my own…Pantry to Pan’s recipe with their proprietary harissa is absolutely perfect! 😀
Love shakshouka, and this one look Amazing!!!! Great combination of a very healthy and tasty ingredients. Have to make it this weekend!!!
Isn’t Shakshuka the best?! I’m so happy you like the recipe! Let me know if you try it! 😀
Whoa! Super awesome. I love shakshouka and while it’s not super time intensive to throw together, having a jar of sauce already in my pantry would make my life so much easier. That’s just truth. Love how easy it is to customize as well!
Yaaas I think this is right up your alley, m’dear! And the starter is so amazingly authentic in flavor…It really makes life a breeze!
Can you link any recipes for the skakshuka? Little disappointed to just be referenced to a product vs. recipe….
I can eat shakshuka all 7 nights:) Love your addition of chard and chickpeas, makes it more heartier and even more better for you:)
Ingredients indicate Swiss chard but instructions says kale leaves. Does either work?
Hi Gabriela,
My mistake, that was a typo in the instructions. But you betcha – either kale or chard will work! Hope you enjoy!
i love how you have customized shashuka to a whole another level..i am all for big flavor with convenience!
This looks so delicious- I hadn’t heard of Pantry to Pan before, but this shakshuka is a stunner. Love the chickpeas 🙂
Thank ya! I definitely recommend checking them out! I think you’d love their starter. YES to chickpeas..seriously, they add such a fun little POP of texture to the Shakshuka! xo
This looks amazing! YUM!
Thanks, m’dear! It’s definitely a fun meal…and seriously takes no time at all to prepare!
I haven’t heard of Pantry To Pan and it sounds like a lifesaver! This shakshuka looks amazing too with the chickpeas and eggplant — so wholesome and so much flavor!
They’re brand new! I absolutely love the starter…I may never make Shakshuka from scratch again – that’s how good it is! Hope you have a chance to try it! xo