This baked eggs recipe is made of perfect pockets of jammy golden eggs nestled into a tomato, olive and couscous base, served with toasted bread bathed in garlic butter. It's an easy and delicious vegetarian weeknight dinner.
What are Baked Eggs?
Baked eggs, or Shakshuka, are eggs that are baked in a fragrant tomato sauce, often with capsicum, onions and spices.
My version of baked eggs uses celery as well as onion, because it is plentiful and in season, and balances the saltiness of the olives really well. I also use celery fronds as a garnish at the end.
What makes this Baked Eggs recipe so good?
- Perfectly cooked Eggs. Baked eggs are known for being creamier than boiled eggs, and if you follow this recipe the yolk will be jammy and perfectly cooked - soft enough to dip your garlic bread into, but not too soft that you're worried about them. In this recipe, we stir couscous into the tomato base which creates a thicker base and means the eggs sit better in it, and also makes it a more substantial meal.
- Golden garlic bread. Is there anything better than home made garlic bread? Golden buttery bread with fragrant garlic. You pop this in the oven after the eggs and serve it to scoop them up.
- Simple, one pot dinner. This is a really easy dinner with little fuss. We used tinned cherry tomatoes for a simple base, along with the capsicum and celery, so there's a bit less chopping than usual. It's all made in one pot, so at the end of your meal there won't be a lot of washing up.
How to make this Baked Eggs recipe
Preheat your oven and get out a deep oven proof pan or casserole dish. Mince garlic, dice onion, chop capsicum, and slice celery. Don't forget to reserve some celery fronds for garnish.
In a small bowl, mix together paprika, sumac, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Heat your pan or casserole dish over high heat, add oil, and cook your veggies and half the garlic until they start to soften and reduce. Add canned tomatoes, water, tomato paste, spice mix, and olives, then cook until the sauce thickens.
Add couscous and mix through. Make an indent for each egg and crack an egg into it. Crumble over some feta and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes. While that's cooking, mix the remaining minced garlic with butter and salt. Cut bread rolls in half, spread the garlic butter on top, and place them in the oven until golden.
Roughly chop parsley and serve the baked eggs topped with parsley and reserved celery fronds, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Serve with half a garlic roll each and use it to dip into the eggs. And if you want to switch things up, try adding some spinach or mushrooms to the veggie mix, or swap out the feta for goat cheese.
What ingredients will you need for this Baked Eggs recipe?
- Eggs - fresh eggs are always the best.
- For the base you will need canned cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, capsicum, celery, couscous, olives (pitted Kalamata), tomato paste and feta cheese.
- Spices - Smoked paprika, sumac, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Garlic bread - salted butter, garlic and bread rolls.
- Herbs - Parsley and reserve celery fronds.
Top tips when making this Baked Eggs recipe
Once you've cooked your eggs you may think they look a little jiggly. If you want them cooked through, by all means, keep them in for longer. But if you want to be able to dip your garlic bread into the egg yolk (which for me is the perfect state of affairs), then get them out at the timer. They'll continue to cook a little once out of the oven, and they'll be perfectly jammy if you take them out as indicated in the recipe.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian - This recipe is vegetarian.
- Dairy Free - Swap the feta for shredded dairy free parmesan.
- Gluten Free - Use gluten free bread rolls and gluten free couscous.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- Kids may prefer to skip the olives, feta and herb topping.
- They may also prefer you to mix their egg through the baked tomato mixture - this is up to personal preference.
Equipment
You will need an oven, a deep oven proof pan or casserole dish, a stovetop.
More Middle Eastern inspired Recipes
Recipe
Baked Eggs
Equipment
- Oven
- Deep oven proof pan or casserole dish
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter salted
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 brown onion
- 1 red capsicum
- ½ bunch celery
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 800 g whole baby tomatoes 2 x 400 g cans
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 80 g pitted Kalamata olives
- ½ cup couscous
- 4 eggs
- 100 g feta cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ciabatta rolls
- ¼ bunch parsley
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (375 F) fan-forced grill. Get out a deep oven proof pan or casserole dish and arrange oven racks so there is enough space for the dish to be in the middle. Bring butter to room temperature.2 tablespoon butter
- Mince garlic. Dice onion. Chop capsicum. Slice celery. Reserve some celery fronds for garnish.4 cloves garlic, 1 brown onion, 1 red capsicum, ½ bunch celery
- Add paprika, sumac, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper to a small bowl.2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 teaspoon sumac, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- Heat the pan or casserole dish over high heat. Add oil, then cook onion, celery, capsicum, and half the garlic, stirring, until vegetables start to soften and reduce (3-4 mins).1 brown onion, ½ bunch celery, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 red capsicum
- Add canned tomatoes, fill some water in your tomato can and add that, tomato paste, spice mix and olives, then cook for 4 mins or until the sauce thickens a little.800 g whole baby tomatoes, 2 tablespoon tomato paste, 80 g pitted Kalamata olives
- Add couscous and mix through. Make an indent for each egg and crack egg into it. Crumble over feta. Place in the middle of your oven for 8-10 mins.½ cup couscous, 4 eggs, 100 g feta cheese
- Add remaining minced garlic to the butter with salt and mix. Cut bread rolls in half, spread over garlic butter and place in the oven (you can place directly on the rack), cut side up, until golden.2 tablespoon butter, 2 ciabatta rolls, ½ teaspoon salt
- Roughly chop parsley. Serve kids baked eggs with slices of garlic bread, and you can mix the egg through if they prefer.To serve adults, top with parsley and reserved celery fronds, olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic bread.¼ bunch parsley, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
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