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Feeling adventurous this week? This Shakshuka (pronounced shock-shook-ah) is a traditional Israeli/Moroccan dish that is found in nearly every Restaurant in Israel. I love that it can be eaten as breakfast, lunch or dinner. My husband and I loved this dish. It kinda blew our taste buds! Serve with soft, fresh French bread. I wish there were leftovers!
Here’s the story behind this dish: I first heard about this recipe from one of my readers, Natalya who shared a link to Laurie’s recipe on Facebook. I didn’t know Laurie at the time, but it’s been awesome to read her story and get to know her adventurous and fun-loving family through social media. While Laurie was living in Israel, she documented her neighbor Smadar make the best shakshuka and shared a step-by-step photo tutorial.
That is how I learned how to successfully make a very tasty shakshuka. The only real change that I made was baking the eggplant and potatoes rather than deep frying.
Ingredients for Israeli Shakshuka Recipe:
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1″ to 1 1/2″ pieces
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1″x 2″ pieces
5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch squares
1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch squares
15 oz can tomato sauce
14.5 oz can Diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 tsp chicken bouillon (mixed with enough water to form a paste)
1 medium jalapeño pepper, finely minced with seeds, optional*
2 large or 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed
5-8 eggs
Oil to saute (I used extra light olive oil)
*I’m wrote optional on the jalapeno pepper, but I regretted it just as soon as my fingers finished typing it. The heat in the shakshuka really takes it to a new level. It’s fantastic, just not very kid friendly when it’s spicy.
How to Make A Traditional Shakshuka:
Prep: Preheat Oven to 450˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pre-chop all of your ingredients.
1. Slice, rinse and dry potatoes with a paper towel. Place potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper then toss potatoes with 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Spread potatoes onto the first parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 450˚F for 25-30 min or until the potatoes are cooked through, browned and crispy.
2. Place eggplant into the same bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper then drizzle eggplant with 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and toss to combine.
Spread eggplant onto the second parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 450˚F for 15 min or until the eggplant is soft and browning on the bottom . You can bake them at the same time, just remove eggplant from the oven after about 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
3. In a small ramekin, combine 2 tsp chicken bouillon with enough warm water to make a paste & set aside until needed.
4. Heat a large deep pan such as a dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Once oil is heated, add finely diced onions and cook 2 minutes until softened then and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.
5. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil; watch out; tomatoes splatter so you might want to use a splatter screen).
6. Add garlic, minced jalapeño pepper (for a spicy version), 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and 2 tsp. chicken stock paste. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients throughout, cook for a couple minutes on high heat.
7. Grab a small bowl & crack an egg into it, Drop eggs into the pot starting around the edges, until all eggs are evenly distributed in the pot. Lightly salt and pepper the top of the eggs.
8. Add the baked eggplant & potato around the eggs. Reduce heat to med/low then cover and cook an additional 6-8 minutes to let eggs cook through. Keep an eye on the eggs every 1-2 minutes and continue cooking until egg whites are cooked through and yolks are the desired doneness
Get your crunchy/soft French bread and get ready to dip!
Enjoy! I hope you’ll love it as much as we do!!
Other toppings Laurie recommends include: spinach (for even fresher spinach add at the very end before serving – the warmth will wilt it a little bit), chorizo (cooked of course), asparagus (cooked until bright green in a pan & chopped into bite sized pieces). If adding cheese, add either the last minute while still cooking if you like it a little melty or add at the end if you like it cold & fresh! Skies the limit!
For those who really love spice, Laurie recommends a special dip: In a small bowl, combine whole minced hot red pepper & hot green pepper and stir it together with 1 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Lightly salt the mixture and serve on the side with the Shakshuka.
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to try our Spicy Ratatouille Brunch Skillet.
Traditional Israeli Shakshuka Recipe

Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1" to 1 1/2" pieces
- 1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1"x 2" pieces
- 5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2-inch squares
- 1 green bell pepper, shopped into 1/2-inch squares
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 14.5 oz can Diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon, mixed with enough water to form a paste
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, finely minced with seeds, optional*
- 2 large or 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed
- 5-8 eggs
- Oil to saute, I used extra light olive oil
Instructions
How to: Special Prep: Preheat Oven to 450˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pre-chop all of your ingredients.
- Slice, rinse and dry potatoes with a paper towel. Place potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper then toss potatoes with 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Spread potatoes onto the first parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 450˚F for 25-30 min or until the potatoes are cooked through, browned and crispy.
- Place eggplant into the same bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper then drizzle eggplant with 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and toss to combine. Spread eggplant onto the second parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 450˚F for 15 min or until the eggplant is soft and browning on the bottom. You can bake them at the same time, just remove eggplant from the oven after about 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
- In a small ramekin, combine 2 tsp chicken bouillon with enough warm water to make a paste & set aside until needed.
- Heat a large deep pan such as a dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Once oil is heated, add finely diced onions and cook 2 minutes until softened then and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil; watch out; tomatoes splatter so you might want to use a splatter screen).
- Add garlic, minced jalapeño pepper (for a spicy version), 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and 2 tsp. chicken stock paste. Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients throughout, cook for a couple minutes on high heat.
- Grab a small bowl & crack an egg into it, Drop eggs into the pot starting around the edges, until all eggs are evenly distributed in the pot. Lightly salt and pepper the top of the eggs.
- Add the baked eggplant & potato around the eggs. Reduce heat to med/low then cover and cook an additional 6-8 minutes to let eggs cook through. Keep an eye on the eggs every 1-2 minutes and continue cooking until egg whites are cooked through and yolks are the desired doneness. Get your crunchy/soft French bread and get ready to dip!
I was looking for something different to do with eggplant. Natasha’s Kitchen saves the day again! This was really good, even for a hot, humid day in June! I definitely like the kick of the jalapenos. This recipe also makes me less shy about practicing the art of making creamy poached eggs. I don’t know why I never thought about combining potatoes and eggplant.
I’m so happy to hear that Rosie! THanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Do you think that subbing for red potatoes instead would make it significantly different?
That should work just fine 🙂 Make sure to bake potatoes until they are cooked through. It might be closer to 30 minutes.
Thanks for another great recipe! My son was hesitant at first and certain he wouldn’t like it. But after his first bowl, he asked for another helping as long as he could have an egg in it.
I did make an adjustment using roasted cauliflower instead of potatoes, because my husband is not supposed to have potatoes. It was still really good!
Erika, that’s awesome that your son loved the recipe. It sounds like he is going to be an adventurous eater 😉. Thank you for sharing your wonderful review.
We are eating at least twice a week. Sometimes I am adding before the eggs also Merguez sausage, sometimes Fetta. All the adding very tasty.
Hi Yaffa! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’ll have to try that next! 🙂
This is such a great throw together dish featuring things I often have in my fridge and pantry (well, maybe not always the eggplant). I loved this recipe, though! I left out the jalapeno and opted for red pepper flakes for a more subtle spicy. It can often get a little messy trying to cook the eggs in the dish so I just poached them on the side and all was good. It requires a bit of prep work but it is a really yummy dish overall. This will be my go-to shakshuka recipe in the future!
Ha ha yes the jalapeno can be a little fierce :). I’m so happy you liked it! I haven’t made this in awhile but I sure love the stuff. Thanks for reminding me about it! 🙂
Just thought I’d ask, would this recipe work without the eggs? (I would love to try it out while on Daniel’s fast since all the other foods are allowed)
Juliya, it would still work and won’t really change the flavor since the eggs are not mixed in 😀. Let me know how it works out if you decide to give it a try.
I was hesitant at first, I’ve never made a Israeli dish before. Today I finally made it, and it turned out really good! I love this mixture of veggies in the dish and the eggs. I made mine with the jalapeno lovn’ the spice!!
Thank you for a great review Alana, I’m glad you enjoyed this dish :).
I just made this dish and its delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe Natasha!
I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
I think i am going to try this while all the ingredients are still available fresh from the garden.. both my mother and mother in law love vegetables to this might be something ill bring to the table 🙂
I hope they love it! 🙂
Wow! very interesting dish. We visited Israel couple of years ago, but didn’t try anything like that. I wonder if my family would like that. My husband still praises all the Israel food we got to try there. Their cuisine is very delicious!
I agree; I love everything I’ve tried that originates from that part of the world. I hope you do love it! 🙂 My husband really enjoyed it. It is spicy! 😉
This dish looks very rich and absolutely delicious! I’ve seen a similar version without potatoes, but never really thought to try making it. After seeing it on your blog, I might give it a try. Thanks for the recipe!
I think it would still be ok without the potatoes, but I love that it’s a one-pot meal. It’s very satisfying 🙂
Первый раз вижу такую шакшуку прожила в исраэль15 лет и никогда таког блюда как вы исполнлине видела шакшуку в израиле готовят из 3 ингридиентов лук кансервированые томаты и яйца все… ни каких кабачков и картошек и баклажанов там нету
I’ve never been to Israel, but I have seen several different variations online. This version is very tasty and satisfying! 🙂
Interesting. Will have to try, I love everything with eggplant.
Your recipe reminded me about this one, which my family likes http://loravo.keyartstudio.com/kitchen/main/chanaxi-nacionalnoe-gruzinskoe-blyud/
It is in Russian, but the pictures make it easy to understand.
Oh wow that one even has meat in it. Is that a shakshuka? There are so many ways to make it; I’m excited to experiment! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing.
No, it is not. That is a Georgian dish, but it has almost the same ingredients, except few.
If you like lamb and eggplant, you should try it. It is very very delicious.
Here is a recipe
Chanahi
In a pot, put the layers from the bottom to the top:
Lamb or beef cut in cubes like for a stew
Diced onions
Potatoes- small cubes
Eggplant- small cubes
Crashed garlic- 2-3 cloves
Tomato paste 1-2 table spoons
Petite diced tomatoes
Bell pepper diced, can be used roasted pepper instead
Parsley, dill, basil and cilantro.
* in my opinion, without lamb and cilantro this is a different dish
Salt and pepper each layer when filling your pot.
Add boiling water to cover everything.
Cover the pot with a lid.
Put in a cold oven.
Turn the oven on 425f and cook for 2 hours. In 1 hour the smell will be already incredible.
Can be made in a big pot or in cocottes with lids.
Thank you so much for sharing that! 🙂
This looks so good.. I love hot and spicy for breakfast. Thanks for sharing this recipe..
Thanks Barbara. It sure wakes you up! 🙂
I love all the veggies in this and the fact that you serve it with fresh bread doesn’t hurt either ;).
Thanks Laura 🙂 I love it with the bread. That’s all it needs on the side 🙂
Yum! I love this dish. I will definitely try your version tho as it’s quite different from the traditional one. It is worth noting this dish is famous in the Palestinian Territories rather than Israel. It is a traditional dish you can find in Palestine, Turkey and Greece (Greek using feta cheese with it).
I bet feta is a nice add-in! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha! I love your blog and your recipes ! Always clear instructions and great results !
I love that you trying different things and not just traditional Russian/Ukrainian dishes . I myself was born in eastern Ukrainian, then immigrated to Israel, liked there for 12 years, and then moved to US . So my table is also usual have a very weird verity of Russian-Israeli-Ukrainian-Jewish-middle eastern-american food :). My favorite is definitely middle eastern because of it rich flavor and health benefits that you get from all the vegetables and vegetable oils.
I ate shakshukah in Israel multiple time and love this dish .
Honestly I’ve never seen shakshukah with potatoes and egg plants , but cooking is all about making it “your” and unique I want to offer a more authentic version of this dish at this web site . This is what you will typically get at Israeli restaurant for breakfast if your order shakshukah :
http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/07/summer-2010-travel-blog-shakshuka/
Thanks so much for sharing! I bet your table has some fantastic variety. That’s so cool!!
This looks soooo good! I love all the food combinations: eggplant, potatoes, eggs ! Yummy!
Thank you Katya 🙂 It’s a meal in itself and everything works so well together.
This looks really good! It’s funny because I lived in Israel for 7 years and never once tried Shakshouka..probably because it’s more popular among the Moroccan immigrants there than Russian ones. But this version looks amazing..might have to give it a try! Plus, anything with eggplant is good!
I’d love to at least visit Israel one of these days (just probably not any time soon with everything going on in the world). How long ago did you live there?
I lived there 1990-1998, so it’s been a while since we left. But I agree with you – while I’d love to visit the country as well as see my family there, it’s too dangerous right now. 🙁 We have to pray for peace.
Yulia, I lived in Israel from 1990 to 1999, and never ate this version of shi’a chucks. I make it with tones of tomatoes and papers.,red paprica. What city did you live in? I lived in Beer Sheva.
Hi, I am from Sderot 🙂 not too far from where you lived!
Cool, realy close.
How interesting! Looks scrumptious… We recently started eating following the Paleo diet so I would have to omit the potatoes from this dish. Do you think the potatoes are necessary? Or can I replace them and not miss them too much? Also, we can’t eat grains so the bread would have to go too. Can you eat this like a soup without dipping the bread in it? Thanks!
I think you could omit the potatoes and still have great results. You could serve it as a soup and it would be even more of a soup if you omit the potatoes. I hope you love it! 🙂