This healthy Shakshuka with Fresh Tomato and Spinach makes an easy and nutrient-dense breakfast, lunch or light dinner. The spiced tomato sauce is the perfect base for the eggs, with smoked paprika and cumin for a rich, earthy flavor.
Instead of canned tomatoes, this recipe uses fresh tomato in the sauce. All you have to do is chop them up, then they reduce down nicely with the onion, garlic and spices. I also add some tomato paste as a quick and easy method for adding depth of flavor.
Is shakshuka healthy?
This healthy shakshuka recipe is a twist on the traditional version. The sauce is made with fresh vegetables, namely onion, garlic and tomato. Then baby spinach is stirred through the sauce at the last minute for added nutrients and a serve of greens.
Eggs provide some protein and you can customise the amount of eggs to suit your needs. In the recipe I use two eggs, however you can add more to the pan. It’s also easy to cook the eggs to your liking, depending on how long you leave the pan on the stove. You can have your yolks runny, soft or fully cooked if that’s what you prefer.
Why does my shakshuka taste sour?
Shakshuka can taste sour if you are using tomatoes that are not ripe. This can often happen when making shakshuka with canned tomatoes. This is because less ripe tomatoes that aren’t quite as good quality are often used for canned tomatoes, particularly the crushed or diced varieties.
To avoid sour tasting shakshuka, use the best quality tomatoes that you can find. In this recipe, using fresh, ripe tomatoes combined with the added boost from the tomato paste gives a delicious result.
Ingredients for healthy shakshuka
- Tomatoes: Any ripe, medium to large tomatoes can be used in this recipe. I use vine or truss tomatoes. Roma tomatoes would also be great.
- Tomato paste: I buy the little sachets of tomato paste, since you only need a small amount. You can leave the tomato paste out of the recipe, but the sauce may end up tasting a bit lacklustre.
- Onion: I use a small brown onion in this recipe. But you can use a white onion or red onion, or even finely sliced spring onion if you prefer.
- Garlic: A clove of garlic adds extra kick to the sauce. You want to add it to the pan after the onions have softened to avoid burning it. If garlic starts to burn, it can give an acrid taste. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you could use dried garlic powder instead.
- Ground cumin: Cumin gives the sauce an earthy, warm flavor. I think it is essential in this recipe.
- Smoked paprika: This spice gives the sauce a delicious hint of smokiness. If you don’t have smoked paprika, you could use sweet paprika instead. However, I highly recommend that you try this shakshuka with smoked paprika.
- Baby spinach leaves: Remember to wash your spinach leaves well before adding them to the sauce. If you don’t have baby spinach leaves you could use a bunch of traditional English spinach, tear the leaves off the stems and roughly chop the leaves before adding them to the sauce.
- Eggs: This recipe uses one egg per person. But you can easily crack in additional eggs to make the meal more substantial.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil to fry the onion and garlic. You could use avocado oil or butter if you prefer.
- Salt: I use half a teaspoon of fine salt to season the sauce. You can always taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to suit your own taste if needed.
What do you serve with shakshuka?
You can enjoy shakshuka on its own, but it’s even better served with something to dip into it. Any sort of bread works well, either fresh or toasted. I love to serve it with flatbread, like this Easy Gluten Free Flatbread.
To spice it up, you can sprinkle the shakshuka with chili flakes before serving. It’s also delicious served with hummus on the side for extra plant protein and fiber. I regularly make this Easy Hummus without Lemon and Garlic, which can be whipped up in minutes with pantry ingredients.
If you want to keep the recipe low carb, you can leave out the bread and perhaps crack in an extra egg to make it more substantial. You could also crumble over some feta cheese before serving.
More savory breakfast ideas
- Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins
- Gluten Free Zucchini Fritters with Feta
- Savory Sweet Potato Muffins
- Gluten Free Buckwheat Olive Oil Quick Bread
Check out the Savory Breakfast page for more recipe ideas.
Shakshuka with Fresh Tomato and Spinach Recipe
Serves
2
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Ingredients
- 1 small brown onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 medium tomatoes (see Note 1)
- 4 tsp / 20 ml extra virgin olive oil (see Note 2)
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 3 cups / 100 g baby spinach leaves, washed
- 2 eggs (see Note 3)
Method
- Finely chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Heat the olive oil in a frypan or skillet on a medium heat (see Note 4). Fry the onion in the oil until softened. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan along with the tomato paste, cumin, paprika and salt. Stir well and continue to cook on a medium heat until reduced. Stir regularly and squash the tomatoes down with your spoon if there are any larger pieces. Once reduced, add the spinach leaves and stir into the mixture until just wilted.
- Make two wells in the mixture and crack the eggs into the wells. Place a lid on the pan (or cover with foil) and continue to cook on a medium heat until the whites of the eggs are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking. To check the yolks, pierce one of the yolks with a knife.
- To serve, sprinkle the eggs with some extra smoked paprika if desired.
Notes
- Tomatoes – Ripe tomatoes will work best in this recipe. I like to use plum or roma tomatoes or vine tomatoes.
- Olive oil – I use extra virgin olive oil in this recipe. However, avocado oil or butter will also work well.
- Eggs – If you want a more substantial meal, you can increase the amount of eggs. Just make extra wells in the sauce to match how many eggs you want to use.
- Frypan – I use an 8 inch / 20 cm skillet that is 2 inch / 5 cm deep. This size works well for the amount of sauce generated by the recipe as written, with space to add 2 extra eggs if desired. If you wanted to double the recipe to serve 4, use a larger pan so there is enough surface area to fit the sauce and additional eggs. My pan is cast iron and the acidity of the tomato sauce does lift some of the seasoning off the pan, so I have to re-season the pan afterwards. To avoid this, you could use a stainless steel pan or non-stick pan instead.
- Leftovers – This shakshuka is best served straight away. However, if you have leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat leftovers thoroughly in a microwave or in a frypan on the stove before serving.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 egg and half of the sauce
- Energy: 204 Calories / 854 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 14.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 12.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 3.9 g
- Sugars: 6 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 584 mg
- Potassium: 772 mg
