Soft Tomato Shakshuka with Sweet Peppers & Feta

Name: Soft Tomato Shakshuka with Sweet Peppers & Feta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 brown onion, finely diced; 1 large red capsicum, finely diced; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; ¼ teaspoon ground coriander; 2 x 400 g tins crushed tomatoes; ½ teaspoon sugar, optional; ¾ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste; freshly cracked black pepper; 5 large eggs; 100 g feta, crumbled, divided; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to serve; extra olive oil, for finishing; garlic pita, flatbread, sourdough, or warm crusty bread, to serve

A gentle, tomato-rich shakshuka with sweet peppers, soft-set eggs, and crumbled feta. Warmly spiced but not hot, it is made for slow breakfasts, relaxed brunches, or a simple meatless meal with warm garlic pita for scooping.

Shakshuka with soft-set eggs in a tomato and sweet pepper sauce, topped with crumbled feta.

Weekend breakfasts feel slower when a pan of eggs comes straight to the table, still warm and bubbling at the edges. This shakshuka keeps the flavours soft: sweet red capsicum, rich tomato, gentle spices, creamy feta, and eggs nestled into the sauce. It has enough warmth to feel generous, without the heat of a fiery baked egg dish. Torn garlic pita or warm bread turns it into a pan everyone reaches into at once.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 35 min · Serves: 4 · Cuisine: Middle Eastern · Category: Breakfast

Ingredients

Shakshuka

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 large red capsicum, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
2 x 400 g tins crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon sugar, optional
¾ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
freshly cracked black pepper
5 large eggs
100 g feta, crumbled, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to serve
extra olive oil, for finishing
garlic pita, flatbread, sourdough, or warm crusty bread, to serve

Method

Place a large shallow frying pan or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion, and capsicum. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the capsicum has sweetened.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, until fragrant.
Stir in the tomato paste, sweet paprika, cumin, and ground coriander. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and the spices smell warm.
Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Add the sugar, if using, salt, and a good crack of black pepper. Stir well.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 18–22 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick, glossy, and spoonable. The sauce should be thick enough to hold shallow wells for the eggs.
Stir through half of the parsley and taste the sauce. Adjust the salt if needed.
Increase the heat slightly so the sauce is gently bubbling, then use the back of a spoon to make 5 wells in the sauce. Crack one egg into each well.
Scatter over about two-thirds of the feta, keeping some aside for serving.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low-medium heat for 7–12 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are still soft. If the whites are slow to set, spoon a little hot tomato sauce over the clear whites only, avoiding the yolks, then cover again for another 1–2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes. The residual heat will finish setting the eggs gently.
Scatter over the remaining feta, extra parsley, black pepper, and a light drizzle of olive oil.
Serve straight from the pan with garlic pita, flatbread, sourdough, or warm crusty bread for scooping.

Serving Suggestion

Serve the shakshuka warm, straight from the pan, with garlic pita, toasted flatbread, sourdough, or warm crusty bread for scooping through the tomato sauce, feta, and soft eggs. Garlic pita is especially good here because it holds the thick sauce well and adds a savoury crunch. A bowl of Whipped Feta with Lemon, Honey & Olive Oil alongside turns this into a proper share-table breakfast, and if you love eggs in sauce, Mini Portuguese Baked Eggs is worth keeping in the rotation too.

Make Ahead Notes

The tomato and sweet pepper sauce can be made the day before. Cool, cover, and refrigerate, then reheat gently in the pan until bubbling before adding the eggs and feta. Do not add the eggs until just before serving.

Notes

The sauce needs to be thick before the eggs go in. If it looks loose or watery, keep simmering uncovered until it is glossy and spoonable.

Make sure the sauce is gently bubbling before adding the eggs. If the sauce is too cool, the egg whites will take much longer to set.

A lid makes a big difference here because the trapped steam helps cook the tops of the eggs without needing to turn the heat too high.

If the whites are stubborn, spoon a little hot tomato sauce over the clear parts of the whites only. Try to avoid covering the yolks if you want them soft and visible.

Feta adds saltiness, so taste the sauce before adding extra salt at the end.

The Grace Table Tip

Serve this straight from the pan while the eggs are still soft, with garlic pita or warm bread close by for scooping. The sauce should be thick enough to cling to the bread without running straight off.

For a milder, sweeter shakshuka, keep the spices gentle and avoid chilli. A tiny pinch of smoked paprika can be added for depth, but too much will shift the flavour away from the soft tomato and sweet pepper base.