Easy Fresh Tomato Shakshuka with Bell Peppers, Feta and Herbs
Easy shakshuka with feta made from fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cumin and smoked paprika, with eggs poached right in the sauce. Ready in about 35 minutes.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Serves
- 3
Easy Fresh Tomato Shakshuka with Bell Peppers, Feta and Herbs is a vegetarian breakfast recipe made with extra-virgin olive oil, yellow onion, red bell peppers. It takes 35 minutes of hands-on time, serves 3, and each serving has 394 calories, 21 g of protein and 7 g of fiber.
This version uses ripe fresh tomatoes, so it tastes bright and a little sweet instead of heavy. The trick is to cook the chopped tomatoes down until the sauce is thick enough to hold a hollow when you drag a spoon through it. If it's too thin, the eggs spread out and go watery. A spoonful of tomato paste gives it more depth, and crumbled feta and a handful of parsley go on at the end for salt and freshness.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp27 gextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, diced
- 2 medium238 gred bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 tsp6 gfine sea salt, divided
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp2.1 gground cumin
- 1 tsp2.3 gsmoked paprika
- ¼ tsp0.5 gred pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
- 2 lb907 gripe tomatoes, chopped (about 6 medium), juices included
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper, freshly ground
- 6 large300 geggs
- ½ cup75 gfeta, crumbled
- ¼ cup15 gfresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 3 slices96 gcrusty sourdough bread, toasted, for serving (optional)
Kit: 10- to 12-inch skillet with a lid, cutting board, chef's knife
Tips
- Fresh tomatoes vary a lot in how juicy they are. Judge the sauce by its thickness, not the timer. Very watery tomatoes can need 15 minutes.
- Crack each egg into a small cup first, then slide it into its well. The yolk is less likely to break that way, and it's easy to fish out any bits of shell.
- If your lid doesn't fit tightly, turn the heat down a little so the bottom of the sauce doesn't scorch before the eggs set.
- Keep the heat gentle once the eggs go in. A hard boil makes the whites tough before the tops are cooked.
Swap ideas
- Use one 28-oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes (canned-tomatoes) instead of fresh
- Works well out of season. The sauce is deeper and a bit sweeter and only needs 6–8 minutes to thicken.
- Use a green or yellow bell pepper instead of red
- Green gives a more savory, slightly bitter edge. Yellow is just as sweet as red but milder.
- Use cilantro or mint instead of parsley
- Cilantro makes the finish brighter and more citrusy. Mint adds a cool contrast to the smoky spices.
- Stir 2 cups baby spinach into the sauce just before making the wells
- Adds greens without changing the cooking time. The spinach wilts in about a minute.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
394kcal per serving
Everything else · 3 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 7.9 g 40%
- Sugars
- 14 g
- Sodium
- 1230 mg 53%
- Potassium
- 1218 mg 26%
- Calcium
- 247 mg 19%
- Iron
- 4.4 mg 24%
- Vitamin C
- 154 mg 171%
- Vitamin B12
- 1.31 µg 55%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Onions, raw, Peppers, sweet, red, raw, Salt, table, Garlic, raw, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, paprika, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, Spices, pepper, black, Egg, whole, raw, fresh, Cheese, feta, Parsley, fresh
Method
Heat the olive oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the peppers are soft and the onion is translucent and starting to turn golden at the edges, 7–8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes (if using) and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the paste turns a shade darker, about 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes with all their juices, the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and the black pepper. Bring to a lively simmer, then cook uncovered, stirring and pressing the tomato pieces with your spoon every couple of minutes, until they break down and the sauce thickens enough that a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a trail that fills in slowly, 10–12 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Lower the heat to medium-low. Use the back of a spoon to make 6 wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each well, and scatter about half the feta over the sauce between the eggs.
Cover and cook at a gentle simmer until the whites are fully set and opaque and the yolks still jiggle a little, 5–7 minutes. Check at 5 minutes. If the whites near the yolks still look translucent, spoon a little hot sauce over them and cover again. For firm yolks, cook 3–4 minutes longer.
Take the pan off the heat. Scatter the rest of the feta and the parsley on top and serve straight from the skillet, with toasted bread for scooping if you like.
Storage: Shakshuka is best eaten right away, because the eggs turn rubbery when reheated. To prep ahead, make the sauce through step 3 and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat it in the skillet until simmering, then add the eggs and feta and continue from step 4.
Questions
- How much protein is in easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs?
- Each of the 3 servings has 21 g of protein, 7 g of fiber and 394 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains eggs and feta. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs take to make?
- 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking, so 35 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs ahead?
- Shakshuka is best eaten right away, because the eggs turn rubbery when reheated. To prep ahead, make the sauce through step 3 and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat it in the skillet until simmering, then add the eggs and feta and continue from step 4.
- What can I substitute in easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs?
- Use one 28-oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes (canned-tomatoes) instead of fresh — works well out of season. the sauce is deeper and a bit sweeter and only needs 6–8 minutes to thicken.. Use a green or yellow bell pepper instead of red — green gives a more savory, slightly bitter edge. yellow is just as sweet as red but milder.. Use cilantro or mint instead of parsley — cilantro makes the finish brighter and more citrusy. mint adds a cool contrast to the smoky spices.. Stir 2 cups baby spinach into the sauce just before making the wells — adds greens without changing the cooking time. the spinach wilts in about a minute..
- Does easy fresh tomato shakshuka with bell peppers, feta and herbs contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 28, 2026 ·North African
