A dish made of sweet bell peppers, veggie breakfast sausage and eggs poached in a rich harissa spiked tomato sauce. Richly spiced like my Moroccan Lentil Chickpea Stew, this breakfast classic recipe not only tastes amazing but is so satisfying. Share this flavorful Vegetarian Shakshuka Recipe with a sprinkle of feta, red pepper flakes and side of Sourdough Pita, it comes together in about 30 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This harissa spiked shakshuka is full of flavor, with a hint of spice, in a rich tomato shakshuka sauce.
- Simple ingredients means this recipe is simple to make, coming in at about 30 minutes.
- Shakshuka is made in one pan for easy clean-up.
- This veggie shakshuka is hearty, and satisfying.
- Leftovers rewarm in a snap!
What is Shakshuka?
Shakshuka (sounds like shake-shoo-ka) is a flavorful and classic North African recipe. This dish can vary widely depending on region and interpretation, but in its basic form vegetarian shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a richly spiced tomato sauce. It’s delicious shared with pita or crusty bread for soaping up that fiery sauce and a sprinkle of feta.
While a shakshuka breakfast is worth getting up early for, it’s ideal for brunch or dinner too, and it’s super easy to make.
Quick Guide: How to Make Shakshuka with Veggie Sausage
For this inspired vegetarian shakshuka recipe, I include veggie sausage and we love the results. Rob said this is the best shakshuka recipe I’ve made yet! In summary, here’s how to make it (see recipe card for details):
- First, in an enameled or large skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Next you’ll saute onion and yellow or red bell pepper.
- Second, crumble in the veggie sausage and cook through. Add the garlic. While that’s cookin’ crush the canned tomatoes (whole or diced tomatoes).
- Third, add the tomatoes, harissa powder, tomato paste and other spices to the veggie sausage and cook for about five minutes.
- Next, make five wells in the tomato mixture with the back of a spoon and gently crack an egg into each well.
- Last, gently cook with the lid on the pan until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
Share your tomato poached eggs with a sprinkle of chili flakes, crumbled feta, fresh cilantro and a side of pita. When in season, Pan Fried Asparagus is quite nice with this recipe.
Veggie Shaksuhka Good to Know
About Harissa
Harissa is a popular spice blend used in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. The chili blend is robust, earthy and smoky with rich flavors. It includes a bit of garlic, chilis, smoked paprika, and cumin brightened with a hint of citrus. It tastes absolutely delicious!
Harissa can be purchased as a powder or also as harissa paste. In this case, I’m using harissa powder. Try it in my Harissa Stewed Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens and Harissa Cauliflower and Chickpea Tacos.
Vegetarian Shakshuka
In its traditional form, shakshuka is a vegetarian dish. However, some variations on the traditional recipe include lamb, beef or sausage. For this recipe, I’m using a favorite veggie sausage. You can used either Gimme Lean or Field Roast’s Chipotle plant based sausages. For a chorizo shakshuka, look for plant chorizo!
Cook Shakshuka in a Skillet
Unless your cast iron skillet is heavily seasoned, use a lidded enameled cast iron skillet or stainless steel cookware. Due to the acidity of the tomato sauce, it could strip the seasoning of a cast iron skillet and leave a metallic taste in your shakshuka.
Recipe Inspiration
This recipe for shakshuka is adapted from my friend Liren Baker’s debut cookbook Meat to the Side: A Plant Forward Guide to Bringing Balance to Your Plate. Liren’s been writing recipes for over a decade which she shares on her blog Kitchen Confidante.
While Meat to the Side includes recipes for carnivores, Liren also shares fabulous vegetarian dishes. And, I found quite a few recipes adaptable to vegetarian cooking, like this easy vegetarian shakshuka recipe. Liren’s original recipe calls for pork sausage, but because we are a vegetarian household, I use veggie breakfast sausage instead – with delicious results!
If you cook for multiple diets in a household, it can be a conundrum cooking one recipe that pleases everyone. Liren’s book helps take some of the guess work out by offering dishes that cater to a range of palates.
Pro Tips
- One Skillet: This easy shakshuka recipe comes together in one skillet. Use an enameled or stainless steel skillet for best results.
- Find Harissa spice blend at your well stocked grocery or look for it in the spice bulk bins section.
- Make it Vegan: For a vegetarian shakshuka without eggs you can adapt this recipe by substituting a can of cooked and drained chickpeas for the shakshuka eggs. Simply stir in the chickpeas when you would otherwise add eggs. Also, omit the feta for an easy vegan shakshuka!
More Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes to Try
Vegetarian Shakshuka with Veggie Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil + more if needed
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) Yellow Onion finely chopped
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Minced Garlic about 3 cloves
- Fine Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 7 ounces (198 grams) Veggie or Plant Sausage I like Gimme Lean, see note*
- 1 cup (115 grams) Red or Orange Bell Pepper diced, about one pepper
- 1 28 ounce (783 grams) Can of Whole San Marzano Tomatoes see note**
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Harissa Powder
- 2 teaspoons Tomato Paste
- 2 teaspoons Smoky Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 5 Large Eggs
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) Crumbled Feta Cheese
- Red Pepper Flakes and Chopped Fresh Cilantro for Serving
- Sourdough Pita Bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a 3 quart saute pan (enameled if possible) over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onions are just softened.
- Increase the heat to medium and crumble in the veggie sausage* breaking it up as needed. Add the bell peppers and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the sausage is browned and the bell peppers are starting to soften. A little sticking is fine, but add a drizzle more of olive oil if needed to help the veggie sausage brown.
- Meanwhile, break up the tomatoes using an immersion blender or wooden spoon. Crush the tomatoes in their juice until they are broken down but still chunky.
- To the sausage mixture, add the crushed tomatoes, harissa powder, tomato paste, paprika, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine and cook on medium low for about five minutes. Taste for salt.
- Use the back of a spoon to make little wells in the sauce, then gently crack an egg into each well. Season eggs with salt, pepper and pepper flakes.
- Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the eggs whites are set and yolks are cooked to your liking, about 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with feta. Serve right away with more feta, chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes and pita or crusty bread.
To Store and Reheat:
- Store leftovers in the pan, covered for up to three days. Gently reheat on low covered for about 5-8 minutes. The eggs will no longer be soft, but still delicious!
Notes
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
I received a complementary copy of Meat to the Side. This shakshuka recipe was adapted and shared with permission.
nice, new dish for me but love all of these ingredients, the eggs in this especially, so thank you!
Hi Sabrina! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! I’ll pass your success on to Liren!