A super easy and healthy pan of green goodness with lovely soft-set eggs will make a perfect weekend breakfast or brunch! Spiced with chilli, turmeric and cumin, this is an even healthier take on a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast shakshuka! Whilst the recipe below is for two, this is a great way to feed a crowd. Make this Healthy Spinach Shakshuka for your guests staying over the festive period!
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How Is This Veggie Shakshuka Different?
This breakfast dish is far from a traditional Middle Eastern Shakshuka, but it is nonetheless the inspiration behind this recipe.
When I lived in London, Yotam Ottolenghi’s shakshuka would be the ultimate breakfast treat for me and my friends to have when we met up to catch up at a trendy Islington restaurant. I’ve made numerous versions of shakshuka since and we enjoy this dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This particular version – Healthy Spinach Shakshuka – is one of my favourites though. With a heap of spinach, a copious amount of fresh herbs and sweet garden peas, this recipe makes a lovely healthy and wholesome weekend brunch!
Ingredients and Substitutes
- olive oil: can be replaced with avocado, rapeseed or sunflower oil.
- leek: can be replaced with shallots. We don’t recommend using an onion, as we find it overpowers other delicate flavours in this veggie shakshuka.
- spinach: we used baby spinach.
- garden peas: can be substituted with petit pois. Use frozen or fresh peas.
- garlic clove: peeled and thinly sliced.
- spices: ground cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes.
- fresh herbs: we used a mixture of parsley, coriander and mint, but you can add some basil or fresh thyme if you have some handy.
- eggs: we like to serve 2 eggs per portion for a filling lunch/ brunch.
- yogurt: natural yoghurt or greek yoghurt.
- harissa: can be replaced with sriracha or other chilli sauce. It adds a bit of a spicy kick to this spinach shakshuka, so if you don’t like things spicy, just skip it.
- sumac: optional.
- bread: to serve. We love crusty sourdough bread with this spinach shakshuka.
Method
Start by slicing leeks and garlic, and roughly chopping herbs. You can use pretty much any herbs you have, but I tend not to skip mint. Whilst mint may seem like an odd choice to have with eggs, it complements all the greens in this recipe very well.
Fry your leeks, wilt the spinach and mix in garden peas and herbs. Mix in all the fragrant spices. You can, of course, skip the chilli flakes if you can’t handle the heat.
Make grooves in your green mixture for your eggs. Carefully crack the eggs into the gaps, making sure the yolks stay intact. Turn the heat right down and cover it with a lid. Cook for 4-6 minutes. Keep checking your eggs to make sure the yolks don’t go hard. They will carry on cooking slowly after you take the pan off the heat as well.
Spoon dollops of yoghurt on top and drizzle with chilli sauce for an extra kick (or not!). Our favourites to use are either Sriracha or Harissa, but I’m sure others will work just as well. To finish, sprinkle the top with some salt and sumac, which really enhances the dish with its fresh lemony flavour.
What To Serve Veggie Shakshuka With?
We love serving this Leek and Spinach Shakshuka with thick slices of freshly baked Sourdough Bread, to turn it into a healthy but very filling breakfast feast!
Other Vegetarian Breakfast Ideas
If our Healthy Shakshuka isn’t quite what you were looking for, have a look at our other vegetarian breakfast recipes below:
- Turkish Eggs with Dukkah
- Bagels with Asparagus, Poached Eggs and Pistou
- Crispy Rosti with Poached Eggs and Avocado
Recipe Card
Healthy Veggie Shakshuka
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 100 g spinach
- 70 g frozen garden peas or petit pois
- 1 large garlic clove thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 15 g a mixture of parsley, coriander and mint roughly chopped
- 4 eggs
- 70 g natural yogurt
- 1 teaspoon harissa, sriracha or other chilli sauce
- ½ teaspoon sumac optional
- 2 slices of bread to serve
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Fry thinly sliced leeks on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add garlic and spinach and stir until just starting to wilt. Tip your frozen peas and all the herbs in. Sprinkle with chilli flakes, turmeric and ground cumin and mix well.
- Use a spoon to make four grooves in your green mix and crack an egg into each of them. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-6 minutes until egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft and runny.
- Take off the heat and dollop spoonfuls of plain yogurt. Then drizzle with the chilli sauce of your liking. Sprinkle some salt and sumac on your eggs and serve at the table with thick slices of crusty bread.
Nutrition
Nancy
Wow this Veggie Shakshuka was really delicious. I can’t wait to make it again on the weekend
Ieva
Thanks for trying our recipe! So glad yo enjoyed it 💗
Toni
I love this!! So tasty and delicious! Always a hit for brunch!
Ieva
Thanks, Toni!
gunjan
I love shakshuka and so I made this for our breakfast. Came out so good that it has become our favorite now.
Ieva
That’s so nice to hear! So happy you enjoy this recipe 🙂
Gina
This shakshuka recipe is easy to make, tasty, and a family favorite. We make it often and it is always very much enjoyed!
Ieva
Thanks, Gina!
Tara
Oh yum! Such a fantastic option for weekend brunch. I love all that color from the spinach and herbs. So so good.