Creole Shakshuka is a wonderful combination of the traditional Mediterranean eggs poached in tomato sauce with andouille sausage and a little bit of spice. It adds flair to any brunch, lunch, or dinner.
This recipe for Creole Shakshuka came about after my husband told his mom how much we enjoyed traditional Shakshuka. When she came across a recipe for a Creole version in an old magazine, she made sure to share it with us. We tweaked the recipe to make it easier to make and more home-kitchen friendly and it turned out AMAZING. I knew I had to share it!
Shakshuka is a delicious meal of eggs in a flavorful tomato sauce, perfectly cooked with runny yolks for dipping crunchy bread into. Traditionally, it is not made with meat, but Creole shakshuka is made with meat – andouille sausage. This recipe is similar to another dish that we love – Shrimp Creole – but it is made with andouille and eggs instead of shrimp!
Creole Shakshuka is an easy-to-make, one-dish breakfast. It is a stunning meal for breakfast or brunch – or really any time of day. We love to serve it with toasted bread to dip in the egg yolks and flavorful sauce.
This recipe is such a delicious way to use fresh tomatoes when your garden is growing like crazy in the summer. It can be made with any variety, but we like to use Roma varieties or cherry tomatoes.
Table of Contents
This recipe was originally published on June 17, 2019, but has been updated with new images and more helpful tips!
What is Shakshuka?
Traditionally, Shakshuka is a brunch or breakfast dish consisting of eggs poached in a delicious tomato sauce – or eggs in purgatory. The layers of flavor in the sauce are built from onions, garlic, and spices. The tomatoes are cooked down and simmered into a sweet, rich sauce and then eggs are then poached in the sauce.
What is Creole Shakshuka?
Creole Shakshuka is made with the same traditional tomato base with onions, garlic, and lots of spices – but it is flavored with Creole seasoning, thyme, extra tomatoes, and andouille sausage. It fuses all the delicious Louisiana Creole flavors that you love with a classic Mediterranean dish.
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- Andouille Sausage – Our favorite brands are Veron or Savoie.
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fennel Seeds
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
- All-Purpose Flour (Or Arrowroot Powder for Paleo/Whole30)
- Dried Thyme
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Tabasco Sauce – Use your favorite hot sauce – we love Tabasco for all Cajun/Creole dishes.
- Tomatoes – We use cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half or 4 – 6 Roma tomatoes, chopped into small chunks.
- Eggs
For Garnishing
- Fresh Cilantro or Parsley
- Fresh Bread – French or Sourdough are our favorites or you can use warm pita or naan to make it more traditional.
- Optional – Crumbly Cheese like feta or goat cheese.
🥣 How to Make It
Creole Shakshuka is really easy to make and is such an impressive dish to serve for guests.
Being by dicing, then sautéing the andouille sausage. (The idea is to brown/caramelize the outside of the sausage.) Once it is cooked, remove the sausage from the pan and set it aside. (Picture 1)
Next, add two tablespoons of olive oil – to the same pan and scrape up the sausage crispies. When the olive oil is melted, add diced onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent. This should take about five minutes. (Picture 2)
After the onions are cooked, add salt, pepper, thyme, and fennel seeds. Cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Then add flour and stir until it dissolves. (Pictures 3 – 4)
Next, add the sliced, fresh tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until they are soft. (Picture 5)
Once the tomatoes are soft, add the crushed tomatoes and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. (Picture 6)
Stir to combine, then let this mixture simmer for twenty minutes. (Picture 7) If the mixture is too chunky for your liking, you can blend it with an immersion blender. (I like to do this.) Once blended, taste the sauce and make sure it is seasoned perfectly.
Next, stir in the andouille sausage and hot sauce. (Picture 8 – 9) Taste the tomato sauce, then add salt or pepper if needed.
With the backside of a spoon, create a small crate-like indention in the sauce for each egg and drop them all in. You should be able to fit 5 or 6. (Picture 10)
Once all the eggs are in the sauce, let the eggs cook by simmering in the sauce for 5 – 8 minutes. Cover the pan to cook the eggs faster – just check frequently as the eggs can go from perfectly poached to hard-boiled pretty quickly.
You can see the progression below – the whites in the sauce will cook first. Then, I like to pull the pan off the heat as soon as the egg whites start to glaze over the yolks. The eggs will continue cooking a little bit as the sauce is really hot. I like to make this dish in a big paella pan that doesn’t have a lid, so I just rest a baking sheet over the pan as a “lid.”
Cook until the eggs are your desired consistency – runny yolks or soft-boiled. Garnish with salt, pepper, cilantro, or parsley.
We love to serve this shakshuka with freshly baked bread to dip in it! You can also serve this with your favorite cheese – crumbly cheeses like feta or goat cheese are really good in this!
You can make this recipe into a Paleo Shakshuka or Whole30 Compatible Shakshuka by using a compliant andouille sausage.
This breakfast recipe is no McDonald’s Egg McMuffin, but it is a delicious creole breakfast that is loaded with eggs and fresh veggies. It is really filling, and did I mention delicious?
Aren’t runny yolks the best?!
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! To make a vegetarian shakshuka, simply skip the sausage and add a little extra Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning to get more of that spicy flavor that the sausage imports. You can use vegan andouille sausage as well if you can find it.
Shakshuka originates from Tunisia in North Africa, but it has become a popular dish in the Middle East and many countries have their own variation/interpretation of the dish.
Yes! Shakshuka is a very healthy dish. It is packed with tomatoes, which have a lot of health benefits – and of course, eggs are great for you as well!
Traditionally, shakshuka is served with warm pita bread or naan. If we don’t have any on hand, I like to use crunchy French bread or homemade sourdough.
Different Ways to Make Shakshuka
There are so many different varieties of shakshuka and Creole Shakshuka is just one of them.
- Green Shakshuka – This recipe for Green Shakshuka is from Spoon Fork Bacon and it is DELICIOUS.
- Vegan Shakshuka – I’ve not ever tried this recipe for Vegan Shakshuka, but I have made a lot of Jessica in the Kitchen’s other recipes, so I have no doubt that this one is delicious.
- Chickpea Shakshuka – Chickpea Shakshuka is another variation, but it is really delicious!
- NY Times Shakshuka – This recipe is probably one of the most popular recipes for shakshuka because the New York Times has such a large presence. It is a really great recipe as well!
- Smitten Kitchen Shakshuka – Smitten Kitchen is one of my go-to sites for tasty recipes, and her shakshuka recipe is no exception! It’s a good one!
- Traditional Shakshuka – I shared this recipe above, but this recipe from Downshiftology is a great recipe for a Traditional Shakshuka.
Shakshuka is also sometimes referred to as Eggs in Purgatory or simply just Eggs in Tomato Sauce!
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Share with friends🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating
If you want to save your Shakshuka leftovers, I definitely recommend saving the sauce only and trying to eat all the eggs if you can. Once reheated, the eggs are going to get overcooked and won’t be as good.
I actually like to give my dog the leftover eggs (I rinse the spicy sauce off) -then poach fresh eggs when reheating the sauce.
Once cooled, keep the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep for 3 – 4 days. To reheat, add to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. This recipe also freezes really well (without the eggs.)
You can also make a quick jambalaya with the leftover sauce combined with leftover rice. (Or, just eat the shakshuka leftover and make some real creole jambalaya.)
🌶️ Other Great Cajun & Creole Recipes
Condiments
What is the Cajun Holy Trinity?
Main Courses
Classic New Orlean’s Creole Jambalaya
Main Courses
Deep Fried Shrimp
Side Dishes
Southern Style Green Beans (Instant Pot)
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Creole Tomato Shakshuka
Ingredients
- 1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced about ½ cup
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour use Arrowroot Powder for Paleo
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced or 4 – 6 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
- 5 – 6 eggs
- fresh parsley, chopped
- fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Saute the andouille sausage until the outside caramelizes. Once it is cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside.1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced
- Next, add the olive oil to the same pan and scrape up the sausage crispies. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onions and garlic and saute it until the onions are translucent. (About five minutes.)2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onion, diced, 4 cloves garlic, minced
- After the onions are cooked, add the salt, pepper, thyme, and fennel seeds. Cook for a minute or two until it is fragrant.1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Sprinkle the flour over this mixture and stir until the flour is dissolved.2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Next, add the fresh tomatoes. Cook for another minute or two until the tomatoes are soft.1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
- Then add the canned crushed tomatoes and the Tony's Creole Seasoning.¼ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- Let this mixture simmer uncovered for twenty minutes. Stir as needed.
- After twenty minutes, if the mixture is too chunky for your liking, blend it with an immersion blender or smash up the tomatoes with a potato masher.
- Stir in the cooked andouille sausage and hot sauce and add more salt or pepper if needed.1 pound andouille or hot smoked sausage, diced, 2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
- With the backside of a spoon, create a small crater-type indention in the sauce for each egg then place the eggs in the tomato sauce.5 – 6 eggs
- Once all the eggs are in the sauce, cover and simmer for 5 – 8 minutes.
- Cook until the eggs are your desired consistency – runny yolks or soft-boiled. (Check at 4 or 5 minutes to make sure the eggs don't overcook.)
- Remove lid and serve.
- Garnish with salt, pepper, cilantro, or parsley. If you are not dairy-free, or Paleo, crumbling in goat cheese or feta is delicious. You can also eat this with some crunchy bread or warm pita.fresh parsley, chopped, fresh cilantro, chopped
Notes
Special Equipment Needeed
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
