Vegan Shakshuka
You don’t need to miss out on your favourite brunch recipes, just because you’re vegan. Let me show you how to make Vegan Shakshuka at home!
Page Contents
What is shakshuka?
Shakshuka is a dish that is traditionally made of eggs that have been poached in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic. It is often flavoured with spices like chilli, paprika, cumin, and nutmeg. Fresh herbs can be added before serving.
After its rise in popularity, it now appears on brunch menus all over the country! It is often served with chunky slices of sourdough which is perfect for soaking up the spicy shakshuka sauce.
Given it’s an egg based dish, you might be wondering how we are going to make shakshuka vegan. But I’ve found a clever way to make a vegan egg from just silken tofu and kala namak. (More on that below).
How to make a spicy shakshuka sauce
As with all good sauces, shakshuka starts by frying onion and garlic in olive oil. You sweat the onions until they are starting to get sticky with caramelised edges before adding in the garlic. Before adding anything else, the chilli and cumin gets added to the pan and toasted to release their aromas.
Next the peppers get added and fried until they are softened before the tomatoes are finally added with a little stock. It’s all then left to simmer until it has thickened.
Once cooked you’re left with soft, sweet veggies in a rich, tick tomato sauce.
How to make a vegan egg
In a traditional shakshuka recipe you would create little dips in the sauce, crack in your eggs, and let them poach in the spicy sauce. The good news is that you don’t have to miss out on the eggs if you follow a plant based diet.
Although I haven’t yet worked out how to make a gooey egg yolk, I have discovered that silken tofu makes a great substitute for egg whites and a set yolk. You can colour the tofu yellow with a little turmeric to make it look more like an egg yolk.
Kala namak (or black salt) gives the tofu more of an egg like flavour. To make the egg you just whizz the tofu and kala namak together and add it to the spicy shakshuka sauce. It will set ever so slightly so you get that egg like texture too!
What to serve with Vegan Shakshuka
The obvious choice to serve with this dish is a big chunk of crusty white bread. It’s perfect for mopping up the spicy tomato sauce and the egg spreads beautifully too. If you want to make your own bread then why not check out my simple white loaf recipe. Alternatively, why not try your hand at a basic sourdough loaf for extra flavour.
The recipe
Vegan Shakshuka
Ingredients
For the spicy shakshuka sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 green chilli
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 peppers
- 400 g tinned tomatoes
- 100 ml vegetable stock
- 4 plum tomatoes
- salt and pepper
For the vegan eggs
- 200 g silken tofu
- 0.5 tsp kala namak black salt
- 0.25 tsp turmeric
To serve
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
To make the sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt.
- Sweat the onions for 8-10 minutes or until they are starting to soften.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes before adding the cumin and chilli for another two minutes.
- Next add the peppers to the pan and cook for 10-15 mins, or until they are soft and starting to get a little sticky along with the onions.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan along with the vegetable stock and season with the salt and pepper.
- Let this simmer until the tomatoes have broken down slightly and the sauce has thickened.
To make the vegan eggs
- While the sauce is simmering, place the silken tofu and kala namak in a blender and process until smooth.
- Remove 4 tbsp of the tofu, this will be the “egg white”.
- Mix the 4 tbsp with the turmeric to make the “egg yolks”.
To finish the dish
- Add the sauce to an oven dish.
- Using the back of a spoon create 4 dips for the vegan “eggs”.
- First spoon the vegan “egg whites” into the pockets then add a spoonful of the vegan “egg yolks”.
- Place the dish in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the vegan eggs are hot and cooked through.
- Roughly chop the parsley, then scatter over the dish.
- Finally serve with toasted bread.
Nutrition
Variations
You can add any vegetables you like to this dish. I often like to add some leafy green vegetables like spinach or kale. Their earthy flavour works really well with the sweet and spicy sauce.
What vegetables will you add?
More vegan breakfast and brunch recipes
If you like this recipe then you’ll love some of my other vegan recipes that are the perfect way to start your day.
The breakfast archive
For the full list of breakfast recipes on the blog, have a browse of the breakfast recipe archive.