During our time in Vancouver, we tried lots of delicious restaurants, one being Medina – famous for its brunch.
The long line was worth the wait on a cold dreary morning and all I was craving was a hot beverage and a comforting pot of something warm and delicious. One bite into the tagine (a close cousin to the North African dish known as “shakshuka”) and the smoky, intense flavors in the tomato sauce, I was hooked!
I got to work recreating this dish once we returned home.
Origins of Shakshuka
Shakshuka is believed to have originated in North Africa and perhaps been inspired by a similar dish called saksuka from the Ottoman Empire.
Its popularity spread throughout the Middle East, especially in Israel, where it was embraced as a hearty, inexpensive, and simple dish. The Israeli version is thought to include eggs served over a seasoned tomato-based sauce.
The following is our plant-based (not traditional) take on the concept, made with chickpeas instead of eggs.
How to Make This Recipe
This 30-minute, 1-pot meal starts with a mixture of onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Next comes tomato puree (or diced tomatoes) and tomato paste for plenty of rich, hearty flavor.
Seasonings can practically be whatever you have in your pantry, but I felt that cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, coriander, and cardamom worked best, giving the dish a smoky, earthy, rich, and comforting flavor.
Next comes cooked chickpeas and olives to provide a little more saltiness and substance. Plant protein to the rescue!
This dish is quite amazing. It’s:
Smoky
Tomato-y
Rich
Hearty
Spicy
Comforting
Vegetable-forward
Protein- & fiber-rich
& Insanely easy to make!
This is the type of plant-based meal that can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. From what I gather, shakshuka is traditionally a baked egg dish, but I swapped in chickpeas for the protein. Serve with toasted bread, flatbread, or over rice, cauliflower rice, or gluten-free pasta of choice! I think this pairs especially well with my Garlicky Chickpea Kale Salad.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we can see what you came up with. Cheers, friends!
1-Pot Chickpea Shakshuka
Ingredients
SHAKSHUKA
- 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup diced white onion or shallot
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (3 cloves yield ~1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1-3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2-3 tsp coconut sugar or maple syrup (or omit if avoiding sugar)
- Sea salt to taste
- 2 tsp smoked or sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 pinch each cardamom and coriander (optional)
- 1 ½ 15-ounce cans cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
- 4-5 whole kalamata or green olives (optional // pitted and halved)
FOR SERVING optional
- Lemon wedges
- Bread (gluten-free or this recipe or flatbread)
- Fresh chopped parsley or cilantro
- Rice or cauliflower rice
- Brown rice pasta (I love Trader Joe’s organic brand with quinoa)
Instructions
- Heat a large rimmed metal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant.
- Add tomato puree or diced tomatoes, tomato paste, coconut sugar, sea salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper (optional), cardamom, and coriander (optional). Stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add chickpeas and olives (optional). Stir to combine. Then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to develop and marry with the beans.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more cumin or paprika for smokiness, cayenne for heat, coconut sugar for sweetness, cardamom and coriander for earthiness (or slight curry flavor), chili powder for smoke/heat, or olives for saltiness and to balance the tomato flavor. Cook longer, as needed, to develop flavors.
- Serve as is or with bread, pasta, or rice. I loved this alongside a kale salad, and it went especially well over gluten-free pasta! Garnish with fresh lemon juice, additional olives, and cilantro or parsley for extra flavor (optional).
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop until completely warmed through.
Video
Notes
*Recipes makes ~4 cups total.
Lina says
Oh my goodness, this was delicious. I followed the recipe as written except they didn’t have any bell pepper and I substituted maple syrup for the coconut sugar. I ate it alone with just some fresh parsley on top. Very flexible and forgiving recipe. This one will stay in my rotation!
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Lina! xo
Tota says
It is Egyptian recipe 😡
Peter Law says
Made this twice now we love it for its spicyness and earthy flavours definitely on out recipe list to keep.
Woohoo! Thanks for the great review, Peter. We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Shirlie Fieldhouse says
Beautiful dish! I used almost all of the ingredients but I used honey instead of the coconut sugar and I have to say everyone said it was delicious. I served it with brown rice. I’ll definitely be making this dish often.
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Shirlie!
David Grober says
Love this recipe and have make it many dozens of times over the past 3-4 years. My main modifications is sautéing a small eggplant for 10 minutes before adding everything else.
Sounds delicious, David! Thanks so much for sharing. We’re so glad you enjoy it!
Danielle says
Would avocado go with it?
Could be tasty!
Melanie Hall says
This is one of the most amazing dishes. I make it basically every week because it’s convenient and quick to pull together. I substitute ketchup for the tomato paste and sweeterener, just a small amount maybe 1-2 tsp? At the end. I squeeze a lime and add a bunch of chopped parsley. This dish is so savory! Thanks so much for this.
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Melanie!
Monica says
I had this for breakfast today and it was really yummy & easy to make. Only thing id note is that if you are not super great with chilli add a bit less than what the recipie says :)
Thank you for the recipie :D
Thanks for the review, Monica!
Pattie says
One word: Delicious!!!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Pattie! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
MAREE ROGERS says
THIS DISH IS AMAZING. I PREPARED IT OMITTING THE CORRIANDER BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANY IN MY SPICE INVENTORY. IT’S A HEARTY MEAL WITH A WONDERFUL AROMA AND EQUALLY DELICIOUS TASTE.
I RECENTLY MADE THIS DISH AND DIDN’T REALIZE I WAS OUT OF CHICK PEAS. I USED A WONDERFUL CHICK PEA PASTA INSTEAD, WITH A SALAD TO COMPLETE THE MEAL. THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST RECIPE ON THE NET.
Thanks for the review, Maree!
Sarah Hayes says
So fragrant and delicious! We enjoyed this over rice with a splash of hot sauce and fresh cilantro.
Yay! Sounds delish. Thanks for the review, Sarah!
Jennifer says
Thank you so much! We are still trying to figure out all of the things. I do know that we are feeling much better in just a week’s time by being on a Mediterranean diet. Thank you again!
xoxo!
Jennifer says
I tried to respond to the email I recieved, but that didn’t work. I was referring to the Fan Fav’s cookbook. I just would like to see the sodium and cholesterol content listed on all recipes. This is very, very important for my husbands health. Most nutrition facts are listed, but sodium isn’t always listed and cholesterol isn’t listed at all. I’m not trying to complain, but for some people this can be critical due to health issues. Thank you for understanding.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, thanks for the feedback! The recipes in the Fan Favorites cookbook are also available on the website, so we’d suggest searching on the website for those recipes you’re wondering about and you should find the full nutrition information. Any of our vegan recipes won’t have cholesterol since it comes from animal sources. Hope that helps!
Jennifer says
I downloaded your free recipe booklet. However I noticed that there are some recipes that do not have the sodium content listed in the nutriotion facts. This is important as we need to be on a low sodium and low cholesterol diet. I also noticed that none of the recipes have the cholesterol content listed. We are just trying to find wonderful flavors and recipes that will truly fit into a low cholesterol/sodium diet.
Thank you so much!
Hi Jennifer, are you referring to our Fan Favorites cookbook? The recipes should all be on our website with full nutrition information. Hope that helps!
Jennifer says
I made this recipe and loved it!!! I didn’t add any salt “to taste”, I used no salt added chickpeas as well as no salt added tomatoes. I also used brown sugar as a substitue for coconut sugar since I had that in the pantry, used coriander but not cardamom, no cayenne pepper. I also used both kalamata and green olives but I personally think that the kalamata suits the recipe better. I used shallots instead of white onion as well. Served it with pita bread. Will try it using basmati rice next time, or perhaps not as it is wonderful just by itself!!! We have switched to a Mediterranean diet for health reasons and I absolutley love it. I miss having all the flavors in my diet that I used to have. Thank you so much for this easy and yummy recipe. We will be making this again for sure!!!!
Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Jennifer! We’re so glad you enjoyed it! xo
Olivia says
I made this tonight as the recipe suggests and my husband and I thought it was pretty tomatoey. I saw in the comments that the kind of canned tomatoes can affect that maybe? What would you suggest doing for my leftovers? If it’s a bit acidic do you add a little more sugar?
Hi Olivia, adding more sugar and/or spices should help!
Shania says
OMG, this dish is amazing! And this is coming from someone who is a really picky eater. I’ve never had traditional Shakshuka before but I love love love this twist. I read a lot of the reviews before heading to the store so I opted to not add any coconut sugar or an alternative and I used a lot of extra paprika to give it a more smoky taste. Ate over some toasted sourdough. Can’t wait to try out some other recipes here xx
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Shania. Thanks for the great review!