Menemen vs Shakshuka: What's the Difference?

Quick answer: Menemen is a Turkish dish in which eggs are gently scrambled into tomatoes and green peppers. Shakshuka is a North African dish in which whole eggs are poached in a thicker tomato-pepper sauce seasoned with cumin and paprika. Menemen is softer and fresher-tasting. Shakshuka is saucier and more heavily spiced.

Key takeaways

• Origin: Menemen is Turkish. Shakshuka comes from the Maghreb, especially Tunisia and Algeria.
• Eggs: Menemen eggs are stirred and scrambled. Shakshuka eggs stay whole and are poached.
• Spices: Menemen uses salt, black pepper and pul biber. Shakshuka uses cumin, paprika and often chilli or harissa.
• Both are eaten from the pan with bread, and both taste best with ripe summer tomatoes.

Menemen vs shakshuka at a glance

Where does each dish come from?

Menemen

Menemen shares its name with a town near İzmir on Turkey's Aegean coast, and it's a staple of Turkish breakfasts and workers' cafés. It's home cooking: a few summer vegetables, eggs and butter in a small pan, ready in minutes. It's usually served in the pan, a small two-handled sahan.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka comes from the Maghreb. The name is usually linked to a Maghrebi Arabic word meaning "to mix" or "to shake". Jewish communities from North Africa took the dish to Israel in the 1950s, and it later became a café favourite there and then around the world (history). Every region has its own version, with added potatoes, cheese, sausages or herbs.

The big difference is how the eggs are cooked

This is the main difference between the two dishes. In menemen, the eggs are beaten lightly or cracked straight into the pan and stirred slowly over low heat, so they set into soft, creamy curds mixed through the tomato juices. The finished dish is spoonable, not firm.

In shakshuka, you make wells in a thick sauce and crack the eggs into them. The pan is covered so the whites set while the yolks stay liquid. When you eat it, the runny yolk mixes with the spiced sauce.

If you like soft scrambled eggs, make menemen. If you like dipping bread into runny yolks, make shakshuka.

Onion or no onion? Turkey's great breakfast debate

Ask Turks whether menemen should have onion and you'll start an argument. Purists say onion makes the dish sweet and slow to cook and hides the flavour of the tomatoes and peppers. Onion fans say a little softened onion adds depth, especially in winter when tomatoes are weaker. Both are acceptable. Our advice: leave out the onion in summer when tomatoes are at their best, and add half a finely chopped onion in winter. Shakshuka nearly always includes onion and garlic.

How to make menemen properly

1. Warm 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a small pan.
2. Add 2 to 3 chopped long green peppers (sivri or çarliston) and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until soft.
3. Add 3 ripe grated or finely chopped tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pul biber. Cook until most of the liquid has gone but the mixture is still juicy.
4. Crack in 3 to 4 eggs. Stir gently and slowly over low heat until they're just set. Take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet.
5. Serve at once, in the pan, with crusty bread.

Follow our tested menemen recipe, or add sausage with the sucuklu yumurta method.

How to make a quick shakshuka

1. Soften 1 sliced onion and 1 red pepper in olive oil for 8 minutes.
2. Add 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and chilli to taste, and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add 400 g of chopped tomatoes (fresh or tinned) and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until thick.
4. Make 4 wells, crack in the eggs, cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until the whites are set.
5. Top with crumbled feta and parsley.

Chef's tip: Out of season, use tinned tomatoes for shakshuka, since it simmers long enough to cook out any tinned flavour. For menemen, use the best fresh tomatoes you can find, or tomatoes you preserved in summer. Our guide to preserving menemen tomatoes shows how to jar them safely.

Which pepper flakes?

Menemen gets its gentle warmth from pul biber, the Turkish flakes sold abroad as Aleppo pepper. Shakshuka usually uses cumin and paprika, sometimes with harissa. Compare the options in our Aleppo pepper vs pul biber vs Urfa biber guide.

Popular variations of each

Menemen variations

• Kaşarlı menemen: Grated kaşar cheese is stirred in at the end until it melts.
• Beyaz peynirli menemen: Crumbled white cheese adds a salty tang. Go easy on the salt.
• Sucuklu menemen: Slices of sucuk are fried first, and the vegetables cook in the spiced fat.
• Mantarlı menemen: Sautéed mushrooms make it heartier.
• Cypriot-style: Diced hellim is folded in and warmed through.

Shakshuka variations

• Green shakshuka: Spinach, chard, leeks and herbs replace the tomatoes.
• With feta and olives: A popular café version.
• With merguez or chorizo: Spicy sausage cooked into the sauce.
• Tunisian-style: Sometimes with potatoes, courgettes or preserved vegetables.

The right pan

Menemen is traditionally cooked and served in a small, shallow two-handled pan called a sahan, often copper lined with tin. A 20 cm frying pan works for 2 people. Shakshuka needs a wider, deeper pan with a lid, such as a 28 cm skillet or cast-iron pan, so the sauce has room for the eggs.

Frequently asked questions

Is menemen the same as shakshuka?

No. Both cook eggs with tomatoes and peppers, but menemen scrambles the eggs into fresh vegetables, while shakshuka poaches whole eggs in a thicker sauce spiced with cumin and paprika.

Which is healthier, menemen or shakshuka?

They are very similar nutritionally: eggs, tomatoes and peppers. Menemen often uses butter while shakshuka uses olive oil, so if you want less saturated fat, use olive oil in either.

Does menemen have onions?

Traditionally it can go either way, and Turks argue about it. Many cooks leave onion out in summer to let the tomatoes stand out and add a little in winter.

What do you eat with menemen?

Crusty bread, simit or pide for scooping, with olives, cheese, cucumbers and black tea as part of a Turkish breakfast.

Is shakshuka Israeli or North African?

Shakshuka comes from the Maghreb, mainly Tunisia and Algeria. North African Jewish communities brought it to Israel in the 1950s, where it became a café staple. That's why many people outside the region think of it as Israeli.

Sources

• Shakshouka: origin, etymology and spread
• Menemen: Turkish egg dish

Written by the House Chef Cyprus editorial team, Cyprus. Last reviewed: September 2026.