If you love shakshuka, you’re going to love these Salsa Poached Eggs! Just like shakshuka, these eggs are poached in a rich tomato-based sauce, but I’ve traded in the sweet bell pepper and paprika for a sort of cooked salsa made with onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, and green chiles, giving it a southwest spin. The result is a really tasty and filling dish that can be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. And, as always, I’ve got multiple serving suggestions and optional add-ins for you below so you can make it your own!
How to Serve Salsa Poached Eggs
I originally posted this recipe as a bowl meal served over grits. The tomatoey sauce goes perfectly with a hot bowl of grits, or even better yet, cheese grits, but it’s great served other ways as well. These saucy eggs also go great with tortilla chips. You can either serve the eggs in a bowl with tortilla chips crushed over top, or scoop the chips right into the sauce. Or, if you’re a rice person, serve the eggs and plenty of the sauce from the skillet over a bowl of warm rice.
What Else Can I Add?
I love this recipe because it’s really flexible. There are so many things you can add if you have them on hand. Try adding the following ingredients to the sauce:
- Jalapeños
- Chipotle powder (for extra smoky-spicy flavor)
- Black beans
- Chorizo
- Fire-roasted corn
And you can also get creative with the toppings! Here are some extra topping ideas for your salsa poached eggs:
- Cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Hot sauce
Make 4-6 Eggs
I cooked four eggs in my “salsa” but you could probably fit six if you wanted to try to stretch it a little further!
Salsa Poached Eggs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 15oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1 4oz. can diced green chiles ($0.67)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
- 4 large eggs ($0.93)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a deep skillet with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), green chiles (with juices), tomato paste, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, and water. Stir to combine.
- Allow the salsa to come up to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let the salsa simmer for about ten minutes, or until it is slightly thickened.
- Use the back of a spoon to make four indentations in the sauce. Crack one egg into each indentation.
- Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the eggs simmer in the sauce for 7-10 minutes, or until they reach your desired doneness (less time for runny yolks, more time for solid yolks).
- Once the eggs are cooked, garnish with sliced green onion and chopped cilantro, then serve with tortilla chips or over a bowl of grits.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Salsa Poached Eggs – Step By Step Photos
Start by dicing one yellow onion and mincing two cloves of garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a deep skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft.
Add one 15oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with juices), one 4oz. can of diced green chiles (with juices), 2 Tbsp tomato paste, ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ½ cup water. Stir to combine.
Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer the “salsa” for about 10 minutes. It should be a fairly thick sauce.
Use a spoon to make slight indentations in the sauce, then crack one egg into each indentation (four or six eggs total).
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the eggs simmer in the sauce for 7-10 minutes, or until they’ve reached your desired doneness. Set whites with runny yolks will be about seven minutes while a fully cooked yolk will take about ten minutes.
Garnish with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro (optional).
Serve hot with tortilla chips or over a bowl of rice or grits.
This is an absolutely DELICIOUS dish!!! I made it without green chiles (added some chilli poweder instead) and a sprinkling of cheese! It’s such a great breakfast!
I finally had the chance to make this today–it was amazing!!
wow, same concept as an Israeli shakshuka… my fav brunch! Check this out for similar ideas and famous shakshuka dishes: http://tastetlv.blogspot.com/2011/01/sha-shu-what-by-andrea-mann.html
just made this today. oh wow this is good! i didn’t feel the need to change anything in the recipe and it tasted amazing. thank you!
Thanks! I think I’ll make these for brunch! (Maybe some brinner. ;)
Caitlin, you can cook them as long as you need to until they’re to the point that you like them. Keeping a lid on the skillet will help the tops of the eggs cook. If you’re still leery, you can cook the eggs separately and then spoon the sauce over top :) Mmmm, now I want some :D
Beth,
How done are the eggs when you cook them this way? I’ve never poached an egg before. This looks so delicious, but I can’t stand a runny egg! Thanks for this great recipe!
Caitlin
This was another hit at our house. I served it w/ crispy oven potatoes! Yum!
This was delicious! No green chiles at my grocery store, so I substituted a minced chipotle pepper in adobo. Loved the idea of poaching the eggs right in the sauce. My husband and I devoured all of it!
thanks beth! i tried it with the chorizo but didn’t seem to strain it enough. haha. it was sooo good though. btw, thank you for all of the recipes! i make a lot of things that you post and they always turn out so great. :)
bohjudith – you could cook the chorizo first, drain it and then start with the onion step. That should work. :)
would adding chorizo to this recipe make it too soupy because of the grease?
I love this recipe.. this is quite similar to menemen, a Turkish dish, or shakshuka, a popular north-African/Middle Eastern dish. They’re almost the same, but use a variety of spices. :)
eating this now!
Well, just to let you know, I’ll be making this and posting it to my own blog. Thanks for the inspiration. I felt like I was getting a little boring as of late. I’ll be sure to link back to you on the post.