Green Shakshuka With Avocado and Lime

Green Shakshuka With Avocado and Lime
David Malosh for The New York Times
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(5,501)
Notes
Read community notes

This easy twist on classic North African shakshuka (traditionally eggs baked in tomato-pepper sauce, with cumin, paprika and cayenne) starts with an onion-garlic-chard sautéed until gently wilted: a nest of sorts for steam-poaching eggs. Once the eggs go in, be sure to keep the flame low and keep the pan covered while cooking, so the eggs stay soft and almost oozy at their yolk, and the Cotija melts a bit. The chard and the half-and-half create a sort of light broth at the bottom of the shakshuka, which holds so much flavor and is one of the dish’s charms. Lastly, be daring with smoked hot sauce at the end: It’ll push the creamy avocado, cheese and eggs to their peak.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
  • Print Options


Advertisement


Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3tablespoons olive oil
  • 1yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1large bunch/1½ pounds Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated and chopped (about 9 cups)
  • ½teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
  • cup half-and-half or heavy cream
  • 8large eggs
  • ¼teaspoon black pepper, plus more as needed
  • 3ounces Cotija cheese or queso fresco, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
  • 1avocado, sliced, for serving
  • 1small jalapeño, thinly sliced, for serving
  • Chopped cilantro, for serving
  • Smoked hot sauce, for serving
  • Corn tortillas, toasted, for serving
  • 1lime, cut into wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

471 calories; 37 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 803 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until softening, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 5 minutes more.

  2. Step 2

    Raise the heat to medium-high, add the chard stems, and cook to release some liquid, 5 minutes. Add the chard leaves, in batches, adding more as they wilt, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until completely wilted, 3 to 5 minutes more. Season with ½ teaspoon salt, pour in the half-and-half and stir loosely together.

  3. Step 3

    Make eight small hollows in the cooked chard with the back of a spoon. Gently crack an egg into each hollow. Cover with a lid or foil and cook on medium-low until the eggs are just set, but still soft, about 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the lid, sprinkle with salt, pepper, Cotija, avocado, jalapeño and cilantro. Serve with smoked hot sauce, toasted tortillas and lime wedges.

Tip
  • Some cast-iron skillets come with a matching lid, which is useful for making the skillet operate a bit like a mini stove-top oven, cooking evenly and basting the food with flavor and steam. If you don’t have one, use a lid from another pan, or two layers of thick foil, folded at the center and large enough to cover your pan.

Ratings

4 out of 5
5,501 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Nothing to do with the food (which looks awesome) - but for cast iron pan covers, I frequently use silicone "suction lids" (found everywhere on the web). They work like a charm, hold the heat, can be used as well in the fridge for bowl covers on all those differently-sized bowls - and they hang right over my stove. Best little investment (very small!) ever.

Perhaps some chopped tomatillos would add a nice, green touch of acid that would go well with the jalapeños and smoked hot sauce?

Substituted greek yogurt thinned with lime juice for the cream and only used 4 eggs. It was perfect!

I would recommend turning the heat way down at the end when adding eggs and keeping a close eye on them if you want them runny. Also, adding cheese during egg cooking time will help get the melted action going on before eggs overcook. :) I thought overall this was a fantastic dish, I added zucchini for some additional vegetable action. The flavors all worked well together and the lime added the pop to the entire dish.

I made this for brunch today. It was a big hit. I followed the recipe as written, but made some additions as suggested in comments. They definitly livened up the flavour of the dish in a positive way. I added 2-3 teaspoons of mild smokey paprika, a small chopped jalapeno and 4-5 chopped tomatillos to the onions while sauteeing. I sauteed onions mix till almost caramalized before adding chard. As others said, watch eggs carefully! lime juice and cilantro are a must. I will definitely make again!

This was ok. The cotija, fresh jalepeno, cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce were the flavor pop. Otherwise it has a deep earthy flavor of chard and cream, lacking an acid, which is not what I expected of shakshuka. Feels a bit heavy with the cream. Would forego the avocado next time, as there is already plenty of fat going on in this dish. Made full veg and only 4 eggs to serve 2 people who eat a lot of veg. Had 1 egg left over. Served with corn tortillas toasted on cast iron griddle.

We've made this a few times and found a few tricks to improve it, as well as make it a good weeknight dinner for two. We halve the recipe, but keep the greens the same and add a teaspoon or two of chipotle en adobo during the green-wilting step. Instead of tortillas, we also toasted a slice of sourdough and spread the compound butter from Melissa Clark's Green Garlic Toast recipe. The chipotle en adobo *really* adds depth to the dish and the garlic toast turns it into easy decadence.

This was terrific! Used goat feta cheese and it really punched up the flavor. Cilantro, hot sauce and fresh corn tortillas took this over the top. Took advice from others to cook for less time and I will cut it to 5 min at the end for the eggs since they continue to cook in the pan. Keeper!

Ooo great tip! I'm also in Switzerland, and I tend to just use a real nice salty feta anytime these other crumbly cheese are called for. I'll look for Sbrinz next time and give it a try. Also I've found it ups the flavor, tang, and health factor to use greek yogurt instead of the cream.

I'm doing keto (aka low carb diet) so this was a great recipe for that. I swapped out broccoli rabe for chard since that's what I had on hand and used heavy cream instead of half and half. I also used Frank's hot sauce. Otherwise, I followed this recipe but used only 3 eggs since it was just me. Super delicious and easy. Highly recommend.

Chars stems are super good! They are toothsome, tender, and flavorful, and often colorful. Cut them in thick slices—maybe 3/4 inch—and simmer or steam with the leaves till tender. Sometimes I add them a minute before the chopped leaves. I learned to love them while WWOOFing in France, over there many farmers grow chard specifically for the stems! It’s like celery without any of the stringiness, but more tender, with a mild and surprisingly savory spinachy flavor.

Made with rainbow chard, shallot sautéed with a smidge of smoked paprika, and goats cheese. Topped with thinned Greek yogurt, cholula, and sliced jalapeños. Easy, bright, healthy, and delicious. A keeper.

I begin this dish with some cooked rice and then add the chard. The rice adds a little more substance. I also toss in some red pepper flakes with the chard.

Cook eggs for less time - 7 minutes is too long. Added sour cream instead of cream. Used beet greens

We live in Switzerland (where "Swiss chard" is just "chard"), so cotija isn't easy to find, so used Sbrinz instead, and used creme fraiche for the cream. Was really delightful, served with fresh bread in lieu of tortillas.

This should be a five star recipe. It’s easy, affordable, and a great way to use up all that chard that comes in your CSA box. I was skeptical of the recipe at first as I wasn’t sure how the ingredients would come together, but it was delicious!

We made it with kale and frozen spinach. Used cashew milk instead of cream and then more water because it was a bit too dry. For the hot sauce for serving we used a sauce of yogurt, mayo, franks, smoked paprika, and garlic powder which worked very well with it. Added some saucy-ness to a not very saucy version of shakshuka.

Feta, no avocado. Made with crispy leftover baked potatoes pan fried in butter and some of the onions Don’t go longer than 7 mins for eggs or they will be cooked inside

Made me actually like Swiss chard I caved to the Instagram marketing on this one and will admit that once I got all the ingredients home, I sort of scratched my head. I wasn't convinced it would work out. Or that it would even count as shakshuka. Subbed in nondairy half-and-half and a non-dairy crumbly/soft smoked cheddar. I'm no chef and I'm sure I didn't do it justice, but it was delish. Enjoy!

Delicious! I added cumin and a drained can of green chiles to the veg mix. Otherwise made as written, except that I used only four eggs and the whole thing served two. I think this will become a regular in our rotation. A great way to use up a nice bunch of swiss chard from the farmers market.

I miss the sauciness of true shakshuka with the recipe. Also I recommend using way more spices in the actual cooking to get some of that heat (cumin, cayenne, etc.)

Made this for dinner & this is the kind of recipe that's great at any time of day. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner. Came together very quickly. Made this using home-grown greens and felt like a great way to welcome the spring.

Additions: A dash of coriander and cumin A small can of green hatch chilis Subs: A tablespoon of sour cream instead of half and half Kale instead of chard This ended up being a hybrid of this recipe and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Green Shakshuka. So flavorful and fast!

I could not find swiss chard but used spinach instead. Worked out fine. I added smoke paprika but also added our homemade smoked hot sauce. It was delicious. WE didn't end up using any lime because the hot sauce had a sourness to it already. Easy meal to make. I will definitely make again.

I have made this twice and absolutely love it. I used a bunch and a half of chard and reduced jalapeño serving on my own personal serving. It's so healthy and delicious. Thank you for this version of Shakshuka.

Delicious! I am a lone woman among three men who don't exactly love greens, but everyone gobbled this down. This was a great way to use swiss chard and we will be repeating this for sure. The Mexican flavors were a really nice twist.

Made as prescribed. Delicious

A new staple for us. The base itself is good and can be modified so many ways. I now add: 5-6 tomatillos, 3-4 roasted and diced poblanos, smoked paprika, greek yogurt instead of half/half, goat feta instead of cotija.

Added a lot of extra cheese, and used kale from my garden instead of chard. A huge hit with the whole family. Don’t skimp on the hot sauce!!!

I loved this! My first attempt. Only problem I had was my stovetop runs hot so I had to reduce heat alot. Thanks for the suggestions on the smoked paprika. It made a big difference. Will do again learning from my first try. So healthy and filling!

Private notes are only visible to you.

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.