Vegan shakshuka with tofu & feta

This time of year, I’m all about the warm breakfast.

I want something that’s cozy, tasty, and filling.

Vegan shakshuka is just the answer.

Stewed tomatoes & bell peppers make a comforting base. While slabs of eggy tofu, baby spinach, and salty vegan feta sit on top.

In this post:

Shakshuka (pronounced shack-shoe-kah or shock-shoe-kah) is an egg dish that’s common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa.

To make traditional shakshuka, eggs are poached in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce. It’s also known as eggs in purgatory.

Finally, shakshuka is served with bread or pita to spoon up the sauce. (To keep this dish gluten free, serve with GF bread, hashbrowns, or rice.)

It’s easy to make vegan shakshuka at home by simply replacing the eggs with eggy tofu and using vegan feta as a garnish.

Most of the time, shakshuka is made with cumin and paprika. However, I prefer to lean in a more Italian direction with basil and oregano.

While shakshuka is known as a brunch dish, there’s no reason you couldn’t enjoy this tomato stew for lunch or dinner!

Oil: Avocado oil is my go-to, but use whatever neutral-flavored cooking oil you like.

Onion: I typically use yellow onion for this recipe.

However, you could use white or red onion. Or replace with an equal amount of shallots or leeks.

Bell pepper: This adds color and sweetness. Use red, orange, or yellow bell pepper.

Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds wonderful flavor. It can be replaced with ½ teaspoon of granulated garlic, if necessary.

Canned tomatoes: If you can’t find fire roasted, replace with an equal amount of chopped stewed tomatoes.

Herbs & seasonings: You’ll need dried oregano, dried basil, granulated onion, and salt.

Tofu: For easiest use, I recommend the super firm variety in vacuum packaging, because it doesn’t need to be pressed first.

Nutritional yeast flakes: A sprinkling of nutritional yeast flakes adds umami.

Look for it in natural grocery stores, Trader Joe’s, or online.

Kala namak: This sulfurous black salt adds an eggy flavor to the tofu. Look for it in Indian grocery stores or online.

Baby spinach: A handful of baby spinach adds color & nutrients.

Vegan feta: Use store-bought or homemade vegan feta. Violife and Herbivorous Butcher also sell vegan feta. (Vegan feta from Trader Joe’s has recently been discontinued.)

Alternatively, it can be replaced with avocado or omitted.

Sauté onions, red bell peppers, and garlic in oil.

Add a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes with juices.

Season the stew with the following seasonings:

• Dried oregano
• Dried basil
• Granulated onion
• Salt

Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Use an immersion blender to break up some of the tomatoes and peppers into a stew.

(Don’t have an immersion blender? Just use a spoon to break up pieces as they soften.)

While the tomato stew thickens, make the eggy tofu in either circles or rectangular slabs.

Cut vacuum-packed, extra firm tofu into ¼ to ½ inch thick slices.

Brown the slabs in a non-stick skillet with oil.

Flip. Sprinkle on more seasonings. And flip again to seal in the seasonings.

Divide the tomato sauce between four shallow bowls or mini cast iron skillets.

Top each one with two slices of eggy tofu, torn pieces of baby spinach, and vegan feta crumbles.

Serve with toast or crusty bread.

It’s easy to make this dish your own by varying the ingredients.

• For a spicier dish, use canned tomatoes with green chilies or add red pepper flakes.
• For a softer poached egg-like experience, use silken tofu instead of super firm.
• For shakshuka without tofu, top the stew with eggplant parmesan, browned slices of polenta, roasted chickpeas, fried zucchini, folded Just Egg, or air fried hashbrown patties.
• Instead of or in addition to vegan feta, top with slices of avocado.
• Instead of baby spinach, garnish the dish with fresh parsley, cilantro, or fresh basil leaves.

Vegan shakshuka stores beautifully in the refrigerator. That makes it great for meal planning!

Keep the tomato & bell pepper stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Without toppings, it will keep for about a week. (Tofu has a shorter shelf life once opened.)

When you’re ready to eat, quickly make eggy tofu as a topping. Then warm the stew in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.

The stew (without tofu & toppings) also freezes well. Simply store in a freezer-proof container.

Then thaw in the refrigerator once you’re ready to use it. Or use the defrost function on the microwave.

📖 Recipe

Vegan shakshuka

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 2 votes

Vegan shakshuka is a savory brunch that's topped with eggy tofu, baby spinach, and non-dairy feta. Serve it with toasted bread, buttered with non-dairy butter. Then use the toast as a scooping device to sop up every last bit of goodness.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Vegan

Keyword: tofu dish, vegan brunch, warm breakfast

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 teaspoons avocado oil divided, or other high heat, neutral-flavored oil
• ▢ ½ cup chopped yellow onion
• ▢ ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 14.5 ounces diced & fire roasted tomatoes* including juices from can
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon granulated onion divided
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 16 ounces super firm tofu in vacuum packaging**
• ▢ 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kala namak
• ▢ Handful of baby spinach torn into smaller pieces
• ▢ 4 ounces vegan feta cheese Or use sliced avocado

Instructions

• ▢
  Bring a medium-sized pot to a medium heat with one teaspoon of oil.

  Add onion, red bell peppers, and minced garlic to the pot. Saute several minutes, until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
• ▢
  Add the diced and fire roasted tomatoes to the pot with their juices. Season with ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon granulated onion, and a pinch of salt. (You'll use the remaining teaspoon of granulated onion later in the recipe.)

  Turn up the heat and bring it to a simmer. Then turn the heat to low, and allow the sauce to cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
• ▢
  After the sauce has started to break down a little and become stew-like, use an immersion blender to further break down the tomatoes and peppers. Don't blend it completely smooth. Some chunks are good. Aim for about 75% smooth.

  If you don't have an immersion blender, simply use your spoon to break up the tomatoes and peppers a little as they soften.
• ▢
  Cook for about ten more minutes, allowing the flavors to combine, the garlic to mellow, and the sauce to thicken.
• ▢
  During the last ten minutes of the tomato sauce's cooking time, make the eggy tofu.

  Cut the tofu into slices.

  If you don't want any scraps to go to waste, simply slice the tofu into rectangular slices. The slices should be ¼ to ½ inch thick. Cut 8 slices of tofu.

  OR

  If you want round tofu slices that look like eggs, you will need to use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter on the tofu. I recommend cutting the tofu along the widest part of the rectangle, so that you have as big of pieces as possible from which to cut your circles. So that the circles are as sturdy as possible, cut them into ½ inch thick slices. Then use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut 8 circles.
• ▢
  Bring a non-stick skillet to a medium heat along with the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil. Put the tofu slices onto the skillet.

  Brown each side for a couple of minutes each. After one side has browned, add a sprinkling of granulated onion, nutritional yeast flakes, and kala namak.

  Flip the tofu slices. Then sprinkle more granulated onion, nutritional yeast flakes, and kala namak on the other side. Flip one more time to seal in the spices.

  (You'll need about ⅛ teaspoon of each of the spices on each tofu slab, but don't worry too much about being precise.)
• ▢
  Divide the tomato sauce between four shallow bowls or mini cast iron skillets. Top each one with two slices of eggy tofu. Finish each one with a few torn pieces of baby spinach and vegan feta crumbles. Serve with toast.

Notes

*Some types of canned fire roasted tomatoes include green chiles. It adds a pleasant kick of heat to the dish. If your tomatoes don’t include peppers but you’d like a little heat, add about ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne or red pepper flakes with the other spices.

I used oregano and basil in this dish, because I like the way they taste in a tomato sauce. However, paprika and cumin are more common in shakshuka. If you’d prefer a more traditional taste, replace the basil and oregano with equal amounts of paprika and cumin.

If you don’t want to make homemade vegan feta, I recommend Violife, Trader Joe’s, or Herbivorous Butcher feta.

**You will likely have tofu left over. But this is a good block size if you want to cut circles out for the shakshuka and just use those. You can use the remaining scraps later in a tofu scramble.

If you have water-packed tofu, you’ll want to press it first. Here are directions on how to press tofu.

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Nutrition

Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 446mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 703IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 3mg

Content updated March 10, 2023. Originally posted November 7, 2019.