Menemen is one of my favorite quick breakfasts. It’s deceptively simple to make, but it’s steps above a typical scramble. Soft eggs, barely set, are tangled up with jammy tomatoes and sweet onions. Menemen is humble and messy in all the right ways—and so satisfying.
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I’ve always had a soft spot for eggs that don’t try to show off. And that’s exactly what’s going on here. The tomatoes take over the pan, the eggs melt into them, and before you know it, you’ve got something a filling, nutritious breakfast that is way more than the sum of its parts.
Menemen comes from Turkey, where it’s eaten with crusty bread and maybe a cup of strong tea. There’s no cheese, no milk, no cream—just olive oil or butter, vegetables, spices, and eggs. That’s the beauty of it. The ingredients are probably already in your kitchen, and the payoff is a warm, rich, spoonable breakfast that you’ll want to scoop straight from the pan with that crusty bread.
You can keep the eggs soft and slightly runny or cook a bit longer to set them a little more, depending on how you like them. I tend to leave mine just shy of fully cooked—they keep cooking from the heat of the pan anyway. Serve it with hunks of rustic sourdough or toasted pita bread, or whatever bread you’ve got around. Just make sure there’s enough to soak up every last bit.
Ingredients Notes
The ingredient list is short ingredient list, but so quality matters. Use the best tomatoes you can find. Ripe summer tomatoes make a big difference here. In the off season, cherry tomatoes or even canned whole tomatoes can work in a pinch—just drain them first and give them a rough chop.
You can use olive oil or butter depending on what kind of richness you’re after. Olive oil keeps it traditional and slightly fruity, while butter makes it feel a little more luxurious.
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Menemen Is So Easy to Make
Despite the short ingredient list, Menemen turns into something a lot more than the sum of its parts in just a few steps:
- Sauté onions, garlic, tomatoes and spices until it all breaks down into saucy goodness.
- Crack some eggs into the sauce and use a spatula to scramble them.
- Cook until the eggs are just barely set and serve with a parsley garnish.
Expert Tips for Success
Menemen is one of those dishes that works best when you don’t overthink it, but a few tips help:
- Use ripe, juicy tomatoes for the best flavor and texture.
- Don’t rush the tomato-onion mixture—it should get soft and slightly saucy before you add the eggs.
- Crack the eggs directly into the pan rather than whisking them first to keep the texture interesting.
- Pull it off the heat while the eggs still look a little underdone; they’ll finish cooking from the pan’s residual heat.
More Ways to Enjoy Scrambled Eggs
Menemen is all about barely-set eggs cooked right in the pan, which makes it a great alternative to a more structured scramble. If you like that texture, you might also want to check out my Chinese Steamed Eggs or Japanese Tamago Kake Gohan—both lean into soft textures and let the eggs shine. Scrambled eggs also feature in Spicy Egg Fried Rice.
For something with a little more structure but still egg-forward, I also love a jammy soft-boiled egg on congee or a runny yolk cracked into kimchi fried rice. Eggs don’t need to be complicated. Sometimes all they need is a warm pan, a few pantry staples, and a piece of bread to drag through the middle.
Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs)
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive
- 1 piece onion finely chopped
- 2 pieces tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 pieces eggs
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped, for garnish
- Warm bread, to serve
Instructions
- Cook the onionsHeat the olive oil or butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until they’re soft and translucent, about 3 minutes
- Add tomatoes and spicesStir in the chopped tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Let everything simmer together until the tomatoes have softened and released their juices, about 5 more minutes.
- Add the eggsTurn the heat down to medium-low. Make small wells in the tomato mixture and crack the eggs directly into the pan. Gently stir to scramble them slightly, or leave the yolks intact if you prefer.
- Cook until just setLet the eggs cook gently, stirring now and then, until they’re set but still soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish and serveRemove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve right away with warm bread.
Notes
- If fresh tomatoes aren’t in season, you can substitute with drained canned whole tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
- Butter adds a richer taste, but olive oil keeps it lighter and more traditional.
- To reheat, warm gently in a pan over low heat, but the texture is best right after cooking.
Similar to shakshuka, but scrambled.