For a unique twist on this favorite North African dish, you will love this lamb shakshuka with a tomato-beer sauce! Simmered with a medley of warm spices and tender lamb in a sauce unlike any other, this dish features a nest of eggs cooked just how you like them for a meal that’s perfect for brunch or dinner.

The Lamb Shakshuka with tomato-beer sauce on a wooden board with a saison behind it.

Why You Need to Make This Recipe

Maybe you've had shakshuka, but I doubt you've had a version like this. Not only does this recipe include lamb for a heartier meal, but that tomato-beer sauce really makes this shakshuka something special. Cooking with beer and wine adds such lovely depth to any dish, and this recipe is no exception.

Specifically, we use a saison, which is a French farmhouse ale and really elevates the flavor of the sauce. Saisons tend to show off earthy notes that match beautifully with our lamb as well as a citrusy, clove-forward yeast profile. Given shakshuka's spicy sauce, the clove naturally complements this dish while the citrus notes adds a welcomed brightness to the sauce.

Not a fan of beer? Don't worry. While the beer certainly gives this sauce a flavor boost, it doesn't taste like drinking a saison. Whether you're a beer lover or not, this shakshuka is delicious all around.

An aerial view of the Lamb Shakshuka with beer and cilantro on the side.

Ingredients

Before we start on the cooking process, let's gather our main lamb shakshuka ingredients.

Lamb: We use ground lamb for this recipe.
Eggs: Our other shining star of the dish.
Onion, garlic, red bell pepper and ginger: This gives us a great flavor base.
Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste: To make our sauce.
Ras el hanout: This is a Moroccan spice blend. These days, you can typically find it in large grocery stores, but if you can't find it, I've included a recipe below.
Saison: For that aforementioned wonderful depth to our sauce.
Cilantro: We add this at the end for a nice garnish.

The Lamb Shakshuka ingredients with black and white labels on a wooden board.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Now let's start cooking. To start, we heat some oil in a large cast-iron skillet and cook our lamb, onion and red bell pepper until the onions are nice and soft and our lamb browns like so.

Browning the lamb, onion and red bell pepper in a cast-iron skillet cooking until browned.

From here, we add our tomato paste, ras el hanout, garlic and ginger. This allows us to toast the tomato paste and spices, which make for an even richer dish.

Cooking the meat mixture and adding the spices and tomato paste.

And now for my favorite part. We add in our beer! No judgment if you pour an extra beer on the side to sip as you cook. You deserve it.

Pouring the beer into the meat mixture in the cast-iron skillet.

To get the most flavor out of our beer, we allow it to continue to cook so that it reduces.

Now we stir in our crushed tomatoes with some salt and allow the mixture to simmer. We don't want to put cold ingredients in the oven, so it's important that this mixture has time to heat.

Adding the crushed tomatoes to the cast-iron skillet to make the sauce.

And just like that, we're ready for my second favorite part -- adding our eggs!

To help the eggs stay intact, I like to take a large spoon and make a little well. It doesn't have to be perfectly shaped or anything. Just a bit of an indention does the trick. We simply crack our eggs into those wells, and we're ready to bake.

Cracking the eggs into the tomato sauce before going in the oven.

How to Serve

With those runny eggs and tomato sauce, I like to spoon each serving into a bowl. On the side, make sure you have some crusty bread for dipping -- or even better, some naan. My homemade garlic naan is a great choice, or you can pick up some from the store.

Using a spoon to break into the eggs to release the yolk into the sauce.

Expert Tips And FAQs

Not a fan of lamb? No problem. Ground beef would be another great option. You could even substitute ground chicken or turkey for a healthier option, though I prefer the flavor of lamb or beer.
Need to make it vegetarian? Also not a problem. Simply leave out the meat.
The exact cooking time will depend on how you like your eggs cooked, which is why I give a range.
If you can't drink beer, you can substitute stock.
I find it’s best to use eggs cold, right out of the refrigerator. They keep their shape better.

Perfect Pairing

For this beer-infused shakshuka, I used Great Divide Colette, so it only makes sense to crack open another can over this meal. Hey, I picked this beer in the recipe because of how well the flavors match the dish. Let's keep the theme going. If you can't find this particular saison, grab a different one from your favorite brewery.

Want a wine option? I love some bubbles, like Champagne, prosecco or cava, with our lamb shakshuka. With the rich egg yolks, lamb and medley of spices, our palates could use a refresher, which we get thanks to that effervescent carbonation.

For a different take on this classic egg dish, I hope you try this lamb shakshuka with a beer-tomato sauce. You will love how those warm spices, flavorful sauce and lamb come together.

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Cheers!