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This traditional Turkish menemen recipe is quick and easy to make with a few basic ingredients, and extra-delicious when served up with some good crusty bread.
Meet my new favorite way to eat eggs — menemen! ♡
We fell in love with this traditional Turkish egg scramble during our very first morning in Istanbul, and then promptly proceeded to order it literally every single day for the rest of our trip. We couldn’t get enough of it!
If you are new to this dish, as we were, it’s just a simple veggie sauté made with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and a subtle hint of spice, with a few eggs soft-scrambled on top. It is then whisked to the table while the dish is still hot and bubbly, and served with a side of crusty bread, which is meant to be dipped right in so that you can spread the menemen on top while it is still warm. And oh my word, together, the combo is downright delicious.
Pretty much every Turkish breakfast we were served in Istanbul offered various options for menemen — some with cheese (similar to feta), some with sausage, ham or pastrami, some with spinach, some with extra veggies, etc. So know that there are plenty of ways to customize this dish, if you would like! Barclay and I have grown to love just the basic recipe served with toasted bread and some (non-traditional, yet highly-recommended) slices of avocado on top. It’s nice and healthy, and super simple and satisfying. I’m certain you all are going to love it too.
So let’s make some menemen!
Menemen Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Some of the menemen we enjoyed during our trip to Istanbul!
Menemen Ingredients:
To make traditional Turkish menemen, you will need the following ingredients:
Olive oil and butter: Both are traditionally used in this dish — olive oil to sauté the veggies, butter to stir into the tomato sauce to make it extra creamy. Although you are welcome to use only olive oil (or vegan butter) if you prefer not to cook with dairy.
Onion: A white or yellow onion will do! Or, we were also served this dish once made with green onions, which was also delicious.
Green pepper: We loved the slightly-spicy green peppers that were traditionally used in Turkey for this dish, but unfortunately they are not easy to find in the United States (or here in Spain). So as a substitute, you are welcome to use a large poblano or Anaheim pepper, which would be closest to the Turkish variety. Or you could also just use any color of traditional bell pepper too.
Tomatoes: It’s traditional to hand-grate fresh tomatoes for this recipe, which you are more than welcome to do when they are in season during the summertime. (In which case, you would need to grate or dice 1 pound of ripe tomatoes.) But to make this dish a bit more accessible year-round, I have written the recipe using a simple can of diced tomatoes, with their juices included.
Aleppo pepper, salt and pepper: I made this dish using traditional Aleppo pepper, which you can order online if it’s not available at your local grocery store. Or as a substitute, you are welcome to just use a combo of paprika and cayenne (or crushed red pepper flakes).
Eggs: I made this dish with four eggs, but feel free to use two or three if you would like a higher sauce-to-egg ratio.
Garnishes: Finally, you are welcome to top this dish with chopped parsley or chives, if you would like. I also love adding on some sliced avocado, which probably isn’t traditional, but it is delicious. It is also traditional to serve menemen with some good bread, which you can use to dip up the menemen and use it as a spread.
How To Make Menemen:
To make Turkish menemen, simply…
Sauté the veggies: Sauté some finely-diced onion and peppers in olive oil until softened.
Add tomatoes and seasonings: Add in the tomatoes, butter, Aleppo pepper, plus a generous pinch of salt and black pepper, and stir for a bit until the tomatoes are nice and hot.
Add the eggs: Crack the eggs directly onto the tomato mixture and let them cook for about a minute or so. Then use a spoon to break up the yolks and briefly stir the eggs into the tomato mixture. (I recommend only partially stirring in the eggs, so that they are nice and swirly on top.) Continue cooking until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness. Traditionally the eggs are cooked until just barely set, yet still soft, about 3 to 4 minutes total.
Serve. Serve immediately with your desired garnishes, along with a few slices of toasted bread to scoop up the menemen, and dive in!
Possible Variations:
There are all sorts of delicious ways that you can customize your menemen, if you would like. For example, feel free to…
Add garlic and/or extra herbs: We were told that garlic is also sometimes used in menemen, which I think would be delicious sautéed in with the onions. Feel free to also add in a pinch of dried oregano if you would like, and/or top the menemen with chopped fresh parsley.
Add cheese: Many of the places we visited in Istanbul also offered menemen options with different kinds of local cheeses. The version I loved best used a cheese similar to feta, which was stirred in with the eggs at the end of the recipe.
Add sausage: There was also a popular version made with sausage, which you could sauté in with the onions at the beginning of the recipe.
Use fresh tomatoes: As mentioned above, feel free to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned if they happen to be in season! You would need 1 pound of fresh tomatoes, grated or finely diced, in place of 1 can.
This traditional Turkish egg scramble is quick and easy to make with a few basic ingredients, and extra-delicious when served up with some good crusty bread. See notes above for possible variations.
Ingredients
Scale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 large green bell pepper*, diced
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
Sauté the veggies: Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and peppers and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
Add tomatoes and seasonings: Reduce heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, butter, Aleppo pepper, plus a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir until evenly combined, then sauté for 2 more minutes, until the tomatoes are nice and hot.
Add the eggs: Crack the eggs on top of the tomato mixture. Let the eggs cook for about 1 minute. Then use a spoon to break the yolks and briefly stir the eggs into the tomato mixture. (I recommend only partially stirring in the eggs, so that they are nice and swirly on top.) Continue cooking until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness. (Traditionally the eggs are cooked until just barely set, yet still soft, about 3 to 4 minutes total.)
Serve. Serve immediately with your desired garnishes, along with some crusty sliced bread for dipping.
Green peppers: Since Turkish-style green peppers are difficult to find in the United States, I recommend using either a large green bell pepper, poblano pepper or Anaheim pepper (this one has slightly more heat) in its place.
Aleppo pepper substitute: If you do not have access to dried Aleppo pepper, you can just add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus a pinch of either cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes. (And as always, feel free to use more/less Aleppo pepper or cayenne to taste, depending on how much heat you prefer.)
Hey Ali! This looks wonderful, but wanted to let you know there is a mistype in the “How To Make Menemen” section where you’re describing the steps… in step 2 you wrote “…and stir for a bit until the eggs are nice and hot.” but I believe you meant until the tomatoes are nice and hot :)
Yum! Always looking for savory breakky and brunch options. Oats and yogurt get a little repetitive. This looks like pretty good scramble and too easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
For some really weird reason, when you order menemen from a stand in a bus station in Turkey, it often comes in a different form – same veggie stew, but then they make little indentations in the top of the stew and break an egg into each one, then replace the lid on the plan and let the eggs poach – then you can have runny yolk with your stew. I’ve no idea why that seems to be the tradition in bus/railway stations, whereas everywhere else serves them as you have described above (though yours looks much much nicer than some of the menemen we have been served in Turkey – sometimes it’s just a bit of egg slop!) Yours looks delicious.
YUM. I often make a shakshuka like dish using your arrabiatta sauce recipe, and this reminds me of that but with scrambled eggs rather than poached!
Hollie —
Not sure why but mine turned out very watery….maybe I should have used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes? The picture showed a red sauce but mine was just water….looked like I made a weak stew and then added eggs….any suggestions?
This recipes looks so interesting! It could be a good brinner option too. I’ve never heard of menemen, but love to hear what other countries eat for breakfast. I can’t wait to make this for my family.
I just love your website! It really is my favorite food blog of all time. You have a way with words that speaks to me; not to mention your easy to follow recipes and food pictures. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your website!
I felt compelled to rush out and make this. So good!I added two cloves of garlic, a poblano pepper, paprika and roasted red pepper. Great flavor and a great way to boost my veggie intake. Thanks for sharing!
Just made this for lunch. Yum!! Added the avocado and feta. So delicious and a great alternative to shakshuka which my husband objects to because of the runny yolks. The whole family loved this! Thanks!
Growing up in an Italian household, we always had potatoes cooked in the sauce and then we made indentations to put the eggs in. We then put the lid on and cooked them to our desired doneness. I grew up always eating it so to me it doesn’t seem strange. You would scoop out the potatoes and eggs and eat it with bread.
Talk about an easy dish! We served this over leftover pita chips so it became a Turkish chilaquiles in the end. We chose the Anaheim pepper route and enjoyed the heat level as well as the dish overall :) Keep traveling to new places so you bring back new recipes — I made this after buying Aleppo pepper for the lentil soup and am very happy with my decisions!
This recipe is friggen awesome. I made it for dinner last night (no Aleppo pepper, i used paprika), had left overs for lunch & then made it again for dinner tonight. My addition is a squeeze of lemon. A squeeze of lemon is my signature move in cooking
Really, really good. I used an Anaheim pepper, and ancho chili powder with a bit of cayenne. Eggs took about 8 minutes to cook. Added 1/4 lb sausage and a sprinkle of feta. Will definitely make this again, we loved it.
I discovered Menemen at one of the Turkish spots on Upper St. in Islington. make mine with several types of peppers – usually some hot green peppers like Serranos, plus Poblano or Anaheims, and some red bell pepper. Always fresh tomatoes (I like the “on the vine” style.) I let the eggs poach to medium – runny yolks. Lots of cayenne (i like it quite hot). Serve with feta and a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.
For spices, I either go North African style with a Berbere spice mix, or Indian with cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and garam masala.
I make this for breakfast 1-2 times a week. I love the warm glow I have afterwards that lasts half the day.
This was so good, Not my normal kind of breakfast but delicious! We had it with Ezekiel toast since that is what we had. Thank you! Making your drunken noodles tonight now : )
Perfect!
Onion is the best to add (some Turkish people don’t use onion – I disagree!) I separate the white and yellow part of egg and first cook the white and then add yellow part and don’t cook the yellow too much so it has the best creamy taste :)
Hi i am from Turkey. Thanks for lovely recipe. I liked this blog also happy for your Turkey visit. Another traditional recipe is “KISIR” looks like Lebanon’s Tabulaeh
Greetings from Ankara the capital of Turkey
Tuğba 🥰🖐😻
Another great recipe !! Did not have any of the authentic ingredients, used smoked paprika, cayenne and some oregano. Served with Avocado and feta…delicious 😋
That looks amazing!! Yum!!
Will you be doing a travel recap of Istanbul for the blog? ?
Hey Ali! This looks wonderful, but wanted to let you know there is a mistype in the “How To Make Menemen” section where you’re describing the steps… in step 2 you wrote “…and stir for a bit until the eggs are nice and hot.” but I believe you meant until the tomatoes are nice and hot :)
You were so right about the Anaheim pepper.. it is the closest pepper that can be used for menemen. Making it right now!
But without onion! ??
Yum! Always looking for savory breakky and brunch options. Oats and yogurt get a little repetitive. This looks like pretty good scramble and too easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Yummy! My kind of egg dish! Happy New Year! I’m still showing off your Christmas Video card! Still love it!
For some really weird reason, when you order menemen from a stand in a bus station in Turkey, it often comes in a different form – same veggie stew, but then they make little indentations in the top of the stew and break an egg into each one, then replace the lid on the plan and let the eggs poach – then you can have runny yolk with your stew. I’ve no idea why that seems to be the tradition in bus/railway stations, whereas everywhere else serves them as you have described above (though yours looks much much nicer than some of the menemen we have been served in Turkey – sometimes it’s just a bit of egg slop!) Yours looks delicious.
YUM. I often make a shakshuka like dish using your arrabiatta sauce recipe, and this reminds me of that but with scrambled eggs rather than poached!
Not sure why but mine turned out very watery….maybe I should have used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes? The picture showed a red sauce but mine was just water….looked like I made a weak stew and then added eggs….any suggestions?
This recipes looks so interesting! It could be a good brinner option too. I’ve never heard of menemen, but love to hear what other countries eat for breakfast. I can’t wait to make this for my family.
I just love your website! It really is my favorite food blog of all time. You have a way with words that speaks to me; not to mention your easy to follow recipes and food pictures. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your website!
This looks amazing! I totally need to make this for breakfast in the morning!
Paige
I felt compelled to rush out and make this. So good!I added two cloves of garlic, a poblano pepper, paprika and roasted red pepper. Great flavor and a great way to boost my veggie intake. Thanks for sharing!
Just made this for lunch. Yum!! Added the avocado and feta. So delicious and a great alternative to shakshuka which my husband objects to because of the runny yolks. The whole family loved this! Thanks!
Just made this for breakfast and it was so delicious! What a yummy change from carbs and sweets for breakfast!
Growing up in an Italian household, we always had potatoes cooked in the sauce and then we made indentations to put the eggs in. We then put the lid on and cooked them to our desired doneness. I grew up always eating it so to me it doesn’t seem strange. You would scoop out the potatoes and eggs and eat it with bread.
Talk about an easy dish! We served this over leftover pita chips so it became a Turkish chilaquiles in the end. We chose the Anaheim pepper route and enjoyed the heat level as well as the dish overall :) Keep traveling to new places so you bring back new recipes — I made this after buying Aleppo pepper for the lentil soup and am very happy with my decisions!
Thank you for my new obsession.
This recipe is friggen awesome. I made it for dinner last night (no Aleppo pepper, i used paprika), had left overs for lunch & then made it again for dinner tonight. My addition is a squeeze of lemon. A squeeze of lemon is my signature move in cooking
This was so good! I served it with Feta and Turkish Flat Bread – So good, the perfect light dinner!
Really, really good. I used an Anaheim pepper, and ancho chili powder with a bit of cayenne. Eggs took about 8 minutes to cook. Added 1/4 lb sausage and a sprinkle of feta. Will definitely make this again, we loved it.
I discovered Menemen at one of the Turkish spots on Upper St. in Islington. make mine with several types of peppers – usually some hot green peppers like Serranos, plus Poblano or Anaheims, and some red bell pepper. Always fresh tomatoes (I like the “on the vine” style.) I let the eggs poach to medium – runny yolks. Lots of cayenne (i like it quite hot). Serve with feta and a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.
For spices, I either go North African style with a Berbere spice mix, or Indian with cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and garam masala.
I make this for breakfast 1-2 times a week. I love the warm glow I have afterwards that lasts half the day.
This was so good, Not my normal kind of breakfast but delicious! We had it with Ezekiel toast since that is what we had. Thank you! Making your drunken noodles tonight now : )
Perfect!
Onion is the best to add (some Turkish people don’t use onion – I disagree!) I separate the white and yellow part of egg and first cook the white and then add yellow part and don’t cook the yellow too much so it has the best creamy taste :)
AMAZING!!
Hi i am from Turkey. Thanks for lovely recipe. I liked this blog also happy for your Turkey visit. Another traditional recipe is “KISIR” looks like Lebanon’s Tabulaeh
Greetings from Ankara the capital of Turkey
Tuğba 🥰🖐😻
Another great recipe !! Did not have any of the authentic ingredients, used smoked paprika, cayenne and some oregano. Served with Avocado and feta…delicious 😋
Love this recipe! Quick and delicious