Ready to up your breakfast game? Try this traditional Turkish scrambled eggs recipe, also known as Menemen. This one-pan vegetarian egg dish is healthy, filling, easily customizable, and ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
What Is Menemen?
Menemen is a traditional Turkish breakfast recipe made by cooking eggs with onions, peppers, and tomatoes with a subtle hint of spice. It gets its name from a Turkish town called Menemen, located in Izmir.
What to Serve with Menemen?
Menemen is traditionally served in the skillet that it is cooked in while it is still hot and bubbly. It is usually served with crusty bread on the side, which is then dipped into the soft scrambled eggs and vegetables for a satisfying bite.
With that being said, if you want to serve it as Turks do then I would recommend a few must-haves on the side:
- Cheese & olives: You can’t talk about Turkish breakfast and not include cheese and olives. In terms of cheese, you can use feta cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese, or even cheddar cheese. And for olives, serve it with Kalamata olives, green olives, or a mixture of the two with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of dried oregano.
- Simit: A breakfast staple in Turkey, simit is a sesame-crusted circular bread similar to an American bagel but crustier on the outside and softer on the inside. It pairs wonderfully with menemen and can also be enjoyed with cheese and olives.
- Turkish Borek: Borek is made by layering phyllo dough with a filling usually made with cheese and sauteed vegetables. One of the most popular fillings is spinach and feta, which would pair perfectly with this hearty scrambled egg dish.
Ingredient Variations & Substitutions:
The best part of this Turkish soft scramble recipe is that you can easily change it up with whatever you have on hand. Here are a few ideas:
- Make it without onions: There is an ongoing debate amongst the diehard menemen fans about making it with or without onions. The good news is that it can be made with or without it. Simply omit using onions and sautee peppers and spices by themselves instead.
- Peppers: The traditional menemen recipe uses fresh green Turkish peppers, aka sivribiber, which could be hard to find. In my version here I used bell peppers, but feel free to use whatever pepper you have on hand. Seeded and chopped jalapeno, Anaheim peppers, and even Hungarian wax peppers would all work.
- Tomatoes: I used a canned tomato to make it easy and convenient. However, during the summer months, when they are in season, I prefer using two or three medium-size fresh tomatoes instead.
- Cheese: Crumbled feta cheese is a very popular topping but you can also add shredded mozzarella cheese on top at the last minute and let it melt on top before serving.
What else can I add?
You can follow the recipe as written or take it up a notch with a few additions to it.
- Lamb or Italian Sausage: If you are a meat-eater, you can sautee ½ lbs of sausage at the same time as you sautee onions and peppers.
- Spices: Sprinkle it with Aleppo pepper, Urfa chili pepper, or red pepper flakes if you don’t mind a little bit of heat.
Menemen
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.25)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 1 bell pepper (any color) ($0.98)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (or Aleppo pepper) ($0.03)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.79)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten ($0.78)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley ($0.40)
- 1 cup crumbled feta (optional) ($1.64)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add in onion, pepper, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are softened for about 7-8 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes (with their juices), salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until tomatoes are heated through.
- Gently pour the lightly beaten eggs into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs are just barely set yet still soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Immediately sprinkle it with chopped parsley and crumbled feta cheese, if using. Serve with crusty bread on the side.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
How to Make Menemen – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one bell pepper (any color) and one small onion.
Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion and bell pepper, along with ½ tsp dried oregano and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper. Sauté until the vegetables have softened.
Add one 15oz. can of diced tomatoes (with the juices), 1 tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Stir to combine.
Continue to sauté for about 2-3 minutes more, or until everything is heated through well.
Lightly beat four large eggs, then pour them into the skillet.
Cook the eggs, stirring frequently, until they are just barely set yet still soft (about 2-3 minutes).
Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley over the eggs.
Top with crumbled feta and more black pepper, if desired.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping!
Scrumptious!!!!! I used sharp white cheddar goat cheese instead of Feta.
So so yummy!!!!!!
When I saw the recipe it reminded me of Shakshuka, which is a favorite in our home. This dish is also very affordable and relies on mostly pantry ingredients. I used garlic fire-roasted tomatoes, added minced garlic, used dried parsley instead of fresh, and I didn’t have crusty bread so I toasted a couple of halved English muffins. Everything else was the same (went green on bell pepper to save some money). I buy French feta from my local Mediterranean store at a great price and this was a wonderful way to use the rest of the block up before it went bad. Loved the flavor, cooked fast, and I prefer this Turkish menemen over Shakshuka which can be very rich. Thank you for the recipe Budget Bytes!
Holy flavor! Long time fan, first time reviewing.
I love this recipe. I only had a rouge can of fire roasted tomatoes and was nervous about the flavor taking over, but I was way wrong. The parsley and feta give such a nice punch that softened the smokier flavor and actually balanced nicely. I don’t usually love eggs, but this recipe is so delicious, I’ll be adding to my weekly rotation. Thanks Ice!! Welcome to Budget Bytes :)
Have to agree with the other commentors; this recipe is cheap and easy but really does have a lot of flavors! I did the mozzarella and skipped the fresh parsley to avoid another trip to the store and it still tasted great. I’ve eaten it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it’s just as good reheated. Perfect dish if you’re trying to eat less meat.
Easy dish but with spectacular results. Full of flavors. I served it with feta and a cilantro -mint mixture on top. Very refreshing and filling.
Hi, love, love, love all the new additions to the budgetbytes website. My question here is will you be putting a new search category for AIR FRYER recipes. My air fryer and microwave are my main sources of meal preparation, as have no conventional oven or grill.
Also, will we be able to search recepies by contributor, eg Monti, and all the new ones being taken on board???
Look forward to your response, keep up the excellent work and site!!!!!
Regards
Patricia
Hi Patricia! We only have one air fryer recipe right now, but as soon as we add more we will add a stand alone category to make it searchable. As far as searching by author, THANK YOU for asking for me!!!) If you go to the byline at the top of the post or the author box at the bottom of a recipe it takes you to a the author page with all of the posts they have contributed XOXOXOXO -Monti
I made this for dinner last night and it was really good! I love how easy and nutrient dense this dish is. Will probably be making this again for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
I don’t recommend the crumbly dry feta you find in American grocery stores to serve with this! Good feta comes in moist blocks and you can slice it and serve slices or cubes along side the dish. Most Middle Eastern groceries stores and some big box stores will have the real thing.
Also, if you like runny yolks – crack the eggs and drop them in whole at the end. Gently mix the whites in with the simmering veggies, but let the yolks cook to your preferred level of doneness without breaking them. Then they are perfect for dipping your crusty bread into.
Çok teşekkür ederim abla
Cok hoş geldiniz! XOXO -Monti
This was an easy, quick and light dish – good for summer, although the ingredients are easy to get year round. Next time I will add a little more red pepper for a little more flavor and zing.
Relevant content easy to understand . Wonderful recipe
Nice Blog. Thanks for sharing the information
Looks like a good way to hide zucchini lol
Ooh, menemen basically got me through grad school. I will have to try this version!
Would love to see more Turkish recipes on Budget Bytes!
I’ve noticed a few recent recipes written by other people. Are these just guest posts, or are you adding more bloggers to the team?
We are growing the team! Look forward to budget-friendly recipes from around the world. XOXO (one of the new folks)
Welcome from a longtime Budget Bytes fan!
Thanks so much Maura! I’m loving it.
This is fantastic news! Of course, I love Beth’s recipes, but it is exciting to get more recipes influenced by non-US cuisines.
Hi, love, love, love all the new additions to the budgetbytes website. My question here is will you be putting a new search category for AIR FRYER recipes. My air fryer and microwave are my main sources of meal preparation, as have no conventional oven or grill.
Also, will we be able to search recepies by contributor, eg Monti, and all the new ones being taken on board???
Look forward to your response, keep up the excellent work and site!!!!!
Regards
Patricia
I had the same question, and the answer makes me so happy. I love getting to know different cultures around the world through cooking. Plus, you know, I love to eat!