Eggs in Purgatory - Italian Baked Eggs in Garlic Tomato Sausage Sauce

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• It’s a beautiful presentation
• It is quite simple to make
• The flavors are wonderful

What are Eggs in Purgatory (Uova in Purgatorio)?

Essentially, this classic southern Italian dish is simply eggs poached in a flavorful tomato sauce that is seasoned with peppers, onions, and herbs. The soft-cooked eggs become similar to a poached egg, with a runny yolk that enriches the sauce even more.

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make this Italian baked eggs dish:

• Olive oil: Any olive oil works here since all you are using it for is to brown the sausage.
• Italian sausage (casing removed): Italian sausage (mild or hot sausages) give this sauce a beautiful Italian flavor.
• Onion: We use yellow onion for this recipe. Sweet onions work here too.
• Fresh Garlic Cloves: Minced garlic in the tomato sausage sauce gives this recipe nice flavor without being overpowering.
• Diced tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes are the base of the sauce.
• Fennel seeds: Lightly toasting the whole fennel seeds in a dry pan adds a nice toasty flavor to the sauce.
• Italian seasoning: An Italian seasoning blend provides a beautiful flavor from a combination of Italian spices.
• Dried thyme: Dried thyme is best in this recipe, but fresh thyme will work here as well.
• Dried oregano: Like the thyme in this recipe, dried oregano is best, but fresh thyme will work here as well.
• Kosher Salt and Black pepper
• Red pepper flakes: Crushed red pepper flakes add the perfect touch of heat without making this dish spicy. You can add more if you like more heat!
• Balsamic vinegar: A touch of balsamic vinegar balances out the flavors in the sauce.
• Eggs: We always recommend getting high quality large eggs for a dish like this, but use whatever chicken eggs you generally buy.
• Cherry/grape tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes added to the top of the sauce with the eggs provide an additional fresh flavor to the final dish.
• Mozzarella balls (ciliegine): Small cherry-sized mozzarella balls add to the perfect amount of cheese for richness in the dish.
• Parmesan Cheese: Adding fresh grated Parmigniano Reggiano to the finished skillet is always recommended!
• Fresh basil or oregano: These are used to garnish the baked eggs skillet to serve.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Sausage: We love this non-traditional addition to the hearty tomato sauce, but you can add leftover meats or omit the meat altogether for a vegetarian option.
• Tomatoes: For a fun twist, try making this with yellow tomatoes. The color is vibrant and beautiful and the flavor is similar.
• Make it spicy: If you prefer a spicy tomato sauce, add Calabrian chili paste or more crushed red pepper flakes for a fiery tomato sauce.

How to Make Eggs in Purgatory

This simple but flavorful recipe for Italian shakshuka can be done in one pan. Once the sausage, onions, and garlic are sautéed, the tomatoes are added and simmered. When ready, the eggs are added in wells and the whole dish goes to the oven to finish cooking! This simple dish is extremely flavorful.

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish

• Cast iron skillet or other stove and oven-safe pan or large skillet 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Brown the Sausage

• In a cast iron skillet (or other oven safe large skillet), add oil and sausage to the pan to brown over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Once browned, remove browned sausage to a bowl and set aside.

Sauté the Onion and Garlic

• Add onions to the skillet and sauté for 4 minutes. Then add garlic for 30 seconds. Pour off excess oil if required (this will depend on how fatty your sausage is). Then add sausage back to the skillet.

Assemble the Sauce and Simmer

• Reduce to medium heat, and add the cans of diced tomatoes, spices, and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low and cook for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F while the sauce is simmering.

Add Eggs and Bake

• After 20 minutes, taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Then make 4 small holes in the sauce and add a cracked egg in each hole. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, then bake for 12-15 minutes or until the egg whites have set.

Garnish and Serve

• Once done, remove from the oven and garnish with shaved parmesan and fresh oregano and/or basil.

Variations

• There really are several little tweaks that can be done to suit your taste, so please experiment.
• A few other ideas are adding bell peppers to the delicious tomato sauce or use a different cheese combination (like asiago and pecorino Romano, or fontina instead of mozzarella). In the summer, adding just fresh basil instead of the oregano is also a good option, although oregano is perfect year-round.

Storage

How to store leftover Italian Baked Eggs:

• Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

How to reheat leftover Baked Eggs?

• If there are leftover eggs in the sauce the yolks often will cook past a runny yolk if you’re not careful. But the best way is to reheat in a pan on the stove over medium to medium low heat. You can also remove the old eggs and crack new eggs into the sauce once simmering, and place it in a 375°F oven for 12-15 minutes for serving.

Can you freeze Italian Baked Eggs (eggs in purgatory)?

• This is not recommended. The sauce can be frozen without the eggs, however. Then you can simply defrost the sauce, bring to a simmer on the stove then crack fresh eggs into the sauce and back at 375°F for 12-15 minutes until the egg whites have set.

Troubleshooting

The most important thing in this recipe is to make sure the yolks are still runny! To ensure we get a runny yolk on the egg, we bake this in a 375°F oven for 12-15 minutes. If you prefer to cook this on the stovetop, simply cover the pan you are using and continue to cook until the whites of the eggs are set.

How to Make Individual Servings of Eggs in Purgatory

Eggs in Purgatory is a great dish to serve for a crowd in individual serving dishes. This is quite easy to do! Simply transfer the hot tomato sauce into individual ramekins or mini cocottes then break an egg into each one and bake until the egg whites are set (about 12-15 minutes). You can then serve these to a crowd with ease for the perfect breakfast party dish! 

What to Make with Eggs in Purgatory

Crusty Italian bread is a must so the sauce can be sopped up! You could also serve some fresh fruit and can actually make the sauce and serve it with pasta.

What to Drink with Italian Baked Eggs

With all the tomatoes, a bloody mary might be overkill, but a good prosecco or mimosas are great options to have with eggs in purgatory. Of course fresh juices and coffee are excellent options without the alcohol.