Our Favourite Turkish Egg Recipes

Menemen is special.

Most people who come to Turkey for the first time ask what menemen is.

And, when they’re told, they look dubious about it.

Then they decide to order it. The menemen is placed before them.

It doesn’t look too appetising, that mixture of scrambled eggs and vegetables.

Tentatively, they take a forkful and place it in their mouth. And then BAM, another menemen convert.

This Turkish brunch dish is genius and shows off the village egg perfectly.

Top with chopped fresh herbs such as parsley.

Some people also like to add beyaz peynir (feta cheese) or kaşar (similar to Cheddar cheese) along with the eggs.

There aren’t many better ways of passing a few hours on a Sunday morning than by sitting with friends & sharing a Turkish village breakfast (köy kahvaltısı).

Morning eggs with village breakfast – perfect!

The village breakfast trend in Fethiye continues to gain momentum.

And, these days, when you order, it’s rare that you won’t be asked how you’d like your eggs; boiled or fried.

Or even an omelette.

Difficult to resist a little pan of fried village eggs topped with a sprinkling of red pepper chilli flakes!

If you're looking for a special breakfast experience, this is the one!

Hmm, didn’t we just say menemen was genius?

Didn’t we just say there was nothing better than sitting down to a Turkish village breakfast?

So where does sucuklu yumurta (fried eggs with sucuk) fit into this gushing equation?

Sucuklu yumurta with fresh, crusty bread is fabulous in its own right, especially with a runny yolk.

One of our favourite Turkish egg recipes.

But then you can also combine with it with a village breakfast.

A double whammy of two Turkish breakfasts in one!

You can get sucuklu yumurta as a standalone brunch at places like Baba Fırın in Çalış.

Or, of course, you could always use your own village eggs to make sucuklu yumurta at home.

It's not what you could describe as a healthy breakfast.

But it's a perfect weekend treat.

And a great way to fill up after a morning run.

Turkish egg recipes are not just breakfast dishes, of course.

Piyaz is a Turkish white bean salad and the Antalya version is special in that it also contains tahini as an extra to the olive oil and vinegar.

The Antalya-style piyaz is often topped with hard-boiled eggs.

For us, this is one of the best ways to celebrate the sunburst yellow yolk of the village egg.

Simply boil them, slice them into quarters and decorate your dish.

Added bonus if you get the double yolks!

Served with grilled köfte - its traditional partner - it’s truly a delight!

Another of our favourite Turkish egg recipes.

If you thought you didn’t like spinach (we were certainly in that camp before we came out to Turkey), go all out for this spinach and egg dish.

And you might just have the same epiphany we did when we first tried ıspanaklı yumurta: that spinach is not only healthy and versatile but also damn good!

The eggs and spinach cook in the same pan, over a medium heat.

Combined with the other flavours, they make a tasty filling breakfast or lunch.

One of our favourite Turkish vegetarian recipes!

And well, a fried egg sat atop a piece of hot toast is always going to work, isn’t it?

Click the button below to try out our recipe for Ispanaklı Yumurta.

And, once you’ve made that, make the most of your leftovers with these spinach stem recipes.

This is a perfect dairy brunch dish that really celebrates the village egg, strained yoghurt and local village butter.

This eggs recipe is poached egg served the Turkish way. And, served with warm crusty bread, it is so satisfying.

If you want to make this dish at home, here’s our recipe for çılbır.

Mmm, and we can’t celebrate Turkish egg recipes without the inclusion of the oh-so-delicious yumuratlı ekmek.

Eggy bread is a savoury version of French toast. And a great weekend treat in our house.

Aside from the tasty flavours, the best thing about this recipe is it's right up there when it comes to easy egg dishes.

A few chilli flakes and a big dollop of natural Turkish yoghurt on the side. Happy days!

Here’s how we make Turkish eggy bread at home.

Simply but oh so tasty - this is bol tereyağlı sahanda yumurta. Turkish fried eggs in lots of butter!

Choose the best free range eggs for this dish as they really are the star of the show.

Enjoy them as a standalone breakfast or brunch or serve them as part of a bigger Turkish breakfast.

How has potato salad made it into our list of favourite Turkish egg recipes?

Well, springtime is the time of the year when the baby new potatoes appear on the market, along with an abundance of village eggs.

The new potatoes make a great potato salad – as well as other meals, of course.

If you ever get invited to someone’s home in Turkey and potato salad is placed on the table, you will often see eggs as part of the dish.

And it works! They take the potato salad to the next level!

Give our (eggy) potato salad recipe a try.