There are quite a few delicious egg recipes in Turkish cuisine. But kıymalı yumurta – a one pan minced beef and eggs recipe – is up there amongst the heartiest of these dishes.
Kıymalı yumurta is a juicy, saucy meal of beef mince, partially held together by gently poached eggs that have cooked in those spicy flavour-packed juices.
It’s also enjoyed in Eastern European countries – especially Bosnia in the Balkans – as well as here in Turkey.
And whilst lots of people here like to enjoy it as a Turkish breakfast, it’s a more substantial meal for us. We prefer it as a late, light lunch.
Which, granted, can still be part of a late, leisurely weekend breakfast!
It’s not uncommon to walk past restaurants in Fethiye around 3pm at the weekend and see lots of people still enjoying their breakfast.
How To Make Kıymalı Yumurta – Turkish Minced Beef & Eggs
The good news is, if you’re looking for an easy meal with simple ingredients, you’ve come to the right place.
There are no hard and fast rules to what you should add to the ground meat mix.
But if you want an extra delicious dish (and why wouldn’t you?) we like to add a few herbs and spices.
Just for richness and a bit of a kick.
TIP: Kıymalı yumurta can be a really quick and easy egg dish to make the following day if you have some leftover ragù from that spaghetti bolognese you made last night. The eggs will give the already high protein levels a boost and fill you up, too.
We’re making our minced beef and eggs from scratch. And we’re going to be using (please scroll down to the recipe card for the amounts and method):
- Lean ground beef (minced beef)
- Onion
- Red or green bell peppers – we tend to use the long, thin Turkish peppers (sivri biber or kapya biber). If you are using the green sivri biber, check whether they have any heat to them before you add any extra chilli as they can sometimes be fiery hot!
- Ripe tomatoes – we use the large, juicy Turkish pembe tomatoes but ripe beef tomatoes or a tinned tomatoes will do the trick
- Fresh garlic
- Tomato paste
- Herbs and spices – we like to use dried kekik (thyme), ground allspice, sweet paprika and chilli flakes
- And of course, salt and freshly ground black pepper
We start off with our peppers and onions.
Saute them, first, in olive oil or sunflower oil in a large saute pan.
A good surface area will give you more room to make space for your eggs when the time comes.
When they start to sweat, we add our meat and cook it over a medium heat until it is cooked through. Then we add our tomatoes, garlic, seasoning, herbs and spices.
Taking It Slowly
At this point, if we have time on our hands, we’ll add some hot water or stock, give it a stir and cover with a lid.
We’ll then leave the meat to simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes or so. Just to let it really tenderise and all the flavours to infuse.
A spoonful of tomato paste, afterwards, will thicken your sauce and add richness of flavour and colour.
And then you can make your wells for your eggs and crack each into the wells.
We replace our pan lid so that we reduce the time it takes for the whites to cook on top.
TIP: If you want a runny yolk, make space for your egg whites to spread out thinly and cook quicker and turn to a medium-high heat. Remove from the heat as soon as your egg whites are ready.
And when you’re ready to serve, don’t forget that fresh crusty bread for dipping. And a glass of çay (Turkish tea) or icy cold ayran to wash it down with.
Afiyet Olsun!
Kıymalı Yumurta – Turkish Minced Beef & Eggs Recipe
Let’s cook!
Turkish Minced Beef & Eggs – Kıyamlı Yumurta
Equipment
- 1 frying pan (large)
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 grater
- 1 wooden spoon (or spatula)
Ingredients
- 150 grams minced beef (lean)
- 4 large eggs (free range)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 1 large tomato (roughly chopped)
- 1 medium bell pepper (deseeded & finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled & crushed or grated)
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste (or as needed)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil (for frying)
- salt & pepper (to season)
Instructions
- First of all, place your frying pan over a medium heat and gently heat your oil before adding your onion and pepper.
- Stir around for a few minutes until they start to soften and your onion is becoming translucent before adding your minced beef.
- Mix and stir, breaking up any bits of beef that clump together and continue until your meat has mostly browned.
- Now add your tomato, garlic, salt and pepper, herbs and spices and stir them into your beef mixture before adding a good splash of water or stock and stirring again.
- Turn the heat down to low, cover your pan with a lid and leave the meat to simmer for around 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid stir in your tomato paste. Depending on how much sauce you want with your minced beef and eggs, you can also add another splash of water at this stage, if you like.
- Make sure everything is mixed well together and now make 4 wells in your beef mix.
- Crack an egg into each of the wells, being careful not to break the yolk – it's not a disaster if the yolk does break.
- Now turn the heat to medium high and tease your egg whites to spread a little so that they cook quicker.
- Put your lid back on your pan and let the egg whites poach for 3 minutes or so depending on how hard or soft you want them.
- When your eggs are cooked, remove from the heat and serve up 2 eggs per person with the minced beef and fresh crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
- As with all of our recipes, nutritional values are calculated by a 3rd party API and are meant as a guide only. Please do your own due diligence if you have any special dietary requirements.
- It is up to you how much sauce you want for your kıymalı yumurta. We like to add a good amount of water or stock and leave our meat to simmer for a while to let it reduce before adding our tomato paste.
- Some people like their minced beef and eggs to be quite dry . Other people even stir their eggs into the mix to give scrambled eggs and minced beef mix.
- Turkish minced beef and eggs is a super quick brunch to make if you already have some leftover ragù from the night before.