Eggs in Purgatory - Traditional Italian recipe

Eggs in Purgatory is an easy Italian dish that uses basic pantry ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes.

Served with lots of crusty bread for dipping and dunking, this is a meal the whole family will love.

Why you'll love this recipe

Tomatoes, in all forms, are a staple in my kitchen and quite likely, in yours. Italian recipes often use tomatoes.

Recipes like minestrone and ragu sauce for pasta use canned tomatoes, passata, paste or fresh tomatoes. What about the intense flavour of sun-dried tomatoes? Sun-dried tomatoes add a flavour hit to recipe like my zesty italian pasta salad and this tasty quick bread. Then there are some recipes where the main ingredient is tomatoes, like this one.

Eggs in purgatory is an excellent midweek meal when everyone is hungry and short of time. Serve it with crusty bread for dunking into all that delicious tomato sauce!

This recipe is a traditional southern Italian dish usually served as a meal. The eggs are said to be the "souls" in the spicy, red, bubbling sauce which represents purgatory.

You might also like to make my fantastic chicken sorrentino if you are looking for another dish to serve with this one.

For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card bottom of the page.

Ingredients notes

This recipe used some basic ingredients. You'll need:-

• canned whole tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• eggs
• onion
• garlic
• chilli
• salt
• Parmesan
• fresh basil

Ingredient substitutions

You may not have these exact ingredients but you still want to make Eggs in Purgatory. While it won't be quite the same dish, the ingredients can be substituted for what you have in the kitchen and your tastes. Here's a few options:-

• fresh (peeled) tomatoes, passata, or canned crushed tomatoes for canned whole tomatoes
• regular or light olive oil for extra virgin
• spring onion, leeks or shallots for the onion
• powdered, granular or bottled garlic for fresh garlic
• pecorino, romano or another hard cheese for Parmesan
• fresh parsley for basil

Variations

This recipe can be varied in so many ways so each time you make Eggs in Purgatory it's a little different.

• spicy or not so spicy - adjust the chilli flakes to your liking
• add a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or other canned beans to the tomato sauce
• drop in chunks of feta cheese after you add the eggs for a double cheese hit
• when the onion is half done add a cup or so of chopped vegetables like zucchini or capsicum (sweet peppers) and sauté until softened
• don't like poached eggs? - prepare the sauce and serve with fried eggs or fried halloumi cheese
• double the amount of sauce ingredients for lots of delicious tomato goodness

Instructions

Making this recipe is quite easy. Anyone can do it and have a nutritious, satisfying meal in less than 30 minutes.

1. Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic and chilli flakes.
3. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly reduced.
4. Crack eggs into the sauce, cover with a lid until eggs are set to your liking.

FAQ's

Serving suggestions

This rustic Italian recipe is best served with crusty Italian bread - toasted or untoasted. Variations of this dish are found in other cultures using different spices, vegetables and cured meat. Accompaniments for those variations are different breads like pita or tortilla. So I can't see why you couldn't serve your favourite bread to dip into the poached eggs and tomato sauce.

If you are looking for dessert and want to stick with the Italian theme you will absolutely love my delicious Cannoli Cake. Takes a bit of time but definitely worth it.

More midweek meal recipes

Frittata with ham and cheese
Egg White Frittata
Rice Stuffed Tomatoes
Spanish Asparagus with poached eggs from Spain on a Fork
Bacon and Egg Slice from Sweet Caramel Sunday
Bacon and Egg Galettes from It's Not Complicated

Made this recipe?
Let me know if you liked it by leaving a ★★★★★ star rating and a review below. Please share a photo of your creation by tagging me on Instagram @marcellina.in.cucina!