Flamenco eggs (huevos a la flamenca)

Flamenco eggs (huevos a la flamenca) are a traditional Spanish egg dish, a little like shakshuka but with a distinctly Spanish flair. It's easy to prepare and full of delicious flavor.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

There are a few things that are always going to win me over in a dish, and eggs and/or chorizo are high up on the list. So when a dish combines both, along with some Spanish ham and a tasty tomato-pepper base, you can be sure I'm all over it.

This dish is a bit like a cross between baked eggs and shakshuka with a Spanish twist. Though that said, it is far from a new dish so is probably just as old if not older. Either way, it's well worth trying.

Where is huevos a la flamenca from?

If you know Spain at all, you will know that flamenco is a traditional dance style from the Southern state, Andalucia. So it would come as no surprise that this egg dish is a specialty of Seville, one of the main cities of the region.

Seville is well known for its tapas culture. Bar-hopping while enjoying a couple of drinks and eating a few tasty dishes along the way is a popular way to spend time with friends. In fact, tapas are believed to originate in Seville, and it's the home of a few dishes like Spanish chickpeas and spinach, pork whiskey and bull's tail.

This dish is one that used to be more popular in bars and restaurants, but is now more something you'll find more often made at home. Quite why it seems to have fallen out of popularity is hard to say as it's one truly delicious dish.

Baked eggs with Spanish flair

This dish can be made in a few different ways, but pretty much all versions include tomatoes, eggs and peppers. Not all include the meaty toppings of Serrano ham and chorizo, but to me they add so much flavor it's hard to say no.

Some use ready-made tomato sauce as the base, but I think you get a better flavor by making a quick sofrito by cooking some onion, pepper and tomatoes with a little garlic and paprika. It's much like the base for a paella. You can also make this ahead and in larger quantities and just use what you need.

Then, just make slight indents in the sofrito for your eggs, top with ham, chorizo and peas. I've pre-crisped the chorizo as it helps bring out the flavor and you can then combine some of the fat it releases as you cook the sofrito. But I don't bother crisping the ham as I think you can easily overdo it (though you can if you prefer).

When would you serve this?

In Spain, eggs are not typically a breakfast dish. So you'd be more likely to have this for lunch or dinner. However, I can completely see this fitting in at any brunch so feel free to break from the norm.

Scaling up

One of the great things about this dish is it's easy to scale up or down. Traditionally, you bake the eggs in individual dishes (typically terracotta dishes known as cazuelas) - small skillets will work as well. You can make larger quantities of the tomato-pepper base to divide between as many dishes as you need.

Alternatively, if you don't have enough small dishes you can make it all in a larger dish and divide as you serve. You just need to be a little careful as the eggs may break up.

Huevos a la flamenca/flamenco eggs are a wonderfully comforting, delicious and easy Spanish egg dish that while more traditional later in the day, makes a wonderful brunch. With delicious flavors, it's definitely one to find an excuse to make any time.

Try these other favorite egg dishes:

• Eggs Royale and eggs Florentine (smoked salmon and spinach versions of eggs Benedict)
• Asparagus frittata
• Menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs)
• Broccoli goat cheese frittata
• Plus get more breakfast and brunch recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

Remember to pin for later!