If You Crave Pizza For Breakfast, This Easy Italian Egg Dish Is Just For You

If you're a fan of both pizza and breakfast foods, then you need to know about this Italian egg dish that combines the two: eggs alla pizzaiola. Essentially, the dish  consists of fried eggs cooked in tomatoes and cheese. It's a bit different from what you may know of as a breakfast pizza, which typically includes a traditional pizza crust, which eggs alla pizzaiola does not. If anything, the Italian dish more closely resembles shakshuka, the classic North African dish consisting of poached eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. But, even with some similarities, eggs alla pizzaiola is very much its own unique dish — and one that you definitely need to try. 

Eggs alla pizzaiola is a super easy dish to make. Essentially, garlic, olive oil, and tomatoes are added to a skillet, then, when it's sauce-like, the eggs are added and cooked like typical fried eggs. Then, there's a few key additions: mozzarella, salt, and pepper, as well as maybe basil. All in all, it's similar to a margherita pizza but with a tasty egg addition. The dish is best served with fresh bread on the side — or, you can scoop the eggs alla pizzaiola on top of the bread. Either way, the bread will soak up all of the yummy tomato sauce and, of course, the jammy egg yolk (if you prefer your eggs with a runny yolk).

Eggs are not the only dish cooked "alla pizzaiola," which simply means "like pizza." There's also steak pizzaiola and chicken pizzaiola, for example, both of which are similarly cooked in a tomato sauce with garlic and basil. 

To make eggs alla pizzaiola even more pizza-like, add as many toppings as you'd like. Maybe you want to get some veggies into your breakfast — try adding mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, or spinach. Meanwhile, when it comes to protein options, you may want to add bacon bits, pieces of sausage, or chicken. Plus, there's always one of the most classic pizza toppings that would work here as well: pepperoni. Just before the dish is done, add your desired amount of pre-made pepperoni slices to finalize the pizza-inspired dish.

You can also take inspiration from some of your favorite go-to pizza recipes. For example, we have a recipe for a pepperoni, pepper, and provolone pizza that could give you some ideas, starting with either replacing the mozzarella with provolone or using both for an extra cheesy pizza. And for the toppings, the pepperoni and red bell pepper are paired with fresh basil. Meanwhile, our summer vegetable pizza combines squash, zucchini, and eggplant, which could also make for an interesting veggie medley for the eggs alla pizzaiola.

Get creative with seasonings beyond just salt and pepper. Some interesting options include Italian seasoning or everything bagel seasoning. And if you want to add a kick of heat, try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper.