15-minute Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

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This 15-minute Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) pairs creamy garlicky yogurt, spiced butter, poached eggs, and fresh dill for a meal that’s satisfying for breakfast or any meal of the day.

15-minute Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) (1)

Fiery spiced butter, cool garlicky yogurt, runny eggs, and fresh dill. It sounds like a strange mash-up of flavors, but there’s something completely deliciously addictive about Cilbir!

I first had this dish for brunch at Zaytinya in D.C. As much as I loved it, I forgot all about it until a craving hit a couple months ago! I made it and realized it needed to go on my blog.

If this dish is new to you, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make. It comes together in just 15 minutes! And it’s impressive, both in flavor and in presentation. This Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) is just too easy and too good not to become a staple in your kitchen!

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In This Article

The Best Turkish Eggs Recipe

Cilbir is a Turkish eggs recipe containing three main components: garlicky yogurt, poached eggs, and spiced melted butter. It is very easy to whip up!

You can serve it with flatbread, sliced sourdough bread, or even toasted keto bread to keep the carbs down.

Tips for Making Turkish Eggs

  • Make ahead. You can make the garlic yogurt up to 4 days in advance and store it covered in the fridge. However, the spiced butter and poached eggs are best made right before you want to serve Cilbir.
  • Easy to scale. This recipe makes just 1 serving so whip it up anytime, but it's easy to scale up if you're feeding multiple people.
  • If you like spicy-hot foods. Feel free to add more cayenne pepper, hot paprika, or Aleppo pepper to taste.

Cilbir (Turkish Eggs Recipe) FAQs

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Should the Yogurt be Warm?

The yogurt for Cilbir should be slightly warm or at room temperature.

I find that it's perfect if you mix up the garlic yogurt first and let it sit at room temperature while you make the spiced butter and poached eggs.

What is Aleppo Pepper?

Aleppo pepper is a spice that comes from Halaby chile peppers that are ground or crushed. It typically has a medium heat level with 10,000 SHU on the Scoville Scale.

This type of pepper is named after the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, and is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Aleppo pepper is available on Amazon.

You can read more about Aleppo pepper on Wikipedia and Bon Appetit.

How Do You Poach Eggs?

  1. Fill a shallow saucepan with 2 to 3 inches of water and bring to a boil.
  2. Add ½ tablespoon distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and turn the heat down to medium to medium-low so it’s simmering.
  3. Crack each egg into a small bowl 1 at a time, and gently slip the egg into the water.
  4. Cook until the eggs reach your desired level of runniness, about 3 minutes.
  5. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, patting the bottom with paper towels to absorb the liquid.

More Egg Recipes to Make

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Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith

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Cilbir (Turkish Eggs Recipe)

By: Faith Gorsky

This 15-minute Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) pairs creamy garlicky yogurt, spiced butter, poached eggs, and fresh dill for a meal that’s satisfying for breakfast or any meal of the day.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 1 serving

Calories 404 kcal

Ingredients

Garlic Yogurt:

  • ½ cup Greek yogurt at room temperature
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • teaspoon salt

Spiced Butter:

Other:

  • 2 large eggs poached
  • 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Garlic Yogurt:

  • Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

For the Spiced Butter:

  • Melt the butter with the oil in a small skillet. Add the spices and cook another 30 seconds. Set aside.

To Assemble:

  • Spread the Garlic Yogurt out in a shallow bowl.

  • Place the poached eggs on top of the Garlic Yogurt.

  • Drizzle the Spiced Butter on top, and sprinkle on the dill.

  • Taste and season with additional salt and black pepper as desired.

Video

Faith's Tips

  • Net Carbs: 6g per serving (whole recipe)
  • How to Poach Eggs: Fill a shallow saucepan with 2 to 3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add ½ tablespoon distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and turn the heat down to medium to medium-low so it’s simmering. Crack each egg into a small bowl 1 at a time, and gently slip the egg into the water. Cook until the eggs reach your desired level of runniness, about 3 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, patting the bottom with paper towels to absorb the liquid.
  • Aleppo Pepper: The Spiced Butter is traditionally made with Aleppo pepper. If you can find it (or if you want to buy Aleppo pepper on Amazon), use it instead of the sweet paprika + cayenne pepper.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Cilbir (Turkish Eggs Recipe)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 404Calories from Fat 297

% Daily Value*

Fat 33g51%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 378mg126%

Sodium 603mg26%

Potassium 262mg7%

Carbohydrates 6g2%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 1350IU27%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 159mg16%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Cilbir, Turkish Eggs Recipe

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!

15-minute Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir) (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of cilbir? ›

Çılbır is a Turkish dish of poached eggs with yogurt (often with garlic mixed in).

What are Turkish eggs made of? ›

It's simply poached eggs over a bed of garlicky yogurt drizzled with a spiced butter sauce. Make sure to use Greek yogurt versus simply a plain yogurt because you want it to be a thick spread for the base of the dish.

How long do poached eggs take in boiling water? ›

Stir the water to create a gentle whirlpool which will help the egg white wrap around the yolk. Then carefully slide the egg into the water making sure the heat is low enough not to throw the egg around - there should only be small bubbles rising. Cook for 3-4 mins, until the white is cooked through.

Why is it called Turkish eggs? ›

According to popular lore, this egg dish goes back to the Ottoman Empire, when one of the main breakfast dishes served to sultans was poached eggs. Now, although poached eggs were likely enjoyed in Turkey for centuries, there is conflicting information about under which sultan the dish originated.

Why don t more people eat turkey eggs? ›

Since there is virtually no market for $3 eggs, farmers opt to raise their turkeys for meat rather than eggs and use their hens' eggs for producing more turkeys rather than for consumption.

Why don t we buy turkey eggs? ›

According to Modern Farmer, it comes down to economics. To justify the expense of raising turkey eggs, farmers would have to charge about $3 per egg, or $36 a dozen. You can get a lot more chicken eggs for that price.

How do you eat Turkish eggs? ›

Divide the warm creamy yogurt between two shallow bowls, top each with a poached egg, pour the peppery butter around and slightly over the yogurt, scatter the chopped dill on top, and eat dreamily, dipping in some thick well-toasted bread as you do so.

Are Turkish eggs the same as shakshuka? ›

Turkish menemen is very similar to shakshuka, but there's a lesser-known Turkish eggs recipe that's incredibly delicious too. This, called cilbir, involves poaching eggs, then laying them on a swirl of garlic-infused yoghurt, topping with a nutty chilli butter and fresh dill fronds.

What is an authentic Turkish breakfast? ›

Exclusive Authentic Turkish Breakfast, including: Cheese Platter (Feta & Kashar), Olive Platter (Green & Black), Tomatoes and Cucumber, Cream Cheese (Philedelphia), Pepper Paste, Butter, 2 Kinds of Jam, Honey, Nutella and one hot platter of: Sucuklu Yumurta (Sujuk w/ Eggs), Menemen (Shakshouka), Feta Cheese Rolls, ...

What is the difference between shakshuka and Turkish eggs? ›

Turkish Menemen and Israeli shakshuka are very similar but differ in the method and seasoning. Both are breakfast dishes where eggs are cooked in a tomato sauce. In menemen the eggs are virtually scrambled into the sauce, whereas shakshuka eggs are placed on the sauce and only slightly mixed.

Is it better to poach or boil eggs? ›

A poached egg is cooked without the shell. Poaching is a more delicate method of cooking eggs compared to Boiled Eggs since they are cooked in water that is hot but not boiling. There is no need for extra oil or butter when poaching which makes this a lower-calorie method for preparing eggs.

Do you need vinegar to poach eggs? ›

It's completely optional and not even necessary, but if you do want to try it, stir one tablespoon of distilled white vinegar into the boiling water before you add the eggs. Can you poach more than one egg at a time? If you're hosting a brunch party, you may want to poach more than one egg at time—and you can!

What is Turkish breakfast called in Turkish? ›

For Turks, kahvalti (breakfast) happens every single day of the week, and it's just as much a ritual on Wednesday as it is on Sunday.

What is meaning turkish breakfast? ›

The word for Turkish breakfast, kahvalti (kah-vahl-tuh), originates from two words that mean 'before coffee' or 'under coffee'. This is because traditionally, Turkish coffee is usually consumed after breakfast or in the afternoon.

What is breakfast in Turkey? ›

If we talk about traditional Turkish breakfast, which comes from the Ottoman Empire, it includes tomatoes, butter, bread (simit, lavas, Gozleme, Yufka, cornbread, Bazlama), olives, cheese, and tea (Turkish herbal teas, apple tea, yarrow tea, black tea, sage tea).

What is the meaning of the word Turkish? ›

[ tur-kish ] show ipa. adjective. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or derived from Turkey or the Turks. of or relating to the language of Turkey.

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