If you’re looking to elevate your breakfast or brunch, Turkish Eggs, known as Çılbir, are a must-try! I'm totally addicted to this breakfast that comes together in literally 15 mins!
What Are Turkish Eggs?
Turkish Eggs (Çılbir) is a traditional dish from Turkish cuisine that features soft poached eggs served over a thick yogurt base flavored with garlic and fresh herbs. The dish is finished off with a spiced butter drizzle made with Aleppo pepper and chili. I hosted my best friend recently for a couple days and made this for breakfast and she absolutely loved it!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Turkish Eggs are incredibly simple to make, using basic pantry staples to create a breakfast that feels straight out of a restaurant. The blend of creamy yogurt, tender poached eggs, and tangy, spiced butter will impress anyone you serve it to. And the best part is that it takes only 15 minutes to make!
Ingredients You'll Need
- Yogurt: Use Greek yogurt but my personal recommendation is to get Labneh because it's strained/hung even longer than Greek Yogurt resulting in a super thick creamy base.
- Garlic: Adds a subtle depth to the yogurt base.
- Eggs: Fresh eggs are key for successful poaching. Try to get pasture-raised for the best quality eggs.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted.
- Spices: Aleppo pepper is traditional, but I alo add smoked paprika and za'atar seasoning. It's unbelievable!
- Fresh Herbs: Dill just takes it to another level!
- Bread: I serve this with crunchy toasted sourdough but you can also use other varieties.
Step-by-Step Recipe for Turkish Eggs
1. Prepare the Yogurt Base
- Scoop out a couple tablespoons of Greek yogurt or Labneh (I prefer Labneh!) per serving plate and grate in a garlic and swirl it in the yogurt with the spoon. Tear some dill and just sprinkle over the yogurt. No need to mix.
2. Poach the Eggs
- Bring a pot of water to a bubbling boil and add a tablespoon of vinegar.
- Drop the flame to medium to allow the water to gently simmer. Create a vortex/little whirlpool in the water using a spoon. Crack one egg into a bowl and drop it gently in the center of the vortex.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes for a soft runny yolk, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon. Dab lightly on a kitchen towel to remove the excess moisture and serve the eggs on top of the prepared Cilbir Turkish Yogurt.
3. Make the Spiced Butter Drizzle
- In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
- Then add a generous pinch of Aleppo pepper, smoked paprika and Za'atar. Stir until combined, then drizzle over the eggs and yogurt.
4. Assemble the Dish (at a glance)
- Spread a thick layer of herbed yogurt on a serving plate.
- Place the poached eggs on top of the yogurt.
- Drizzle generously with the spiced butter sauce.
- Garnish with more fresh dill, salt and black coarse black pepper and serve with toasted Sourdough.
Watch how to make Turkish Eggs
How to poach eggs perfectly in 4 minutes
- Use Fresh Eggs: Fresh eggs have firmer whites, which stay intact when poaching and don't create flyaways as much where the whites get wispy.
- Prepare the Water: Fill a deep pot with water, bring it to a boil, and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Vinegar helps to set the whites.
- Create a Vortex: Drop the heat to medium to let the water go down to a simmer. Stir the water with your spoon to create a whirlpool; this helps the egg whites wrap neatly around the yolk (again to minimize the flyaways).
- Add the Egg: Crack the egg into a small bowl, then gently slide it into the center of the vortex. You can poach more than one egg, but just make sure to keep them ready in the bowls so the poached eggs all cook around the same time.
- Cook for 3-4 Minutes: Let the egg poach undisturbed until the whites are set and the yolk remains soft. I would recommend not going over 4 mins if you like soft, runny eggs.
- Remove and Strain: Use a slotted spoon to lift the egg. Dab it on a paper towel to remove excess water before plating.
Tips for Success
- Use Fresh Ingredients: Fresh eggs and herbs (especially dill) elevate the flavors.
- Perfect Poaching: Adding vinegar to the boiling water helps the egg whites stay intact.
- Don’t Skimp on the Butter: The rich, spiced butter sauce is where all the real flavor is!
- Customize Your Heat: If you don't have Aleppo, just add some chili flakes and play around with the level of heat.
The best Turkish Eggs You will Make
Turkish Eggs are incredibly simple to make, using basic pantry staples like eggs, yogurt, butter to create a breakfast that feels straight out of a restaurant.
Ingredients
Herbed Yogurt
- 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt or Labneh
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill roughly torn
Spiced Butter
- 1 tablespoon butter
- a good pinch Aleppo chili
- a good pinch smoked paprika
- a good pinch za'atar seasoning
Poached Eggs
- 1 tablespoon vinegar in a pot of water
- 1-2 fresh eggs poached for 3-4 minutes
Instructions
Make the Yogurt Base
- For the yogurt, simply scoop out Labneh or Greek Yogurt on your serving plate and grate in a garlic. Gently swirl the garlic into the labneh and sprinkle some roughly torn fresh dill.
Poached Eggs
- To poach eggs, let water come a boil in a pot and pour 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Then drop the flame to medium to let the water come to a gentle simmer with only little bubbles around the edges.
- With your spoon, create a vortex in the water and working quickly, drop in your egg gently from the bowl right in the center of the vortex. You can add more than one.
- Allow the eggs to poach in the water for 3-4 mins. They should be soft when you gently prod the yolk. Strain the eggs on a kitchen towel to blot out the excess water. You can also trim the wispy whites around the edges to make the poached eggs perfectly round like the restaurants.
- Carefully place the poached eggs atop the yogurt.
Spiced Butter
- In a saucepan, melt butter along with Aleppo chili, smoked paprika and za'atar, then drizzle it over the Turkish eggs. Add more dill, salt and coarse black pepper and serve with toasted sourdough.
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