This Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 440 calories, 26.9g protein, and 31.5g carbs per serving. Ready in 35 minutes. High in fiber (10.4g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
Shakshuka is eggs cooked in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce, eaten across North Africa and the Middle East. This version adds chickpeas and spinach to the sauce, so it holds you until lunch without bread on the side. Each serving has about 440 calories, 27g of protein and 10g of fibre. It is dairy free and grain free, and it takes one pan.
Grocery list:
- Eggs
- Canned chopped tomatoes
- Canned chickpeas
- Baby spinach
- Red bell pepper
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Ground cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Chilli flakes
- Olive oil
Nutrition notes: Figures are per serving of 3 eggs and half the sauce, worked from USDA FoodData Central values for every weighed ingredient. Spices are not counted.
Keeps: The sauce keeps 3 days in the fridge. Warm it in the pan and add fresh eggs when you want to eat.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a wide frying pan with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 8 minutes, until soft.Stir in the garlic, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes. Cook for 1 minute.Add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer for 8 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.Stir in the spinach until it wilts.Make 6 small wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 minutes, until the whites set and the yolks are still soft.Scatter with parsley and eat straight from the pan.
Why this works for PCOS
Most shakshuka is served with a pile of bread to mop up the sauce. That bread is fast starch, and fast starch is what pushes insulin up when you have insulin resistance. Here the chickpeas do the job of the bread. They add body and slow carbs to the plate.
Each serving has 27g of protein and 10g of fibre against 31g of carbs. Protein and fibre in the same meal slow how fast the carbs reach your blood.
The ingredients doing the work
- Eggs: three per serving give most of the protein.
- Chickpeas: fibre and plant protein, and they make the sauce feel like a full meal.
- Tomatoes, pepper and spinach: lots of volume for few calories.
Make it your own
If you eat dairy, a spoon of feta on top is classic. If you like heat, add a chopped green chilli with the onion. For a lighter version, use 4 eggs instead of 6.
How this fits a PCOS week
PCOS Meal Planner builds your week around meals like this one, keeps out the foods you avoid, and gives you one shopping list.
Why this Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka works for PCOS
With 26.9g of protein per serving (about 24% of calories), this Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka sits at the top end of the 25-35g per-meal range that the 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends for managing insulin resistance and supporting lean mass. Higher-protein meals also blunt the glucose response when carbohydrates are included, which matters for women with PCOS because chronic insulin elevation drives androgen excess and irregular cycles.
The 31.5g of carbohydrates here come paired with 10.4g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 49% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Eating a substantial breakfast like this Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make for PCOS. In the Jakubowicz et al. 2013 trial published in Clinical Science, women with PCOS who front-loaded calories to breakfast reduced fasting insulin by 56% and increased ovulation rates 50%, with no change in total calories. Front-loading works because insulin sensitivity is highest in the morning and lowest at night.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Chickpea and Spinach Shakshuka recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 440 calories per serving with 26.9g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 10.4g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 35 minutes total. Prep time is 10 minutes and cook time is 25 minutes. It makes 2 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 440 calories, 26.9g protein (24%), 31.5g carbs, 24.1g fat. Plus 10.4g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Breakfast. At 440 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Breakfast. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 2 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
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