Turkish Eggs (Cilbir)

What Are Turkish Eggs?

Turkish eggs are a classic Middle Eastern breakfast made with fresh, creamy Greek yogurt flavored with garlic and herbs.

It’s topped with warm poached eggs, and spicy olive oil butter drizzle called Aleppo butter as it’s flavored with Aleppo pepper, a variety of spices.

How To Make Turkish Eggs

It’s super easy to make this Turkish breakfast as soon as you follow the few steps below.

Ingredients

This Cilbir recipe is made in three steps. You first need to prepare the yogurt base, for which you need the following ingredients:

• Plain Greek Yogurt – Full-fat yogurt provides the best creamy texture.
• Fresh Garlic
• Salt
• Lemon Juice
• Pepper
• Fresh Parsley

For the poached eggs, you need:

• Large Fresh Eggs
• Pinch of Salt
• Boiling Water

For the Aleppo butter, you need:

• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Aleppo Pepper – That’s the magic ingredient that provides the best light spicy flavor to the butter and vibrant red colors.
• Paprika
• Cumin

Preparation

This Turkish breakfast is pretty simple to make, especially if you know how to make poached eggs.

That’s probably the only technical cooking step in this recipe, apart from that, the recipe is pretty simple.

Since it’s a three-step recipe, I prefer to make Cilbir on the weekend when I don’t have the pressure of serving a quick breakfast.

Making Garlic Yogurt

First, prepare garlic yogurt by stirring Greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, and freshly chopped parsley in a bowl.

Spread the yogurt evenly into two small plates or shallow bowls.

I use the back of a tablespoon to create a nice swirl on top of the yogurt.

Place the plates in the fridge while you poach eggs.

Poaching Eggs

That’s the tricky part of this breakfast. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to poach eggs, so let me guide you through this easily.

First, fill a large pot with water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil.

Meanwhile, place a towel onto a plate or chopping board. This is where you will rest the cooked poached eggs before serving.

While the water is boiling, crack each egg one at a time above a small sieve placed above the sink.

Some of the egg white will go through the sieve, and that’s ok. Let it go into the sink.

This is the unattached part of the egg whites, and if you poach this part, the egg looks messy so it’s better to discard it.

Pour the egg yolk and egg whites left in the sieve into a ramekin, or small bowl, as seen in the picture below.

Repeat this step for each egg, keeping one egg per ramekin, not all in the same bowl.

Now, reduce the heat to medium-low to keep a low boil in the pot.

Use a fork to swirl the water and create a vortex and pour one egg.

Cook the egg for 45 seconds before adding another egg to the pot. Cook each egg for 3 minutes or until the egg whites are set.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the poached eggs from the pot and place them on the prepared towel to absorb excess water.

Keep the eggs at room temperature while making the spicy butter.

Serving Turkish Eggs

Take the plate filled with garlicky yogurt out of the fridge.

Add two poached eggs on top of each plate filled with yogurt mixture and drizzle the warm Aleppo butter on top.

Sides For Poached Eggs

You can eat these creamy eggs and yogurt themself, but honestly, they taste way better with some bread.

Bread and Crackers

Pick some of the bread ideas below to dig in, some are low-carb, some are not, pick what’s right for you.

• Low-carb pita bread
• Homemade pita chips
• Almond crackers
• Almond flour bread
• Whole meal bread
• Moroccan bread
• Keto focaccia
• Crusty bread like baguette
• Greek Fries

Roasted Vegetables

Some vegetables go very well with yogurt and eggs like:

• Brussels Sprout Chips
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Roasted Rutabagas

Frequently Asked Questions

Below I answered your most common questions about this Turkish recipe.

Can I Add Fried Eggs On Top?

If you are not used to poaching eggs, you can alternatively make a sunny-side-up egg, even if this is not the authentic way to make Cilbir.

Can I Poach Eggs In The Microwave?

Absolutely! Fill a tall 12-ounce coffee mug with 1/2 cup of water and microwave it until it boils. It takes about 90 seconds.

Use mittens to remove the coffee mug from the microwave, add the egg to the mug, and cover it with a silicone lid or plate.

Microwave again for 30 seconds, then add 10-second bursts if needed until the egg white turns just hard and completely set.

Use a fork to remove the microwaved poached egg from the mug and place it on a kitchen towel to cool.

What Can I Use Instead Of Poached Eggs?

If you can’t eat liquid egg yolks for any reason, like being pregnant, try my air fryer boiled egg technique or make an over-hard egg.