Quick Eggs in Purgatory Recipe (25 Minutes)

The combination of eggs and tomato sauce is popular in dishes from many cultures, but generally requires slow-simmering tomatoes to make your own savory tomato sauce from scratch. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re in a rush, this shortcut recipe uses jarred marinara sauce to get most of the same flavors with a huge reduction in prep time.

What Are Eggs in Purgatory?

Eggs in Purgatory is the Italian version of eggs gently poached in a flavorful tomato sauce, similar to Middle Eastern shakshuka. Some sources say it gets its name from the wispy egg whites surrounding the yolks, which are like the ghostly souls of those waiting in Purgatory. Others say that the red sauce represents the flames surrounding those poor doomed souls.

No matter the name origin, the recipe consists simply of eggs cracked into a pan of simmering tomato sauce, which are then gently cooked through. In Italy, it’s traditionally served for breakfast alongside some crusty bread.

Take a Shortcut with Jarred Marinara

To make things quick and easy, this recipe relies on a jar of store-bought marinara sauce. It will be full of seasonings and flavors in just one ingredient and eliminates the need to stand at your stove all day stirring. Just heat it up and go!

Use your favorite high-quality brand here. Most will be 28 ounces and some larger jars (like those from Costco) will be 32 ounces. Any jar in this size range work just fine for this recipe. 

Tips for Making Shortcut Eggs in Purgatory

• It helps to have a nice shallow skillet that is very wide for this recipe. If your eggs are completely covered in tomato sauce, then your pan is probably not shallow enough. In an ideal world, the tomato sauce should be about 1 inch up the side of the skillet so the eggs just nestle in the sauce on the surface.
• Be mindful of your heat level for this recipe. The sauce should never be bubbling aggressively, so turn things down if needed. Just a light simmer is plenty of heat to cook the eggs and will avoid scorching the sauce on the bottom of the pan.
• If you like your yolks runny, be sure not to overcook them. After about 8 minutes they should be perfect, but remember that if you aren’t serving them immediately they will continue to cook in the skillet. 
• Season the tomato sauce really well with salt and pepper. After your eggs have cooked, taste the sauce again and season it to your liking. 

Serving Suggestions

The nice thing about this dish is that it’s great for breakfast or dinner (or breakfast-for-dinner!). My family likes it for a hearty fall or winter breakfast before a day out in the chilly weather. Two eggs, plus the sauce and crusty bread makes for a great start to the day! 

Toast your bread well and serve it up on the side so you can dip it in the delicious marinara sauce. For a finishing touch, garnish the dish aggressively with parmesan cheese and freshly chopped herbs like parsley and basil.