These Egyptian fried boiled eggs aka Beid Meza’lil are the easiest way to make eggs look (and taste) fancy!
Hard-boiled eggs are fried and seasoned, and served as a deliciously crispy snack, a side dish or even added to a salad. This holiday egg recipe is unlike anything you’ll have ever tried- it’s a promise. Top the salad with a drizzle of Za'atar dressing for some extra yumminess!
I’ve always been so inspired by Mediterranean cooking. The copious amounts of olive oil, simple and fresh ingredients and no-fuss cooking procedures are a total win, and almost always where I turn to when I’m not in the mood to cook.
My beet cucumber salad and tomato cucumber salad were both big hits, and I ended up making them so much more often than I expected.
Quick Look: Beid Meza'lil
- 🔪 Prep time: 5 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 15 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 4.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Eggs, ghee or butter, olive oil, salt, black pepper.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Boil → peel → pan-fry until golden → serve.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Very easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Serve with pita bread, feta cheese, olives, fresh tomato and cucumber salad, spinach feta crisps, or as part of a hearty Egyptian breakfast.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- The dish is incredibly simple and yet, so unique. You can customize it based on your personal taste preference.
- You can have it for breakfast or eat it for lunch when you want to have something that’s light and healthy, yet filling- just like Fatoosh salad.
Recipe Ingredients
Eggs: You’ll need to start off with some hard boiled eggs. If you haven’t done that already, boil the eggs and allow them to cool down before you use them for the recipe.
Butter: I used a bit of butter to brown up the eggs, but olive oil works just as well. Sometimes, I like to use lemon infused oil for extra flavor.
Sumac: Sumac is a classic Middle Eastern seasoning that has a nice fruity flavor. You should find it at any food specialty store near you.
Olive oil: You’ll also need a bit of olive oil, ideally extra virgin olive oil to keep the butter from burning.
Seasonings: I kept the seasonings super simple, and used just salt and pepper. You can also use homemade herb salt if you want to.
Veggies: I just used some fresh radish and cucumber for the salad. You can also try using other veggies of your choice.
Mint leaves: Mint leaves are another must in this recipe as they brighten up the subtle, simple flavors of the dish. I like using homemade dried mint whenever I don't have fresh mint.
Feta cheese: Some crumbled or cubed feta cheese cuts through the indulgent flavors of this salad with its nice salty and tangy flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- To add some extra flavor to the hard boiled eggs, you can also sprinkle some fresh or dried dill.
- A sprinkle of ground cumin can also be a wonderful addition to these lovely eggs.
- A sprinkle of Egyptian Dukkah spice blend can also jazz up the flavors of the Beid Meza’lil.
How to Make Egyptian Fried Boiled Eggs
Step 1: Get the eggs to room temperature and add them to a pan or a skillet with a bit of ghee over medium heat.
Step 2: Move them around gently using a wooden spoon until they’re beautiful golden brown on the surface.
Step 3: Season them with salt, pepper and sumac and slice them. Add them to a large bowl with the veggies, mint leaves and feta cheese, drizzle a bit of olive oil and serve!
💭Top Tip
Want to bring in some extra flavor to these Egyptian egg salad? Drizzle some pomegranate molasses dressing over it, right before you serve.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- To get the perfect, hard boiled eggs, bring the water to a rolling boil, add in the eggs and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the eggs, allow them to cool down, peel them and then use them for the recipe.
- Remember to pat dry the eggs before you add them to the pan, especially if you’ve just peeled them. This will keep them from splattering when they’re fried in ghee.
- Use a good quality non-stick pan or skillet greased in a bit of butter for best results, and to keep the eggs from sticking to the surface.
- I also love the idea of adding some other condiments like marinated olives or Sumac onions into the salad for a bit of extra deliciousness.
- You can also choose to spoon some Turkish salsa over the crispy hard boiled eggs.
How to Serve Beid Meza'lil
This keto friendly, protein rich Mediterranean dish can be enjoyed at any time of the day. I personally love serving it as a salad and having it for lunch or dinner when I’m planning to up my protein intake.
The dish also works wonderfully when teamed up with other Mediterranean inspired dishes like Sumac roasted chicken and some Turkish cheese rolls. These crispy eggs can be perfect to feed a crowd when you’re hosting, and you can also prepare the eggs in advance to cut down the cooking time.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
While you could, I would recommend sticking to the hard boiled ones. Soft boiled eggs tend to be more delicate, and can end up breaking while you’re crisping them up in the pan.
If you do have some leftovers, you can use them up to make another salad like a nice chickpea egg salad or just transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate them.
If you have some hard boiled eggs that are refrigerated and need to be reheated, you can slice them first and pop them in the microwave on low for a minute, stopping every 10-15 seconds.
More Middle Eastern Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Beid Meza'lil or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Egyptian Fried Boiled Eggs (Beid Meza'lil)
Ingredients
- 3 hard boiled eggs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon butter
- ½ cup cucumber diced
- ½ cup radish diced
- 1 teaspoon mint leaves fresh
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Get the eggs to room temperature and add them to a pan or a skillet with a bit of ghee over medium heat.
- Move them around gently using a wooden spoon until they’re beautiful golden brown on the surface.
- Season them with salt, pepper and sumac and slice them. Add them to a large bowl with the veggies, mint leaves and feta cheese, drizzle a bit of olive oil and serve!
