My preference for onion is not something I developed recently. I grew up eating the menemen my late aunt prepared, and she always made hers with onion. Because I lived with her when I was young, that became the flavor I naturally associate with menemen.

My mother and grandmother, however, make menemen without onion. Apart from that first onion-cooking step, their basic method is very similar to mine. That difference within my own family probably explains the famous Turkish argument about menemen better than any strict rule could.

Should Menemen Have Onion?

There is no universal agreement in Turkey about whether menemen should contain onion. Some people consider onion essential, while others prefer the cleaner combination of tomato, pepper, and egg.

Turkey’s official Culture Portal also describes menemen as a dish made both with and without onion. In other words, both versions are part of Turkish cooking rather than one being the only authentic choice.

I personally choose onion because I like the extra aroma and sweetness it develops in olive oil. If you prefer menemen without onion, simply skip that step and begin with the peppers. The rest of the cooking method can remain almost the same.

The Ingredients That Matter Most to Me

Menemen has very few main ingredients, so their quality and the way you cook them make a noticeable difference.

Tomatoes

For me, tomatoes are the most important ingredient after the eggs. I strongly prefer flavorful field-grown tomatoes when they are in season. Greenhouse tomatoes often give me a much flatter result.

In many traditional preparations, cooks peel and dice the tomatoes. I usually peel and grate mine because I like how quickly they turn into a smooth base for the eggs.

The important point is not whether you grate or dice them. What matters is cooking off the excess water before adding the eggs. I look for a texture similar to a loose tomato paste. There should no longer be a layer of tomato water collecting on the surface.

Green Peppers

Sweet sivri peppers or ordinary Turkish green peppers both work well. I leave the skins on.

Many people cut the peppers into fairly small pieces. I intentionally cut mine larger, usually around 2–3 cm, because I enjoy feeling the soft cooked pepper as a separate texture in the finished menemen.

Olive Oil

For my everyday menemen, I use olive oil rather than butter. It is the version I know best and the one I prefer with tomatoes, peppers, and onion.

This is also a good example of why I avoid treating one menemen recipe as a rule for all of Turkey. Regional styles can be very different. The registered Çakallı Menemeni from Samsun, for example, specifically uses butter, no onion, kaşar cheese, and only egg yolks. It is a distinct regional preparation rather than the method I cook at home.

Do You Beat the Eggs for Menemen?

I do not beat the eggs in a bowl before adding them.

Once the onion, peppers, and tomatoes are ready, I crack the eggs directly into the pan. Then I stir them gently into the tomato mixture.

I do not try to make everything completely homogeneous. I like to see some variation between the egg, tomato, and pepper rather than turning the dish into ordinary scrambled eggs with tomato.

The Most Important Part Is the Texture

For me, overcooking is one of the easiest ways to ruin menemen.

I do not rely on an exact number of minutes after adding the eggs. Tomatoes vary in water content, eggs vary in size, and the width of the pan changes how quickly moisture evaporates.

Instead, I watch the egg whites. When the whites have cooked but the mixture still looks moist, I take the pan off the heat.

The finished menemen should not have tomato water floating on the surface, but it should not look dry either. I want it soft, moist, and easy to scoop up with bread.

Why I Use a Wide, Shallow Pan

I prefer a wide, shallow pan for menemen. I try not to let the mixture sit more than about 2–3 cm deep in the pan.

A wide surface helps the tomatoes lose excess moisture without forcing me to cook them aggressively. It also makes it easier to mix the eggs gently without turning the entire dish into a uniform scramble.

My Seferihisar-Style Preferences

I would not claim that my personal version represents every menemen made in Seferihisar. These are simply the details I have settled on after making and eating the dish regularly.

• I make it with onion.
• I grate the tomatoes.
• I cut the green peppers into larger 2–3 cm pieces.
• I use olive oil rather than butter.
• I leave the finished menemen moist rather than cooking it dry.
• I sometimes finish it with about 50–60 g of grated kaşar cheese.

The grated kaşar is optional. I like the way it melts into the hot menemen, but I do not consider cheese necessary for a basic version.

Can You Add Sucuk or Sausage to Menemen?

You can cook eggs, tomatoes, and peppers with many additional ingredients, but I personally do not consider sucuk or sausage part of the menemen I make at home.

I prefer to keep sucuk dishes separate. If I want sucuk with eggs, I would rather make sucuklu yumurta than add it to this recipe.

Herbs are less disruptive to the basic character of the dish. In addition to salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, a little dried mint or oregano can work according to personal taste.

How I Serve Menemen

I serve menemen immediately, preferably in the same pan in which I cooked it.

Fresh parsley, arugula, and lettuce work especially well on the side. But for me, the most important accompaniment is fresh bread.

The way I grew up eating menemen was not about carefully portioning it onto a plate. We put bread directly into the soft tomato-and-egg mixture and used it to scoop up each bite.

If you want to choose a bread for the table, my guide to Turkish bread varieties explains the breads I commonly eat in Turkey.

Menemen also fits naturally into a larger Turkish breakfast, alongside cheese, olives, fresh vegetables, bread, and tea. Turkey’s official tourism site similarly includes menemen among the egg dishes commonly served as part of Turkish breakfast.

My Final Advice for Better Menemen

If I had to reduce my method to three points, they would be simple: use flavorful tomatoes, cook away their excess water before adding the eggs, and stop cooking while the finished menemen is still moist.

The onion question is much less important than people sometimes make it sound. My late aunt made hers with onion, while my mother and grandmother make theirs without it. I prefer my aunt’s version because that is the taste I grew up with.

That is one of the things I like most about menemen. A very small set of ingredients can still leave room for family habits, regional techniques, and personal preferences.

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