Eggs Benedict with Asparagus

Learn how to make eggs Benedict at home with an easier method for homemade hollandaise sauce.

My recipe puts a fresh twist on the classic dish by adding tender-crisp asparagus.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

This recipe keeps things simple, but there's still room to make it your own.

• Bread: I use thick slices of buttered toast, but a toasted and buttered English muffin makes it classic. For a gluten-free version, use your favourite gluten-free bread.
• Asparagus: Look for firm, bright green spears. Thinner spears cook faster and stay tender-crisp.
• Eggs: Fresh eggs are key for poaching, since the whites hold together better in the water. If your eggs aren't very fresh, see my tip below for spinning the water first.
• Egg yolks: These form the base of the hollandaise. Save the whites for an omelette.
• Unsalted butter: Room-temperature butter is easier to emulsify into the sauce and less likely to split it. If you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt in the sauce.
• Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed gives the hollandaise its signature brightness. Bottled juice works in a pinch, but fresh tastes better.
• Short on time? You can skip the homemade sauce entirely and use a package of instant hollandaise or a jar of ready-to-serve sauce. I find the jarred version is usually a bit nicer, but it's a personal preference.

This recipe has not been tested with all possible substitutions or variations. If you try something different, please share in the comments!

Recipe Variations

• Make It Classic: swap out the hot buttered toast for a classic toasted and buttered English muffin.
• Swap Your Veggies: turn your eggs Benedict into eggs Florentine by switching the pan-fried asparagus to sautéed spinach.
• Make It Meaty: add ham, pea-meal bacon or regular bacon
• Spice it Up: top your hollandaise with a sprinkle of paprika or cayenne pepper for a little heat.
• Treat Yourself: top your Benedicts with cooked lump crab meat for an extra special brunch!
• Add Some Green: garnish your eggs with finely chopped fresh chives

If you like asparagus on toast, check out my smoked salmon crostini recipe!

Why I Make This Recipe

When it comes to breakfast, I usually go for something simple: apple cinnamon oatmeal, a granola parfait, or a smoothie.

But once in a while, it's nice to treat myself to something a bit fancier on the weekend.

Eggs Benedict always struck me as one of those dishes that was too fussy to make at home, a special treat I reserved for fancy restaurant brunches.

But when you break the dish down, it's really not that complicated: a toasted and buttered English muffin or slice of bread, a piece of ham or Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and a generous spoonful of hollandaise sauce.

I decided to change things up by adding fresh asparagus instead of ham or bacon. It's a great way to sneak in some veggies, and it helps offset the richness of the hollandaise, too.

If you skip making the hollandaise from scratch, the hardest part of this recipe will be poaching the eggs, which isn't that hard once you know what you're doing!

Learning How to Poach Eggs

When I first learned to poach eggs, I tried the popular fine-mesh sieve and "gentle vortex" method, and was frustrated with both techniques. You can see some of my less successful attempts above.

It turns out the two biggest culprits behind wispy, exploded whites are pouring the egg in from a height and letting the water boil instead of gently simmer.

Jamie Oliver's method for poaching eggs is what finally worked for me.

Here's what I learned:

• Use fresh eggs. The whites hold together better in the water.
• Be gentle. Crack each egg into a small bowl first, then slide it into the water close to the surface.
• Keep the water at a gentle simmer, not a boil. The bubbles of a rolling boil can break the egg apart.
• Use a slotted spoon to lift the finished eggs out of the water.

Tip: If your eggs aren't that fresh, spin the water with a spoon BEFORE gently tipping the eggs in. The moving water helps shape the whites around the yolks.

Poached Egg Substitution:

If you don't enjoy the texture of poached eggs or don't want to go through the trouble of making them, try topping your eggs Benedict with a fried egg instead!

You can still enjoy that runny yolk, but with arguably tastier whites.

Making the Hollandaise Sauce

The hollandaise sauce actually wasn't that difficult to make, but it does take time and attention.

You'll need a double boiler, but don't run out to buy one.

A heat-safe bowl (ceramic, stainless steel, or tempered glass) set over a pot of simmering water works just as well.

You can read more about how to make a double boiler here.

I adapted my recipe from Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook, with less butter so it's not as rich. What I like about her version is that she uses room-temperature butter, which makes the sauce easier to emulsify and less likely to split.

And while most people associate hollandaise with eggs Benedict, it's just as good spooned over vegetables or fish.

Tips for Successfully Making Hollandaise Sauce:

• Don't overfill the pot. Add just enough water to create steam.
• Use the right bowl. Whisk your eggs in a ceramic, stainless steel, or heatproof glass bowl.
• Keep the bowl above the water. If the bottom touches the simmering water, the eggs will scramble.
• Keep the heat gentle. The water should be barely simmering, not boiling, so the eggs cook slowly.
• Whisk constantly so the eggs can thicken without scrambling.
• Add the butter bit by bit, not all at once, so each piece is fully incorporated.

Tip: Pour your freshly made hollandaise sauce into a thermos so it stays warm while you pan-fry your asparagus, toast your bread etc.

Common Questions

More Tasty Brunch Recipes:

• Leek and Mushroom Quiche
• Pumpkin Crepes
• Nutella Pancakes with Mascarpone Cream