Published May 3, 2019.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This classic Eggs Benedict Recipe is a delicious breakfast consisting of English muffins, poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and a homemade hollandaise sauce.
I’ve made this recipe so many times in my life that it ain’t even funny. I used to work at this country club and every Sunday was brunch day which means I was whipping up a ton of hollandaise sauce.
Between my arm hurting from so much whisking and my stomach wanting to kill me because of all the fat, it took me a minute to be able to enjoy this again.
Fast forward 20 years and I’m loving it all over again and it’s definitely a part of my breakfast series so if you missed be sure to check out this Frittata Recipe and my Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe!
What Is It
Eggs benedict is simply a toasted English muffin that is topped off with some Canadian bacon, poached egg, hollandaise sauce and a garnish of chives or green onions. It’s really easy to make and dang delicious!
There are a few stories out there on how Eggs Benedict was founded with the first being from the 1860s were a Mrs. LeGrand Benedict when into the first fine dining establishment, Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York, and wasn’t digging what was on the menu.
She demanded the chef make her something else and poof out came what we know as the traditional recipe. Not a bad story.
The second version I dig, and it happened in the late 1890s where Mr. Lemuel Benedict was super hungover and went into the Waldorf Hotel in NYC and told them to stack up some toast, bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise stat! I think I’ll stick with this origin version hehe!
How to Make Eggs Benedict
It’s pretty easy to make, you want to start by making your hollandaise sauce.
Once the sauce is done, set it to the side but keep it warm. You can do this by putting a lid over the bowl that it was created in. It will be gross if you pour cold hollandaise on top of the eggs.
Next, heat up your ham and keep warm. I do this by searing up some Canadian bacon in a bit of butter and then keeping the heat low.
To poach the egg simmer some water over medium-low heat and stir with a spoon for 10 seconds to create a vortex. Add a cracked egg right to the center of the vortex and cook for 3 minutes or until the egg is cooked but the yolk is still runny. Season the egg.
Last but not least, toast up your English muffin, and then it’s time to plate this up.
How to Serve It
To serve an eggs benedict, it’s all about layering. Start by laying down your toasted English muffin half. Next, add the ham, followed up with the poached egg and hollandaise sauce.
I always like to finish it off with a bit of chopped fresh parsley and chives. It’s a no-brainer that this recipe, along with my Ham and Cheese Omelette, is in my top 5 breakfasts!
More Breakfast Recipes
- Huevos Ranchers
- Homemade Bagels
- Omelette
- Gravlax
- Quiche Lorraine
Video
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Eggs Benedict Recipe
5 from 21 votes
This classic Eggs Benedict Recipe is a delicious breakfast consisting of English muffins, poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and a homemade hollandaise sauce.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
Ingredients
For the Hollandaise:
- 4 egg yolks
- juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup chardonnay wine
- 4-6 ounces clarified butter
- sea salt and cayenne to taste
For the Eggs benedict:
- 8 eggs
- 8 Toasted English muffin halves
- 8 slices of Canadian bacon, heated
- chopped fresh parsley and chives for garnish
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Hollandaise: whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and wine in a large metal bowl until it becomes frothy, about 2 minutes.
Add the bowl over a double boiler and whisk vigorously until it is very foamy and no egg liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Whisk while slowly drizzling in the clarified butter until completely emulsified. Remove from the double boiler, season with salt and cayenne and set aside.
Eggs Benedict: Add some vinegar to a medium-size pot with water and simmer over medium-low heat.
Stir the water using a spoon for 10 seconds to create a vortex and add 1 egg to the center of it so the whites of the egg wrap around the yolk. Cook for 3 minutes or until the egg is cooked but the yolk is runny.
Remove the egg and season with salt and pepper. Repeat 5 more times with the rest of the eggs.
To Plate: Place the toasted English muffin halves on a plate and layer on with the Canadian bacon, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and garnish of parsley and chives.
Nutrition
Calories: 802kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 35gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 624mgSodium: 1179mgPotassium: 497mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 735IUCalcium: 136mgIron: 3mg
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
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37 comments
- sue 😁
Thank you gosh this is tasty delicious ChefBilly😁😋🤩💯
- Reply
- Juan Fuentes
Exactly how I make mine, eggs must have runny yolk and Canadian Bacon a must, accept no substitutions like blue crab, minced shrimp, caviar, etc.
- Reply
- Tracey
This is m favorite breakfast. I love all of Billie’s recipes.
- Reply
- sue 😁
Tasty thank you ChefBilly😁👋👋😋
- Reply
- Jeanette Bucy
I think it
You make it. Weird stuff
This is my all time favorite breakfast
Cannot thank you enough
You should be on the food network- Reply
- Elisabeth Dobcsek
Hi Chef , this is sunday and I made eggs Benedict , I did smoked salmon eggs benedict instead of ham , your way of poached egg is perfect , I toasted the english muffin and had cream cheese then smoked salmon already prepared with olive oil capers and french shallot , top with the egg and sauce , it was excellent , thank you now I know how to poach my egg they were perfect 🤗
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
my pleasure!
- Reply
- sue
Fabulous 😋🤩all eggs Benedict do not look like these 👋😁thank you Chef Billy 😁😋
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
many thanks!
- Reply
- connie
I love Chef Billy’s recipes – they are easy to follow, delicious, and, well….he’s just a good guy. 🙂
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Julie
everything about this recipe is perfect but I used spinach instead of the ham… so delicious! I have not had been disappointed in any of his recipes.
- Reply
thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Don
This is my wife’s favorite breakfast. I made it for the first time this morning and it turned out excellent. Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I truly appreciate it.
- Reply
my pleasure!
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- Larry
I’ve been making Eggs Benedict all wrong thanks Chef for this recipe. Everyone must try this one it’s excellent. Thanks!
Larryv- Reply
amazing
- Reply
- karen wilson
Delicious! One of my favorite breakfasts; especially with a couple asparagus and a little spinach with the egg and English muffin. Add this sauce and it was heavenly! So Yummy!
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- Barbara a Day
Excellen t recipe! Almost exactly the way we do it at home. Thanks, Chef Billy!
- Reply
my pleasure!
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- Connie Fickler
I have never put wine in my hollandaise sauce. Just lemon, , yolks, and butter, seasonings. Does it make a big taste difference?
- Reply
It’s a nice touch
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- cindy
amazing !!!! perfect. I cut the recipe in half because there’s only two of us. The flavor of the sauce was very mild so very very good, better than any restaurant I ever had this at I forgot to put the chives on ! DARN BUT IT WAS STILL EXCELLENT. WE ENJOYED Our eggs Benedict WITH A MORNING MIMOSA.
- Reply
Great!
- Reply
- Ricardo
Gotta come back this weekend to cook this. Chef Billy makes it look so easy.
- Reply
Nice!
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- Trent Mull
Honestly this is the only Hollandaise sauce I have ever been able to get to turn out! Exceptional Recipe! Thanks Chef Billy!
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- Jess
Bonjour Chef Billy,
THIS recipe is absolutely SPOT ON; beyong French myself, I am always shocked & disgusted when I visit cafes & they “bastardise” the original French Hollandaise recipe, serving Eggs Benedict with a tinged vinegar, oranged or sugared Hollandaise sauce..!
Thank you for sharing the Orginal Hollandaise Sauce with everyone… let’s hope CHEFS out there worldwide actually pay attention to this recipe..!
😉
Jess (Anglo-French-Australian)
🙂It’s NOT difficult to make the proper real sauce,
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- David
Please link to a recipe for making English Muffins. You’ve got me wanting to do it completely from scratch! Love your videos!
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- natasha
my husband will totally liven this gourmet breakfast. what a treat!
- Reply
Do it up!
- Reply
- Sara Welch
This is my favorite meal for breakfast; I will have to give this a try! Restaurant worthy, indeed!
- Reply
So good!
- Reply
- Rachael Yerkes
Eggs Benedict is one of my favorites! this is a stellar recipe
- Reply
Thank you kindly!
- Reply
- Julie
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
- Reply
thank you so much!
- Reply
