Asparagus Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict gets a healthy low carb makeover. Replace the carb heavy bread with delicious asparagus for a fresh take on the brunch classic. This post is sponsored by Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs.

I’ve eaten my fair share of eggs Benedict in my day. But it’s been quite some time since I’ve enjoyed that brunch classic. I don’t eat English muffins anymore, so it seems rather pointless to order Eggs Benny when out for breakfast.

Of course, the best parts of a Benedict are the eggs, and the Canadian bacon, and the warm hollandaise sauce anyway. (As an aside, those of us from Canada do not call it Canadian bacon. It’s known as back bacon).

But it needs something to sit on… something to catch all that drippy yolk and sauce. Something that goes really well with hollandaise. Something that’s still low carb and keto-friendly.

And what with spring produce coming into season, that “something” just has to be fresh asparagus. It’s perfect! Bright, fresh and crisp, a little sauteed asparagus is a delicious way to sop up the yolks.

Fresh Sustainable Organic Eggs for Hollandaise

Many people find the process of making hollandaise sauce intimidating. But it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can offer is that you need to trust your eggs. And I mean, really trust them. Blender Hollandaise sauce uses raw egg yolks and that alone can scare many people off.

But it doesn’t have to!

When I make something that requires undercooked eggs, I alway reach for Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs. They’re humane, sustainable, organic and truly free range. They’re produced the way eggs are meant to be produced, by happy free-ranging hens. 

Another little piece of advice I will offer is to use a blender to make the hollandaise. The process is so much simpler and the emulsification between the yolks and the butter happens so much faster.

How to make Asparagus Eggs Benedict

Benedict has a lot of moving parts and it’s hard to get everything ready at the same time. I recommend doing everything separately and poaching the eggs at the end so they aren’t overcooked

Make the sauce. This only takes a minute or two and you can let it sit while you prep everything else. Hollandaise tends to thicken as it cools but I’ve found that you can loosen it up again simply by blending or whisking in a few teaspoons of hot water.

Fry the Canadian bacon. This warms it up and browns it nicely so it has a bit more flavor.

Saute the asparagus. You can cook the asparagus right in the same pan you used for the bacon. It only needs a few minutes to turn from dull green to the bright green that indicates it’s cooked. Leave it in the pan off heat to stay warm.

Poach the eggs. I will be the first to admit that my egg poaching game is weak, so I like to use little poaching baskets that keep the eggs in place in the water. Do add the vinegar, as it helps the egg whites firm up without becoming feathery little bits. And keep your water at a simmer, not a boil.

About 3 ½ minutes is all you need for firm whites but deliciously runny yolks! You can cook them further if you prefer. Or hey, you can even fry them if poaching is not your thing.

Assemble! Rewarm the asparagus and bacon if you need to, and make sure your sauce is not too thick. And then you can put it all together into a delicious keto brunch.

Can you halve this Eggs Benedict recipe?

If you are cooking for only two people, you can easily make a half batch. I will tell you, though, that it’s hard to make only a half recipe of the hollandaise in a blender. It’s such a small amount that the blades don’t catch it easily.

You can refrigerate hollandaise for up to two days. It will become quite hard but let it come to room temp and then whisk in the hot water to loosen.

Ready to try this fun twist on an old classic? Please see my Asparagus Eggs Benedict on Pete and Gerry’s!

Nutritional Information:

Serves 4 people. Each serving has:

Food energy: 335 cal
Total fat: 22.45g
Carbohydrate: 6.14g
Total dietary fiber: 2.39g
Protein: 24.25g