Eggs Benedict
Updated October 30, 2025
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE HOLLANDAISE
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne or hot paprika, plus more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
FOR THE POACHED EGGS
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
Kosher salt
8 large eggs
FOR THE BENEDICT AND ASSEMBLY
4 English muffins, split
8 slices Canadian bacon or thick-cut ham (or 8 slices regular, thick-cut bacon)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped dill, tarragon or parsley
Flaky sea salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
30 grams carbs; 648 milligrams cholesterol; 766 calories; 19 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 59 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 811 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the hollandaise: Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat until it’s foamy but not yet beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Step 2
Place egg yolks and 2 teaspoons water in a blender. Start blending, and, working very slowly, add the hot, melted butter until it’s all incorporated. (If it starts to get too thick to blend, add ½ teaspoon of water.) Add lemon juice and cayenne, though feel free to adjust the amounts to taste, and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Transfer the hollandaise to a small bowl, and place plastic wrap directly on the surface so it doesn’t form a skin. Set aside. (It will keep at room temperature while you work.)
- Step 4
Poach the eggs: Fill a medium pot with 3 inches of water. Add vinegar, season with salt and bring to a simmer. (Look for just a few bubbles; it should never boil.) Gently crack an egg into a small bowl. Using the handle of a spoon or spatula, stir the water with a clockwise motion. Gently plop the egg into the center of the pot, letting the water swirl around it and allowing the white to envelop the yolk. Repeat with remaining eggs -- you could probably do up to four at a time.
- Step 5
Check the eggs after 4 minutes: Use a slotted spoon to lift an egg out of the water, and feel the white for firmness. If it's not quite done, slide it back in for another minute or so. Let cook until the whites are just set, but the yolks are still completely runny, 4 to 5 minutes. Once eggs are perfectly poached, remove from the water, and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Set eggs aside.
- Step 6
Cook Canadian bacon or ham (or bacon) in a medium skillet over medium–high heat until golden brown and just crisp at the edges, about 6 minutes. Using a toaster, toaster oven or regular oven, toast the English muffins until crisp and golden brown. Don’t be afraid to toast them thoroughly: They'll be covered in hollandaise and poached eggs, and will need to be sturdy.
- Step 7
Assemble the Benedict: Place eight halves of English muffin on a plate and butter them generously. Top each with a slice of Canadian bacon, ham or bacon, then a poached egg. Spoon hollandaise sauce over and sprinkle with chives, dill, flaky sea salt and black pepper.
Private Notes
Comments
The hollandaise is way too involved. Try this — for 2 people — in a microwave : 1. Gently melt 1-2 TB butter along with salt and pepper (white if you must). 2. Swirl in 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp white wine. Heat high stopping every 15 seconds to whisk. 3. after 1 minute or less, add 1 tsp lemon juice and swirl.
VOILÀ.
[This was an award acceptance at the Cordon-Bleu — mainly because they missed the dash of white wine.]
An easier way to make the sauce - no blender or double boiler. Cut refrigerated butter into 8 pieces Put four of the pieces into a small sauce pan with the eggs, lemon juice, etc. Put the heat on low and beat everything together with a whisk. Keep beating and as soon as the butter is almost all melted add another piece and keep doing so. This will maintain the temperature and that is all there is to it. I was taught this 40 years ago and it always works.
Poaching eggs has always been an iffy thing. One method to consider is to break each egg onto a square foot sheet of Saran wrap and tie the four ends together. Then you can lift them all up and lower then into boiling water at the same time--and pull them out at the same time--all equally done and all wonderfully together.
If you're left-handed, you can swirl the poaching water counter-clockwise. Fresh eggs poach easier and neater than older eggs. If your eggs are more than a few days old (supermarket egg cartons have a 3-digit packing - not laying - day-of-year code 001-366) sieve off the watery white. Fresh eggs don't need vinegar in the water.
I always thought that tarragon was the ingredient which made the sauce a "benedict" vs hollandaise.
I made this for a Mother’s Day brunch this past weekend. It came out perfect. I made two batches of hollandaise sauce just in case and we had plenty for 6 people or 12 individual servings. Thanks NYT Cooking.