Eggs Benedict (with smoked salmon instead of ham) is one of my absolute favorite breakfast foods, so it was a bit of a downer when I learned that hollandaise sauce (that delicious creamy yellow wonder that makes it so addicting) is not super healthy - think 400+ calories in a typical serving without much in the way of vitamins/nutrients to make up for it (source: https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/hollandaise-sauce?portionid=55719&portionamount=100.000).
As an aspiring marathon runner, I'm always looking for healthy food substitutes so I can maintain my target racing weight without feeling like I'm giving anything up. With a little research and creativity, I have found that this is much easier than I originally imagined.
So without further ado, here's a photo of my avocado hollandaise "Eggs Benedict:"
In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that while this is my cooking and my photo, it's not super recent. I took this one a few months ago the first time I made it, but I was craving it today (and made a less pretty version) so I thought I would share the recipe with you all and with it a photo of what it looks like when I take the time to make it beautiful for friends rather than lazily throw it together post run to refuel.
Some Recipe Notes:
Those of you familiar with Eggs Benedict know that it is traditionally served on english muffins rather than challah (what I did in my photo.) My choice of substitute here was not a health-focused one but rather just a reflection of what was in my kitchen. My fiance loves my homemade challah, so we tend to have some around and available at most times and as a result tend to not buy/make other bread products. If you are interested in attempting your own homemade challah, check my post history for my recipe! I'm happy to answer any questions about homemade bread baking in the comments below!
The key to good Eggs Benedict is the perfectly poached egg. My mom taught me three egg poaching tricks and when deployed together, it results in flawless poached eggs every time! The first trick is to put some white vinegar in the poaching water (any vinegar would technically work, but a darker vinegar will color the eggs in a way that is not aesthetically desirable). The second trick is to whisk the water to create a little whirlpool and then drop the egg into the middle of the swirl. This trick helps keep the egg in one clump rather than spreading out into the water. The final trick is to use room temperature eggs. This is a good baking trick in general for those of us who refrigerate our eggs - always let them come to room temperature before using them.
Avocado Hollandaise Sauce Recipe:
In addition to being more nutritious than traditional hollandaise sauce, this recipe is so much easier! All you need is a blender and the following ingredients:
- 1 ripe small avocado (if yours is large, you may want to adjust the quantities of the other ingredients or consider not using the whole avocado)
- Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
- Pinch of salt (adjust to taste)
- Pinch of black pepper (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons warm water (to thin the sauce).
- couple leave of fresh oregano if available, if not dried works as well, and skipping it entirely will still be delicious.
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. You can add more water if its too thick, but do so slowly, too much water and it will be gross.
In the photo I garnished with fresh oregano which used to grow in my kitchen windowsill. Looking at this photo makes me want to replace that plant and grow fresh herbs again!
What's your favorite twist on Eggs Benedict? Got any health-hacks for normally unhealthy breakfast favorites? Let me know in the comments below!
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