Elevate your next brunch party with this delicious twist on classic Eggs Benedict! A perfect way to use leftover lobster meat is in a decadent Lobster Eggs Benedict. Our recipe for Lobster Eggs Benedict has tender pieces of butter herb poached lobster tails and a rich and beautiful Saffron Cream Sauce. If you want a luxurious breakfast that is guaranteed to impress for special occasions or a fancy weekend brunch party, this Lobster Eggs Benedict is the answer!
For a classic eggs benedict, check out our post on Tips and Tricks for Perfect Eggs Benedict.
Looking for more breakfast recipes like this? Try out our Eggs in Purgatory - Italian Baked Eggs in Garlic Tomato Sausage Sauce.
Jump to:
- Eggs Benedict
- Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions
- How to Make Lobster Eggs Benedict
- Garlic Butter Herb Sous Vide Lobster with Lemon Beurre Blanc
- Equipment
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Variations
- Storage
- Top tips
- Troubleshooting
- What to Make with Eggs Benedict
- What Drinks or Cocktails Pair with Lobster Eggs Benedict
- FAQ
- Related
- Pairing
- 📖 Recipe
- Food safety
Eggs Benedict
Eggs benedict is a classic breakfast/brunch dish that we love making and eating. At its roots, the traditional eggs Benedict dish has poached eggs on top of Canadian bacon on top of an English muffin and covered in a creamy hollandaise sauce with a garnish of chives and maybe cayenne pepper or paprika. In the past decade or so there have been so many riffs on it with massive amounts of creativity. We have written about the origins (and much more) of eggs Benedict HERE so take a look!
In this lobster Benedict recipe, lobster is the protein instead of Canadian bacon, we chose to use a saffron cream sauce instead of hollandaise as it just works perfectly with the lobster. But you can always opt to use our delicious recipe for Lemon Hollandaise if desired.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Great way to use leftover lobster.
- An impressive and delicious breakfast or brunch!
- Irresistible saffron cream sauce
- Can be easily scaled up for a crowd.
- Perfect for a fancy weekend brunch party.
Ingredients
Here is what you need to make this recipe for Lobster Eggs Benedict
- Whole white peppercorns: For the sauce we start by toasting peppercorns to deepen their natural pepper flavor - black peppercorns work here as well.
- Extra virgin olive oil: For the sauce we use extra virgin olive oil to sweat the shallots
- Shallot: A great base flavor profile is provided by shallots
- Dry white wine: A dry white wine or dry sparkling wine or champagne will be a perfect flavor foundation for the sauce
- Kosher salt
- Lemon zest: This provides a great, yet subtle, lemon flavor for the sauce
- Vegetable stock: A good basic (unroasted) vegetable stock without salt provides a good depth of flavor to the sauce
- Heavy Cream: A good quality heavy cream is the basis of this sauce
- Nutmeg: A very small pinch of nutmeg in cream sauces adds a great “mystery” flavor
- Saffron: A very small pinch of saffron gives this sauce an umami, earthy flavor and a beautiful golden color
- Champagne vinegar: Added at the end, a little vinegar balances acidity and stimulates the other flavors in the sauce.
- Lobster tail meat: This recipe is simple to make with leftover lobster cut into bite sized pieces, especially our butter poached version HERE
- English muffins: Nothing fancy, just toasted English muffins as the bread base
- Arugula: The arugula adds a nice bright flavor that balances the richness of the lobster and sauce.
- Eggs: Poached eggs are the classic for the original and are exactly what you want here as well. Using very fresh eggs is recommended here.
- White vinegar: a touch in the poaching liquid helps to solidify the whites of the eggs properly
- Microgreens or chopped chives: The perfect garnish to a Benedict.
- Paprika: A little sprinkle of paprika at the end gives the final Benedict a nice additional flavor component.
See recipe card below for quantities.
Substitutions
Here are a few common substitutions for the ingredients in this lobster eggs benny recipe:
- Lobster: Shrimp or crab meat can be used in place of lobster in this recipe. We love this with Butter Poached Shrimp!
- Saffron cream sauce: If you’d prefer a classic hollandaise sauce instead of the cream sauce in this recipe, you can make this Lemon Hollandaise sauce.
- Champagne: Any dry sparkling white wine or Prosecco works great here. You can also use a different dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
- Champagne vinegar: You can also use white wine vinegar here, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- White peppercorns: We use white peppercorns often in cream sauces often, but black peppercorns are fine here as well.
- Shallot: Yellow onions can be used in place of shallots.
- Arugula: You can use a different green here, such as spinach or baby kale.
- White vinegar: If you don't have white vinegar for the poaching liquid, you can use one tablespoon lemon juice instead.
How to Make Lobster Eggs Benedict
Assuming the lobster is leftover, this dish is a snap. Even if the lobster isn’t leftover, making our version of butter poached lobster is quite easy as well. The cream sauce takes a few more minutes to make than hollandaise sauce, but it is easier and can be made ahead of time and reheated gently, whereas hollandaise cannot. This is a recipe that will impress anyone!
Make this!
Garlic Butter Herb Sous Vide Lobster with Lemon Beurre Blanc
The perfect tender and juicy lobster recipe with a luscious butter and wine sauce.
Equipment
Here is what you need to make this dish
- Large pot of water to poach eggs
- Toaster or toaster oven to lightly toast the English muffins
- Medium saucepan to make the cream sauce
- Slotted spoon to remove the poached eggs from the hot water
- (Optional) Water bath and sous vide circulator to reheat the lobster (or a pot of water that is 140°) - optional but recommended. Alternatively, the lobster can be reheated on very low heat with a little bit of butter in a small skillet.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the peppercorns. Toast for a minute or so, then add the olive oil and chopped shallots. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook the shallots until they are slightly translucent. A very small amount of browning on the shallots is ok but you are not trying to brown them.
- Once translucent, turn the heat to medium high and add the wine, salt, and lemon zest. Cook until reduced by two-thirds and the alcohol smell from the wine is gone. Add the stock and reduce by half.
- Turn the heat to medium, add the cream and nutmeg and whisk to combine everything. After about 3-4 minutes, add the saffron threads. Cook until the cream sauce has thickened to desired consistency. It should take about 10 minutes. Add the champagne vinegar, whisk and taste for seasoning, and salt to taste. Keep the cream sauce warm on low as you complete the rest of the components of the eggs Benedict.
Step 2: Warm up the Lobster
- While you make the cream sauce, warm the leftover lobster using one of the methods listed below, and keep warm while you complete the other components of the dish.
- Reheating Option 1: To keep the lobster super tender, we recommend using a sous vide circulator to warm it up without cooking it further. Put the lobster in a bag, removing all of the air - either by vacuum or dunking a zip lock bag in water with the top open, zipping the end until the air has been removed. Put the lobster in a 140° water bath either regulated by a sous vide circulator or on the stove top with a thermometer so it can be adjusted.
- Reheating Option 2: Alternatively, you can gently reheat the lobster in a small skillet with some butter over low heat until warmed through.
Step 3: Toast the English Muffins
- Toast the English muffin slices in the toaster, toaster oven, or oven. Set aside wrapped in aluminum foil if done in advance. You can also keep them warmed like this in a low-heated oven.
Step 4: Prepare the Plates
- On each serving plate, put a toasted English muffin half (or two if desired), followed by the arugula, and bite-size pieces of lobster.
Step 5: Poach the Eggs
- Reduce heat on the medium-large pot of boiling water so the water is simmering. Add the vinegar to the water. Break the eggs into individual ramekins.
- When the water is simmering, stir to create a gentle whirlpool. Slide an egg into the middle, loosen from the bottom with a rubber spatula and move it toward the outside of the pot. Repeat with the other 3 eggs, moving quickly. While the eggs cook, assemble your English muffin and Canadian bacon slices on plates.
Step 6: Assemble Lobster Eggs Benedicts
- When the eggs are finished (use 2 minutes as a guideline for a perfectly poached egg), remove with a slotted spoon, gently dry and remove excess water with a paper towel and place each egg on top of the lobster pieces and English muffin halves.
- Spoon over some warm cream sauce - as much as individually desired
Step 6: Garnish the Dish and Serve
- Add whatever garnish you prefer (cayenne pepper, paprika, microgreens, chives, finely chopped herbs, etc) and serve.
Variations
Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:
- You could certainly use something like toasted sourdough or brioche in place of the English muffin. Fresh crumpets also work very well.
- For a surf and turf variation, you could use a small amount of lightly fried summer sausage, crisped prosciutto, fried pancetta, or crispy bacon under the lobster for even more flavor.
Storage
How to store leftover Lobster Eggs Benedict:
- The saffron cream sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you are using already leftover day-old lobster you’ll probably need to eat it up, rather than keeping it as you’ve already heated it up twice.
- Poached eggs can be made up to 1 day in advance. Simply poach your eggs per the directions in the recipe card below, then immediately remove them from the hot water to a bowl of ice water. Keep the entire bowl of ice water in the fridge until you are ready to make your Benedicts. See reheating instructions below.
How to reheat eggs benedict?
- To reheat pre-poached eggs, prepare and heat a pot of water to a gently simmer, then turn off the heat (you want the temperature to be around 155°F). Place your pre-poached eggs into the simmering water for a minute or so to heat through, then serve.
- Reheat the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat gently until heated through stirring often.
Can you freeze leftover cooked lobster meat for eggs Benedict?
- If your lobster meat was never pre-frozen, you can freeze it. Just make sure that the lobster meat has cooled completely, pat it dry and seal it tightly in a freezer safe zip top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You should never refreeze previously frozen meats.
Top tips
- Cream sauces can be so decadent and beautiful, but the cream must be reduced. The slower the cream is reduced the more the flavors will meld in the sauce, so don’t blast the cream sauce over high heat to get it finished in a hurry! Take your time and allow it to reduce slowly for best results.
- You can make the poached eggs in advance and keep them in cold water (see storage section above). When ready to serve, gently slide them into a pot of 155°F water for a minute or so to warm them back up and serve.
Troubleshooting
The most daunting thing to most folks is the thought of poaching an egg perfectly. Serving an egg with runny whites is not desirable, but so is watching your hungry friends or family cut into their egg expecting a beautiful yellow-orange yolk to ooze out only to see a soft-boiled egg or worse!
Once you understand that the water should be just barely simmering, about 190°F give or take a couple of degrees, it becomes mush easier to achieve perfectly poached eggs with a silky runny yolk.
If you want to practice before making this dish for your guests, it is a good idea! Just remember what the egg feels like to the touch when you remove the egg from the water - it should be somewhat firm on the white outside, but very soft to the touch like a pillow.
What to Make with Eggs Benedict
Our favorite things to make along with this Benedict are crispy fried potatoes or hash browns and some fruit to lighten things up. This is a perfect place for your favorite fruit salad!
What Drinks or Cocktails Pair with Lobster Eggs Benedict
We like to think of brunch on a beautiful weekend day when we make this decadent dish. A number of sparkling wine cocktails, Aperol or Campari spritz, prosecco, French 75 and drinks along those lines are perfect.
And don’t forget about a mimosa…they are fabulous with any Benedict. For non-alcoholic drinks, a delicious caffe latte or other coffee drink, lemonade, and fresh squeezed orange juice are all great breakfast options.
FAQ
There are many variations of both of these dishes all over the world. In short there are three significant differences. First, the classic Eggs Benedict was invented in New York City and Eggs Florentine in Florence, Italy. Second, Florentine always contains spinach while classic eggs Benedict most often does not. Finally, Benedicts very often contain some sort of meat (the classic is Canadian Bacon) while Florentines usually do not contain meat.
Cream sauces like the one in this recipe are obviously a fantastic option! But there are so many options. You could use a tomato sauce you’d use for pasta, brown butter, pesto, or even a brown sauce or gravy. Don’t worry about the rules here!
The sauce should always be warm - it doesn’t have to be super hot though. This holds true for both this recipe and hollandaise sauce.
Related
Looking for other breakfast and bruncg recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are our favorite brunch cocktails to drink with Lobster Eggs Benedicts:
📖 Recipe
Lobster Eggs Benedict with Saffron Cream Sauce
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 Toaster or toaster oven
- 1 slotted spoon
- 1 Sous vide immersion circulator wand optional
- 1 Small skillet if not using sous vide
Ingredients
For the Saffron Cream Sauce
- 10 Whole white peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Shallot small, finely chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 lemon zest only
- 1 cup vegetable stock unsalted
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- Pinch fresh ground nutmeg
- Pinch saffron threads
- ½ teaspoon Champagne vinegar
For the Lobster Benedicts
- 8 ounces cooked lobster meat cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 English muffins split
- Handful of arugula
- 4 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar for the water
- Microgreens or chopped chives for garnish
- Paprika to sprinkle at the end.
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the peppercorns. Toast for a minute or so, then add the olive oil and chopped shallots. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook the shallots until they are slightly translucent. A very small amount of browning on the shallots is ok but you are not trying to brown them.10 Whole white peppercorns, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Shallot
- Once translucent, turn the heat to medium high and add the wine, salt, and lemon zest. Cook until reduced by two-thirds and the alcohol smell from the wine is gone.½ cup dry white wine, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 lemon
- Add the stock and reduce by half. Turn the heat to medium, add the cream and nutmeg and whisk to combine everything. After about 3-4 minutes, add the saffron threads. Cook until the cream sauce has thickened to desired consistency. It should take about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, whisk and taste for seasoning. Keep warm on low as you prepare the Benedicts1 cup vegetable stock, 1 ½ cup heavy cream, Pinch fresh ground nutmeg, Pinch saffron threads, ½ teaspoon Champagne vinegar
Prepare the Benedicts
- Next, warm the leftover lobster, and keep warm while you complete the other components of the dish (see note for warming tips).8 ounces cooked lobster meat
- Toast the English muffins in the toaster, toaster oven, or oven. Set aside wrapped in aluminum foil if done in advance. You can also keep them warmed like this in a low-heated oven.2 English muffins
- On each serving plate, put an English muffin half (or two if desired), followed by the arugula, and lobster pieces.Handful of arugula
Poach the Eggs
- Reduce heat on the medium-large pot of boiling water so the water is simmering. Add the vinegar to the water. Break the eggs into individual ramekins.1 Tablespoon white vinegar, 4 large eggs
- When the water is simmering, stir to create a gentle whirlpool. Slide an egg into the middle, loosen from the bottom with a rubber spatula and move it toward the outside of the pot. Repeat with the other 3 eggs, moving quickly.
Assemble the Benedicts
- When the eggs are finished (use 2 minutes as a guideline), remove with a slotted spoon, gently dry with paper towels and plate onto the toasted muffin halves and lobster pieces.
- Spoon over some warm cream sauce - as much as individually desired
- Add whatever garnish you prefer (cayenne pepper, paprika, microgreens, chives, finely chopped herbs, etc) and serve.Microgreens or chopped chives for garnish, Paprika to sprinkle at the end.
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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