an eggs benedict for your heart, really

cholesterol-free eggs benedict:
heart-healthy hollandaise
olive oil tarragon garlic poached tomato “egg yolk”
meatless canadian bacon
rustic whole grain toast with herb oil

On Taste With The Eyes I am always excited to share delicious foods that are also good for the heart. Heart healthy eating has two components. First, it is to eliminate foods that are high in cholesterol and detrimental to the heart, such as trans fat. Second, it is about adding food to the diet that is good for the heart, like those high in fiber and rich in omega-3s. A lean piece of beef, pork, or chicken every now and then is OK. What is NOT OK, is that fabulous brunch dish called Eggs Benedict: poached eggs and Canadian bacon over an English muffin topped with the dreamy “French Egg Yolk Butter Emulsion” AKA hollandaise sauce. Nope, that would never fly with your cardiologist.

5 star makeover cooking group

Natasha, the 5 Star Foodie,  and Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! are hosting a fabulous new event for “sharing ideas and creating gourmet makeovers of selected classic dishes or flavor combinations.”

February’s Classic Combination: Bacon & Eggs

“Your twist can range from modern, fusion cuisine, molecular gastronomy, featuring seasonal ingredients, or a particular cuisine style. We are looking for gourmet creative dishes with your unique culinary point of view.”

Would you think that their first choice of a classic flavor combination, bacon & eggs, might be a challenge for a person committed to eating a low-cholesterol diet?

A small yellow tomato replaces the egg yolk.
Tomatoes are poached in olive oil and infused with tarragon and garlic flavors.

olive oil poached tomatoes with tarragon and garlic recipe

Place small tomatoes in an oven proof vessel. Add a sprig of fresh tarragon and a crushed garlic clove. Add enough olive oil to almost cover the tomatoes.

Cook, covered, in a 300° oven for 30 minutes. The skins will split and the tomato will be infused with wonderful tarragon and garlic flavors.

Set poached tomatoes aside. Discard tarragon and garlic. Mince fresh tarragon, parsley, and scallion. When the oil has cooled, add fresh herbs to the oil along with sea salt to taste. This method makes more than enough herb oil, reserve the extra oil for another use (grilled fish perhaps?).

heart-healthy hollandaise recipe

  • 1 box silken tofu (12 oz.) at room temperature
  • 3 T. Meyer lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 T. nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 – 1/4 t. turmeric
  • 3 T. good olive oil
  • sea salt to taste

Drain the tofu, pat dry with paper towels. Process in a food processor until completely smooth. Add lemon juice, yeast, cayenne, turmeric, and salt. Blend to combine. Add olive oil slowly while the processor is running. Adjust salt to taste, remember to limit the amount of salt/sodium for heart health benefits. Adjust turmeric to get the correct hollandaise color.

cholesterol-free savory poached egg recipe

Brush the sides and bottom of a ramekin with herb oil. Place the poached tomato into the ramekin, then fill the ramekin with fresh egg whites.

Bring water to a boil in a large shallow pan. The water depth should be enough to cover about 2/3 of the ramekin. Reduce heat to medium. Add ramekin, cover and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes until the egg white is set. Remove from pan.

Meanwhile, lightly brush meatless Canadian bacon with a bit of olive oil.
Place on a hot grill to warm, do not overcook.

Toast rustic whole grain bread, then brush with herb oil.

Take a small sharp knife and run it along the edge of the egg white to loosen.

cholesterol-free eggs benedict


To assemble: place meatless Canadian bacon on the toast. Invert the poached egg onto the bacon. Top with heart-healthy hollandaise. Voilà! A savory, satisfying, heart-healthy eggs benedict.

Celebrating our healthy hearts and the 5 Star Makeover event!

The 5 Star Makeover Cooking Group Bacon & Egg Round-Up will be posted on both Natasha’s and Lazaro’s blogs on Friday, February 25. Please stop by then to check out all the creative incarnations of bacon & eggs!

62 thoughts on “an eggs benedict for your heart, really”

  1. Wow! Your creativity continues to amaze me. I am especially interested in the heart-healthy hollandaise. It sounds delicious…and easier to make than regular hollandaise. Another winner, LL!

  2. Lori Lynn, what a fabulous heart healthy twist on eggs benedict! I love the idea of using the yellow tomatoes to replace the egg yolk, very creative! Thank you so much for a terrific addition to the event!

  3. Great job on the bacon and eggs interpretation! I am also always looking for delicious healthy food, and this is definitely one of them! Love the poached tomato too.

  4. Oh my goodness. I would never have suspected that there was a yellow tomato here and that all this was healthy. I just saw that flowing, viscous sauce and just thought “yum.” So clever.

  5. I love your twist on bacon and eggs! I can’t wait until tomato season to try and poach a tomato! I’ve never had a poached tomato before and it looks divine- especially with the egg-white around it. This is the kind of healthy cooking that makes people not miss cholesterol bombs. You don’t lose any flavor here- in fact I bet some might prefer the flavor to traditional eggs benedict! Way to go!

    1. Hi jennifer – I definitely plan to poach tomatoes again and again. It think as a topping for grilled fish. The garlic and herb flavors do infuse the tomato, so any savory herb would taste great I suspect…
      LL

  6. It is really all about the lemon with hollandaise, isn’t it??? One of my favorite dipping sauces is made with tofu and people can never get over how rich and creamy it is… so I can just imagine how good yours is. Great job and gorgeous photo… a healthy benedict???? You did it!

  7. My heart just lept for joy. I am a once-a-year eggs benedict person (and I savor) but this is so inspired – I will be collecting ingredients today and eating without guilt tomorrow.

  8. That eggs benedict looks amazing, and I’m really excited to try it out. Very creative and I know that it must have been incredibly delicious!
    The pictures and the instructions make it so simple – thank you!

  9. I am truly in awe of this dish!! It looks incredibly delicious and when I first looked at it, I had absolutely no idea that the egg yolk was actually tomato and the hollandaise was actually healthy! Wow…I’ll take this dish any day!

  10. wow!! You are truly inspiring! What an amazing creative dish.
    I can’t wait to try this, I’m sure it was delicious. What a perfect presentation of a classic dish reinvented.
    Cheers
    Dennis

  11. I love the way you cook and present. And I love how we both thought of tarragon in our dishes! Smart and delicious, right! Utterly fantastic dish, Lori. I love everything about it even though you know I don’t do bacon!

  12. this is absolutely genius. really. the infusion is just brilliant. (i will only caville at the meatless canadian bacon, the thought of which kinda makes me sad.)

    1. Ha! Jonny – I cannot believe you are the only one to say this! The “event” was bacon and eggs, so I had to include no cholesterol bacon after all. Feel free to leave that out, add sauteed spinach or wild arugula instead 🙂
      Meatless Canadian bacon is OK, and is reminiscent of the real thing, but a fresh veggie would be even better.
      LL

  13. Creative cooking at its best! This makes me really miss my health food restaurant…this would have been a great brunch recipe. Amazing! Can’t wait to try it at home

    1. some time ago i had a heart friendly recipe for eggs benedict or similar concoction that was c eated by the Galloping Gorme, It was delicious and easy to prepare. In moving South I somehow lost it. I remember that there was mushrooms , lemon juice, artificial eggs, English muffins and canadian bacon. Have tried to make it from memory but just doesn’t work. if anyone has it would you please reply here My heart and myself will be forever grateful.

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