**This post is sponsored by Smart & Final, but all opinions are my own.
Delicious and simple to make, this roasted garlic asparagus and bacon eggs benedict with basil avocado cream sauce is perfect for spring brunch.
Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. It’s not quite breakfast, not quite lunch. It simply feels like a meal of its own. Unfortunately, I don’t get to have it as often as I would like due to a busy schedule.
Maybe it’s because brunch is later in the morning. Most mornings I’m rushing out the door with breakfast in hand as I head to work. But when I have time to brunch, it means I actually have time to sit and enjoy my food. How can I not love that?
What about you? What’s your favorite meal of the day?
One of my favorite dishes to order whenever I’m out for brunch is eggs benedict. There’s something about poached eggs over English muffins, or toast, with hollandaise sauce that’s so addictive. Cutting the egg and seeing the yolk run down the sides? Sooo good.
At least, it is for me.
And to complete my meal, I like them with a side of potatoes. Sometimes it’ll be crispy hash browns, sometimes tater tots, and other times it could be roasted potatoes. It varies depending on where I eat or what I’m in the mood for.
And of course, how can I forget the drinks? I don’t drink alcohol often. I’ll have a few sips maybe once every few months. But when I’m eating out for brunch, I really like ordering mimosas. It just completes the meal somehow. Especially when there are different flavors to choose from. Think raspberry and grapefruit. Or even blood orange.
But when you live in the city, brunch during the weekends means super long lines. As in an hour or longer type of wait. And most days, we don’t have time for that kind of wait. Even on our day off.
So why not make your favorite brunch dish at home? You can always customize the ingredients to your liking.
My favorite? This.
I know. It’s a total mouthful to say.
But crispy bacon? Roasted garlicky asparagus spears? Runny eggs? And a basil avocado cream sauce to top this whole dish off? Yes, please.
There are a few different parts to this recipe, but I promise you, it’s super easy. And while this particular recipe is meant for two. You can easily double or triple the servings if you’re expecting more people for brunch. Why can’t you add more asparagus to the baking sheet? Why can’t you add more slices of bacon to your skillet? If there’s extra, you can always serve them on the side.
I went shopping for most of the ingredients for this dish at Smart& Final. You can find supplies, fresh produce, baked goods, and so much more there. Plus, if you’re shopping for a get together with friends, you can save more by buying things in bulk. And Smart & Final donates the first percent of net profit of their First Street brand to the community. So it’s a great place to shop. Plus, it’ll be convenient especially since they’re opening more stores this summer.
Now, let’s get to this recipe so we can get brunch started. This will seem complicated at first, but I promise you, it’s pretty easy. Each step just takes a few minutes to do.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease the surface with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
While the oven is preheating, you can cook the bacon until crispy to your liking. Set the bacon aside for now.
Once the oven is preheated, place asparagus on the baking sheet with the minced garlic. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle garlic salt over the asparagus. Roast the asparagus for about 10 minutes until the asparagus are tender. Roasting time may be different depending on the size of the stalks.
While the asparagus is roasting, cook the hash browns according to the directions on the package until they are crispy to your liking.
Remove the asparagus from the oven and set them aside for now.
Heat water in a small pot until it starts to boil. Lower the heat to a simmer. Gently drop individual eggs into the water and cook for about 4 minutes until the eggs have turned white. The inside will still be runny. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the water. Set on a plate for now.
Cut the croissants in half. Place a slice of cheese on top of a half. I used pepper jack. Place the croissants in the oven for about a minute until the cheese has melted.
Take the croissants out. Top the croissants with stalks of asparagus, crispy bacon, and poached eggs.
Quickly blend avocado, basil leaves, milk, and garlic salt together until smooth. If you want the sauce to be thinner, you can add more milk.
Spoon the basil avocado cream sauce over the poached eggs.
Serve the Roasted Garlic Asparagus and Bacon Eggs Benedict with Basil Avocado Cream Sauce with a side of hash browns. Or your favorite way of eating potatoes.
Enjoy!
*Updated: And if you’re free on Wednesday, April 20 27, from 12-1:00pm PST, join me on Twitter for a chance to win a $250 SmartCash card. Just follow @smartfinal on Twitter and tweet at least once with #SFSnackChat, and you’ll be entered. See you there!
- 6 asparagus spears, or more
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 strips of bacon, or more
- 2 servings of hash browns
- 2 large eggs, cracked into two small bowls
- ½ large avocado
- ⅛ – ¼ cup basil leaves
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1-2 croissants, halved
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease the surface with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
- Once the oven is preheated, place asparagus on the baking sheet with the minced garlic. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle garlic salt over the asparagus. Roast the asparagus for about 10 minutes until the asparagus are tender. Roasting time may be different depending on the size of the stalks.
- Remove the asparagus from the oven and set them aside for now.
- Cook the bacon until crispy to your liking. Set the bacon aside for now.
- Cook the hash browns according to the directions on the package until they are crispy to your liking.
- Heat water in a small pot until it starts to boil. Lower the heat to a simmer. Gently drop individual eggs into the water and cook for about 4 minutes until the eggs have turned white. The inside will still be runny. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the water. Set on a plate for now.
- Blend avocado, basil leaves, milk, and garlic salt together until smooth. If you want the sauce to be thinner, you can add more milk.
- Cut the croissants in half. Place a slice of cheese on top of a half. I used pepper jack. Place the croissants in the oven for about a minute until the cheese has melted.
- Take the croissants out. Top the croissants with stalks of asparagus, crispy bacon, and poached eggs.
- Spoon the basil avocado cream sauce over the poached eggs.
- Serve the Roasted Garlic Asparagus and Bacon Eggs Benedict with Basil Avocado Cream Sauce with a side of hash browns.
**This post is sponsored by Smart & Final, but all opinions and images are my own.
Brunch is also my favorite meal! Gorgeous photos!
Wow, every word of the title of this post made me more hungry. What a fantastic combination, I’m trying this!
Beautiful dish!
My kind of breakfast!
What a great combination of flavors! That basil avocado cream sauce looks so tasty!
Very nice presentation. Great color!
Yummy!!
Hey Andrea!!! 😀
I want a fire-less cooking recipe for mother’s day, and I thought that you would be one of the best people to give great recipes. So, you see, my mother would be so so so surprised to see an eatable made by me! Please!!! 😀
A fire-less cooking easy recipe! 😀
🙂
Have a g’day ahead, Andrea!
Fireless? Like no stove? Or no oven? Maybe I can come up with something in time =)
Ya! No oven AND no stove! 😀
Thanks!! 🙂
Love the healthier version of hollandaise made with avocado !!! Genius idea for eggs benedict, thanks for sharing!
Yay for sponsorship! Congrats! Dish looks delicious.