Eggs Benedict Is Even More Comforting With A Hash Brown Base

There are so many reasons why people love eggs Benedict. The dish is a triumph when it comes to textures: The poached eggs are soft, the yolk is creamy, there's chewiness from the Canadian bacon, and you get a buttery and lemony kick from the hollandaise sauce. Even better, all of it sits on top of a crisp toasted English muffin. 

Served warm, eggs Benedict is an incredibly comforting meal that fills your belly and your spirit. And, there are countless variations of the ingredients, like swapping the bacon for crab cakes or spinach, but nearly all of them include the English muffin base. For something unexpected and arguably even more delicious (and gluten-free, to boot), try serving it all on a bed of crispy hash browns.

As if eggs Benedict isn't already rich enough, throwing crunchy potatoes into the mix is a sure way to find yourself in a lovely, post-brunch food coma. But the flavor of this unique twist is well worth it. Whether you use hash brown patties or shredded potatoes, just be sure they are nice and crispy and, of course, happily gobble them up right away so they won't get soggy.

If you're using pre-formed, frozen hash brown patties, you can air fry, deep fry, or crisp them in the oven. If you have shredded potatoes or frozen shredded hash browns, it's pretty easy to form them into round shapes when you cook them on a griddle or skillet. Use a cookie or biscuit cutter, or just use a spatula to form them into your desired shape. But, do try to let the potatoes get browned and crispy on both sides so they resemble a toasted English muffin and so you get a good crunch.

You can prepare all of the other ingredients for your eggs Benedict as normal and then stack everything on top of your potatoes. Traditionally, the English muffin (or in this case, the hash brown) goes on the bottom followed by a slice of fried Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and classic hollandaise sauce, which is one of the French mother sauces. Then, garnish with a dusting of paprika or minced fresh chives.

Swapping hash browns for the English muffin is essentially exchanging one crispy carbohydrate for another, but since potatoes are fairly neutral in flavor, you can still experiment with the many variations out there for eggs Benedict. For example, eggs Florentine is basically eggs Benedict, but in place of using Canadian bacon, you use sauteed spinach, which would be delicious over hash browns. Eggs royale replaces the bacon with smoked salmon and would be a scrumptious take on potato latkes if you were to use the hash brown method.

For your hash brown eggs Benedict, also consider adding avocado, fresh crab meat (this would be a spin on a dish called eggs Neptune), fried green tomato slices, or opt for crispy, American-style bacon instead of the traditional Canadian version. For something luxurious, try making your hollandaise with the kind of butter that's in Ina Garten's refrigerator: truffle butter. Truffles are a magnificent partner to potatoes. For extra glam, dollop a bit of caviar on top and serve with a glass of champagne.