Ham Waffles with Poached Eggs & Béarnaise

Warm waffles. Spinach still steaming. Ham draped over the top and then the egg goes on and the yolk breaks and you’re chasing it with béarnaise. Takes 47 minutes total if you don’t panic about the sauce.

Why You’ll Love These Breakfast Waffles with Eggs

Looks fancy. Isn’t. One bowl for the béarnaise, one skillet for everything else. Tastes like you spent three hours at a French bistro when really you’ve got 25 minutes of prep. The tarragon matters — not like, dramatically, but it hits different than regular hollandaise. Spinach wilts in under 3 minutes. Ham just sits there. Egg does all the work once it hits the heat. Works for a crowd or just you on a Sunday morning. Scales easy.

What You Need for Ham Waffles with Poached Eggs and Béarnaise

For the béarnaise: Sherry vinegar and dry vermouth — not white wine, the vermouth changes something. One small shallot minced fine. Fresh tarragon sprig plus more tarragon chopped at the end. Crushed black peppercorns. Three egg yolks. Half a cup of unsalted butter melted and cooled a bit. Temperature matters here more than anywhere else.

For the eggs: Apple cider vinegar. Four eggs. Don’t use old eggs — the whites spread if they’re old.

For assembly: Baby spinach — six cups sounds like a lot but it collapses. Olive oil. Four warm waffles. Eight ham slices thin. That’s it. Eight. Not six.

How to Make Tarragon Béarnaise Sauce Recipe

Pour vinegar and vermouth into a small saucepan. Add the shallot, tarragon sprig, crushed pepper. Turn it to medium heat. Watch it. Simmer until it’s mostly gone — you want about two tablespoons left. This takes maybe 8 minutes but it’s fast once it starts going.

Strain the whole thing through a fine sieve. Push gently. Throw away the solids. What’s left is your base.

Whisk in the egg yolks immediately. This is important. Doesn’t have to be immediate-immediate but don’t wait. Set the bowl over simmering water — not boiling, not even close to boiling. Just barely steam rising.

Whisk continuously. Don’t stop. Your arm will get tired. That’s normal. You’re looking for pale and thick but not grainy. Five to six minutes. Maybe seven if you go slow. You’ll feel the difference when it gets there — the texture just changes.

Pull it off heat. Pour the melted butter in slowly. Like drizzle it while you whisk. Don’t dump it. This is where people mess up. Slow stream, constant whisking, the sauce gets glossy and thick and pourable all at once.

Stir in the chopped tarragon. Taste it. Add salt if it needs it — probably does. If it’s too dense, add a teaspoon of warm water and whisk it back in. Leave it at room temp. Don’t refrigerate it.

How to Get Poached Eggs Right and Spinach Wilted

Pot of salted water. Bring it to a gentle simmer. Stir in the apple cider vinegar — this keeps the whites together, not because vinegar is magic but because it actually works. Lower the heat to just below simmering. The water should barely move.

Crack each egg into a cup first. Pour it gently into the water one at a time. If you dump four eggs at once, they stick together. If you space them out, they stay separate. Three to four minutes depending on how runny you want the yolk. You’re looking for set whites and a yolk that hasn’t cooked through. Pull it out with a slotted spoon. Let it drain on paper towels.

Spinach goes in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Two to three minutes. It goes from bright green to kind of dark and soft. That’s done. Don’t overcook it or it gets gray and tastes like nothing. Salt and pepper while it’s hot.

Brunch Waffles with Poached Eggs — Order Matters

Warm waffles on plates. Layer the spinach over top — spread it out so it’s even. Drape the ham slices over the spinach. One slice at a time, kind of overlapping. It looks better and it stays in place.

Poached egg on top of the ham. Drizzle the béarnaise all over everything. Generous. This isn’t the place to be stingy. The béarnaise is the whole point.

Eat it while the waffle’s still warm. Once it gets cold it’s fine but weird. The texture changes. Warm is better.

Ham Waffles with Poached Eggs & Béarnaise

By Emma

Prep:

25 min

Cook:

22 min

Total:

47 min

Servings:

4 servings

Ingredients

• Béarnaise
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) sherry vinegar
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) dry vermouth
• 1 small shallot minced
• 1 fresh tarragon sprig
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) crushed black peppercorns
• 3 egg yolks
• 120 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter melted and lukewarm
• 10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• Poached eggs
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
• 4 eggs
• Waffles
• 150 g (6 cups) baby spinach
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
• 4 warm waffles
• 8 thin ham slices

Method

1. Béarnaise
2. 1 Heat vinegar, vermouth, shallot, tarragon sprig, cracked pepper in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced to about 35 ml (2 tbsp). Strain mixture through a fine sieve into heatproof bowl, discard solids.
3. 2 Whisk in egg yolks immediately. Place bowl over barely simmering water. Whisk continuously until pale, thickened but not grainy, about 5–6 minutes. Avoid overheating to prevent scrambling.
4. 3 Remove from heat. Slowly stream in melted butter, whisking constantly until sauce is glossy and thick but pourable. Stir in chopped tarragon. Season with salt if needed. Thin with a teaspoon of warm water if too dense. Set aside at room temp.
5. Poached eggs
6. 4 Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle simmer, stir in apple cider vinegar.
7. 5 Crack eggs individually into cups. Gently slide eggs one by one into water, maintain just below simmering point to avoid tearing whites.
8. 6 Poach 3–4 minutes for runny yolks. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on absorbent paper.
9. Waffles
10. 7 Heat olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Quickly sauté spinach until just wilted, 2–3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
11. 8 Place warm waffles on plates. Layer spinach evenly over waffles. Drape ham slices over spinach.
12. 9 Add one poached egg per waffle on top.
13. 10 Drizzle generous amounts of béarnaise sauce on eggs and plate.

Nutritional information

Calories

450

Protein

22g

Carbs

20g

Fat

35g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Breakfast Waffles with Eggs and Béarnaise

Can I make the béarnaise ahead? Ideally no. It gets weird if it sits too long and then you have to reheat it and reheating breaks it sometimes. Make it right before you poach the eggs. Forty-seven minutes total means you’ve got time.

What if the béarnaise gets lumpy or breaks? Start over. Sounds harsh but it’s easier than fixing it. If you catch it early — like the second it goes grainy — try whisking in a tablespoon of cold water off heat and see if that helps. Usually doesn’t. Five minutes to start fresh beats ten minutes troubleshooting.

Can I use a different herb instead of tarragon? Chives work. Dill doesn’t. Parsley does the job but tastes flat. Tarragon is what you want. Buy fresh. Dried doesn’t hit the same way.

How do I keep the poached eggs warm while I finish everything else? Put them in warm water. Not hot — warm. A bowl with warm water, the egg sits in there for a few minutes and stays at temp without cooking more. Works fine for like five minutes.

Do the waffles have to be plain? No. Use whatever waffle batter you have. Cornmeal ones are good. Buttermilk ones work. The point is warm and crispy. The toppings do the heavy lifting. If your waffles are weird flavored though — like chocolate — probably don’t.

Can I substitute the ham? Prosciutto works. Bacon’s too smoky. Smoked salmon if you want to go that direction — changes the whole thing but not in a bad way. Turkey works. Chicken doesn’t. Ham’s the right move.