Eggs Benedict (single) Cost Calculator
Brunch classic - poached eggs and Canadian bacon on an English muffin with hollandaise. Brunch service food cost. Prefilled with US average ingredient costs. Edit any quantity or price to match what you actually pay, and the math updates as you type.
How much does it cost to make Eggs Benedict (single)?
About $3.12 at 2026 US foodservice prices for two poached eggs on an English muffin with Canadian bacon, hollandaise, and a side. That is 20.8% of a $15 menu price. Canadian bacon is the biggest line at $1.00; the hollandaise is only 50 cents, as long as none of it is thrown out.
Where the money goes
| Canadian bacon | 32.1% · $1.00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Side (potato/fruit) | 23.1% · $0.72 | |
| English muffin | 19.2% · $0.60 | |
| Hollandaise sauce | 16.0% · $0.50 | |
| Eggs (poached) | 9.6% · $0.30 |
What 36 of them return at different prices
| Your price | Food cost % | Over ingredients, each | Over ingredients, 36 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $11.25 | 27.7% | $8.13 | $292.68 |
| $15.00 US average | 20.8% | $11.88 | $427.68 |
| $18.75 | 16.6% | $15.63 | $562.68 |
Ingredients only. Labor, packaging, fuel, and stall or platform fees come out of these figures.
Two ounces of Canadian bacon are the biggest line: $1.00, or 32.1% of the plate. Smithfield fully cooked slices list at $94.49 for 12 pounds at WebstaurantStore, about 49 cents an ounce. The other four lines run 30 to 72 cents each, and a $15 Benedict sits at a 20.8% food cost. What moves it more than any price is how long the hollandaise can be held.
Scratch hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolk and butter that has to stay warm to stay a sauce: too hot and the yolks scramble, too cool and the butter firms up. Gisslen's Professional Cooking says to hold it at 145°F for no more than 2 hours, make only what will be served in that time, and discard the rest; Rouxbe says 1.5 hours. So the hold time, not the guest count, sets how many batches a brunch makes: a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. service makes three or four, each big enough for a rush that may not happen. Mostly butter at about $3 a pound by the case, it runs about 25 cents an ounce, or $8 a quart. Throw out half of every batch and the sauce line doubles to $1.00, and the plate comes to $3.62, a 24.1% food cost.
A dry mix is the usual way out. Knorr's foodservice hollandaise mix is whisked into melted butter, thinned with cold water, and brought to a boil; it resists breaking, and Unilever says it holds for up to 4 hours, so two batches cover the brunch instead of three or four. A case of four 30.2-ounce tubs is $69.99 at WebstaurantStore, each tub making 1.5-1.8 gallons, or about 8-9 cents per ounce of sauce before the butter. Whether guests taste the difference is the kitchen's call. The eggs need no such trade: poached, chilled in ice water, and refrigerated, they keep up to 3 days (America's Test Kitchen) and reheat in about 3 minutes in 150°F water, so a broken yolk is redone at prep for 15 cents instead of during service.