Bagels make a perfect breakfast whether you fancy something sweet or savoury first thing in the morning! Today we are sharing one of our favourite breakfast combinations: Poached Egg Bagel With Asparagus and Basil! We served lightly toasted sesame bagels with cream cheese and asparagus fried in salted butter. We then topped it with a lovely poached egg and basil Pistou – a French cousin of Italian Pesto. It’s delicious!
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Egg Bagels for Breakfast?
We make bagels at home quite a lot these days. And they are typically Sourdough Bagels! After making a big batch we constantly have some of them leftover in the freezer (they freeze beautifully). One of the best ways to eat bagels for us is at breakfast time. The lovely chewy crust of a good bagel, topped with all the lovely breakfast things is just what is needed to start the day right. We love this recipe, but we also make a delicious Egg and Avocado Breakfast Bagel :). Try it next, it’s great!

Asparagus For Breakfast?
I never used to cook asparagus for breakfast, until one of my best friends treated me to her signature creamy scrambled eggs and asparagus dish. The secret to amazing buttered asparagus is simple. It’s seasoning! I love sauteeing it in salted butter, but you can simply sprinkle some salt if using unsalted.
What Makes Poached Egg Bagel So Special?
Two things that really make this dish stand out are parmesan shavings and, of course, Basil Pistou. Pistou is a cold green sauce from Provance. It is similar to Pesto, but is typically made without any nuts and is thinner in consistency. Our breakfast version is a simple combination of fresh basil, a little bit of garlic and olive oil. Egg bagels, asparagus and parmesan come alive drizzled with this delicious sauce!
Method: How to Make Egg Bagel with Asparagus and Pistou?
Step 1: Make the Basil Pistou
Start by preparing pistou. Place finely chopped (or crushed) garlic and basil in a pestle and mortar (or a food processor if making a large quantity) and bash (blitz) into a paste. Add olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Basil Pistou is actually extremely versatile, so if you have some extra, you can make our Sea Bass With Basil Pistou or simply drizzle it over pasta or risotto.

Step 2: Prepare the Bagels
Cut the bagel in half and toast lightly in a toaster or under the grill. Then spread ½ tablespoon of cream cheese on each of the halves.
Step 3: Fry the Asparagus
Melt the salted butter in a large frying pan. Add the asparagus tips and fry on medium heat for about 4 minutes, shaking the pan once in a while. Your asparagus should soften but still retain lots of crunch.
Step 4: Poach the Eggs and Serve
In the meantime, poach two eggs. If unsure, have a look at our article on How to Poach a Perfect Egg?.
To serve, top the bagel with cream cheese with asparagus and a poached egg, scatter parmesan shavings and drizzle with basil pistou. Use the other half of the bagel to mop up runny yolk and pistou afterwards!

Other Delicious Breakfast Ideas
We hope you enjoyed our Poached Egg Bagel Breakfast recipe. For other delicious breakfast ideas, have a look at some of our favourite recipes below:
- Crunchy Home-Made Granola with Egg Whites
- ‘All-Things-Green’ Shakshuka
- Poached Eggs with Potato Rosti & Avocado
Recipe Card

Poached Egg Bagel With Asparagus And Basil Pistou
Ingredients
- 2 bagels
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese
- 180 g asparagus tips
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 eggs
- 10 g parmesan sliced into thin shavings
For Pistou:
- 20 g fresh basil leaves
- ½ garlic clove finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Start by preparing pistou. Place finely chopped garlic and basil in a pestle and mortar (or a food processor) and bash (blitz) into a paste. Add olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the bagel in half and toast lightly in a toaster or under the grill.
- Spread ½ tablespoon of cream cheese on each of the halves.
- Melt the salted butter in a large frying pan. Add the asparagus tips and fry on medium heat for about 4 minutes, shaking the pan once in a while. Your asparagus should soften but still retain lots of the crunch.
- In the meantime, poach two eggs. If unsure, there's a link to the method in the notes below.
- To serve, top the bagel with cream cheese with asparagus and a poached egg, scatter parmesan shavings and drizzle with basil pistou. Use the other half of the bagel to mop up runny yolk and pistou afterwards!
Notes
Nutrition

Gina
I love everything about this recipe! Made this for breakfast the other day and it was such a hit. So delicious! This will be a staple at our breakfast table!
Ieva
Gina, you made my day with this lovely comment! I am so glad you all enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Katherine
This is the best spring brunch! I love the basil pistou.
Ieva
Absolutely! 😍
Travo
I had these bagels today for breakfast and it was so yummy!
Ieva
Thanks so much! 🙂
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Asparagus and egg is such a great combination in this bagel and I really loved the pistou too. This is my perfect breakfast.
Ieva
Thanks, Amanda! We love pistou here too! So easy and so versatile 🙂