Hollandaise sauce is a classic creamy sauce that’s perfect for breakfast or brunch! This recipe is easy and no-fail. It takes just 5 minutes in a blender. Drizzle it on top of poached eggs, eggs Benedict, vegetables or several other recipes for a delicious finishing touch.
If you’ve had eggs Benedict before, you’ve probably encountered this rich and buttery sauce. It’s got the creamiest consistency and its flavors meld beautifully with ingredients such as eggs, asparagus, or salmon.
While this sauce may seem a bit on the fancy side, it’s actually very easy to make! But like many other emulsions, the fear that it will separate or not come together can be a bit nerve wracking. So today, I’ll walk you through the step by step on how to make perfect homemade hollandaise sauce.
How To Make Hollandaise Sauce
To make this recipe, simply heat up some butter (and it needs to be hot!) and stream it into the blended egg yolk mixture to create a velvety smooth sauce.
- Melt the butter in a microwave for about 1 minute until hot.
- Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, dijon, salt and cayenne pepper into a high powered blender and blend for 5 seconds.
- Slowly stream in the hot butter into the mixture as the blender is running.
- Pour the sauce into a small bowl and drizzle over your meal!
Hollandaise Sauce Ingredients
All you’ll need for this sauce are six ingredients. And you probably have them in your fridge and pantry already.
- Egg Yolks –Â 3 eggs
- Lemon Juice –Â 1 tablespoon
- Dijon –Â 1 teaspoon
- Salt –Â 1/4 teaspoon
- Cayenne Pepper – just a pinch
- Butter-Â 1/2 cup of melted butter
How To Fix Broken Hollandaise Sauce
The key to getting the consistency right all comes down to the hot melted butter. This recipe emulsifies butter into an egg yolk and lemon juice mixture. So you want to make sure you’re streaming in butter that’s hot enough (just melted won’t do).
But in the case that your sauce does break and becomes a speckled mess, don’t fret. Below are two methods to try that will help bring your sauce back to life.
- Blend 1-2 tablespoons of boiling hot water: As you’re blending, slowly add in the hot water and blend until the consistency is right.
- Add an extra egg yolk: While the blender is on, add an extra egg yolk with a teaspoon of hot water into the blender and blend until it becomes perfectly creamy.
Can You Use an Immersion Blender?
Yes, absolutely! If you have an immersion blender, add all of the ingredients except the hot butter. Turn the blender on (with it firmly planted on the bottom of the cup or jar) and slowly drizzle in the butter. It will start to emulsify and once you’ve poured in all the butter you’re done!
How To Store And Reheat Hollandaise Sauce
While this sauce is best served fresh, you do have the option of reheating it. But keep in mind that there could be a chance where your eggs will cook up a bit. So here are two options for reheating – just be cautious!
- Microwave: Place the hollandaise sauce in a glass bowl, and microwave it in 15 second increments. Repeat this process until your sauce is fully warmed up.
- Stove Top: Pour the hollandaise sauce into a pan over low heat. Add in a smidge of melted butter and water to re-emulsify and give it a smooth texture. Once it’s warmed up, pour the sauce back into a serving bowl.
More Classic Sauce Recipes
If you thought this recipe was simple, you won’t believe how easy it is make these other sauces. So skip the store-bought jars and opt to make fresh, homemade versions.
- Béarnaise Sauce or Beurre Blanc Sauce
- Marinara SauceÂ
- Basil Pesto SauceÂ
- Balsamic Reduction
- Tahini Sauce
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Whip any of these up and you can get creative with recipes such as my sweet potato gnocchi with pesto or parsnip noodle chicken alfredo!
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice , or more as desired for flavor
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or ghee, or more for a thinner consistency, melted and hot
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a microwave (make sure it's covered as it will splatter) for about 1 minute, until it's hot. Alternatively, you could heat it on the stove.
- Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, dijon, salt and cayenne pepper into a high powered blender and blend for 5 seconds until combined.
- With the blender running on medium high, slowly stream in the hot butter into the mixture until it's emulsified.
- Pour the hollandaise sauce into a small bowl and serve while warm.
Lisa's Tips
- I mention this above, but just to reiterate... your butter needs to be hot, not just melted. The recipe will not emulsify with luke warm butter.
- If you'd like more sauce, just add another yolk and up to another 1/2 cup of melted butter.
Nutrition
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Absolutely brilliant, the best hollondaise I have ever made totally yum – thank you
I’m so glad you found the perfect hollandaise sauce, Jamjar!
Easy and delicious 😋
Glad you enjoyed this hollandaise sauce, Brenda!
Super easy and fast!
I’m so glad you found this sauce super easy to make, Aneta!
Perfect every time. Just be sure to use the freshest eggs
Glad your hollandaise sauce turns out perfectly every time with this recipe, Dayle!
This recipe is AWFUL…because you can make homemade liquid gold hollandaise in 5 minutes and you will be making this too often!! So much easier than other recipes, I add an extra yolk and decrease mustard a tad.
Such a handy recipe to have on hand, isn’t it!? Glad you’re loving this one, Laura.
Just whisk it by hand, less mess
Excellent. Butter must be just at bubbling stage then removed from heat and very slowly added to yolks. Mine came out just like a mayo consistency. Very good recipe that I just printed.
Hi Juliet – Great to hear this hollandaise sauce worked out well for you!
Perfect but I used salted butter next time will omit the salt if using again
Glad your hollandaise sauce turned out perfectly, Linda!
Awesome technique. Thanks for sharing
I make mochi flour waffles with the egg whites. Top with shredded rotisserie chicken and then Holly. Sprinkle chicken skin crackling and black pepper to finish!
Can I use a hand whisk to add in the hot butter part ir do you need a blender?
Hi Yolandi – this recipe was written for a blender.
You 100% can just use a whisk, just be sure a recipe is made from a blender we always have to remember that a blender is a modern tool and hollandaise has been around much longer than the blender. I whisk only because it allows more air for a better product in the end, don’t cheat, do it right
Perfect the first time I made it!
Congrats on your first ever hollandaise sauce, Leila!
I can now say I can make hollandaise! Lemons are difficult to come by where I live, so I used a very ripe lime from my tree. Changed the taste slightly, but still so delicious and the perfect consistently!
Amazing! Glad this still worked out great with lime juice instead, Sandra!
OMG I’ll never buy a pouch of Hollandaise again! So satisfying to make your own, and this was easy peasy. Thank you.
You can never beat the taste and texure of homemade hollandaise sauce! Enjoy, Irena!
Love this recipie! I’ve made it with and without Djion – wonderful either way.
For those worrying about the egg yolks…my eggs benedicts have runny yolks anyway, which is how they are served. But then again I eat raw cookie dough too.
Yes, the amount of Dijon mustard really is personal preference. But happy you love the recipe, Heidi!
In raw cookie dough it’s not the eggs you need to worry about it’s the raw gluten in the flour that causes our stomachs issue.
Hot damn this sauce is boss! I put it on the salmon like your fb post recommended. My husband would NOT shut up about it! This is going in the rotation! Thank you!!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you both loved it. Sometimes the right combination of ingredients just turns out perfectly. :)
Wasn’t for us, will be making Hollandaise Sauce with heavy cream from here forward. This sauce doesn’t stick, just rolls off English muffins, sauce needs a thicker consistency.
Hi Christiana – the sauce should definitely be thick. If it wasn’t thick, it sounds like it didn’t emulsify properly. Hopefully it comes out even better on your next try!
I’m going to try it however is it safe with the eggs not cooked like when you cook hollandaise sauce on the stovetop?
Hi Moe – the heat of the boiling hot butter gently cooks the eggs as they emulsify. I also recommend using pasteurized eggs.
Just made this today. Turned out great. This will definitely be my go to for hollandaise sauce.
Thrilled to hear you’ve found a new go-to recipe for hollandaise sauce, Sandra!
Absolutely the best and easiest hollandaise sauce ever. Turned out perfect the first time. Absolutely the best and easiest hollandaise sauce ever. Turned out perfect the first time I made it!
Hi Carol – Happy to hear your hollandaise sauce turned out perfectly with this recipe!
Never made hollandaise before. Watched my FIL making it and scared me away from all that mixing. Your recipe is the best! Thank you so much.The only thing that was surprising was it was a bit too tangy. My husband loved it but i think i will try 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice next time. Thank you again for the amazing recipe.
Hi Virginia – Congrats on your first ever hollandaise sauce success! Next time, you can reduce the lemon juice a smidge.
Very tasty! Mine came out very thick for some reason (could be because I tripled the recipe)… my husband loved it, but I’d use less mustard and just a pinch of salt (I use salted butter) next time!
So happy you both enjoyed it, Mindy!
We love this easy recipe for hollandaise sauce that never fails! It goes so well with steamed vegetables and our grandkids love it topping their egg in a hole breakfasts. I use a cookie cutter to make a hole in buttered bread toasted in a skillet. I break an egg into the hole and the egg cooks while the bread toasts. The cut out gets toasted too and serves as a little hat for the egg after some hollandaise is poured over the egg.
Makes a simple breakfast into a special treat they remember long after a visit to Gramma’s house.
Hi PJ – Thrilled to hear this hollandaise sauce recipe is a staple in your household! I love how the kids enjoy it for breakfast as well.
Made the receipe, Very easy compared to the tradition method over simmering water. Turned out well. I normally like to use white wine vinegar and tarregon and reduced down to almost nothing.
Hi Ralph – Happy to hear your hollandaise sauce turned out perfectly!
This is a good recipe. Just note that adding wine and tarragon would make it a Béarnaise sauce, not a Hollandaise. Also, consider using half the amount of Dijon mustard, as it can overpower the other flavors.
Just did this amazing Hollandaise sauce. Incredibly easy and it’s made a large table of French gourmandes very happy, as an accompaniment to new season white asparagus, eating in the spring Gersois sunshine. Amazing, thanks so much Lisa.
I’m glad you and your friends enjoyed it, Ian!
Very good
Hi Shawn – Happy to hear you enjoyed this homemade hollandaise sauce!
So easy to make I did mine in the magic bullet. How long can I keep it in the fridge?
It’s so delicious, 😋