Hollandaise Sauce
968 Comments
Updated Feb 13, 2023
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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 – 3 eggs
- Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon
- Dijon – 1 teaspoon
- Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
- Cayenne Pepper – just a pinch
- Butter- 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
- Marinara Sauce
- Basil Pesto Sauce
- 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!
Hollandaise Sauce (Easy & No-Fail)
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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I’ve made various versions of Hollandaise Sauce and LOVED this one. #EasyPeasy I used an immersion blender instead of our mac daddy Blendtec blender, and it made it very easy to adjust the ingredients a little to get the flavor just right. I’m thrilled you mentioned that option, because it hadn’t occurred to me. Everything blended together perfectly, evenly, and quickly. (Who wants to whip out a double-boiler and get crazy-messy in the kitchen for breakfast anyway?) Woot woot! Total winner. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Wow, so thrilled to hear you’ve found your favorite hollandaise sauce recipe!
Tried this at home….. DELICIOUS.
So easy to make to
Wonderful! Glad this recipe was a hit.
I have been making eggs Benedict for my kids for years and have always used packaged hollandaise. I have also had it had restaurants. This morning I didn’t have any packages in the cupboard so I made this recipe to the letter and sorry to say I didn’t like it at all. The only flavour coming through was the overwhelming flavour of the Dijon which surprised me because it’s not even that much and I like the flavour of Dijon.. And I couldn’t taste the lemon at all.
Hi Laurie – you should definitely taste the lemon juice in this recipe. Did you use fresh lemons or jarred lemon juice? If you used jarred lemon juice, that tends to have a more muted flavor. I definitely recommend fresh lemons in this recipe. :)
Just made this with my 11 year old daughter. Turned out silky and smooth. It had a little too much dijon flavor for us so we added a little more lemon juice and it turned out perfect-wonderful hollandaise recipe!
Wonderful! Glad this came out perfectly :)
This is hands down the best hollandaise I’ve ever had, even better than in restaurants. And it’s super easy to make and turns out perfect every time! The only issue I have is, it tastes so good I want to make it and eat eggs Benedict every morning lol.
Hahah! Now you know how to make the best hollandaise sauce :)
Amazing, very easy and delicious. I halved the recipe using two egg yolks and it worked perfectly.
Hi Mark – I’m happy to hear you loved this hollandaise sauce! And thanks for sharing that you were able to halve the recipe with success as well.
The very first thing I love about this recipe is that it make enough extra for the two of us. We love extra sauce and while this is for four servings we are only the two of us. Also, it taste fantastic and is so easy to make. When I try a new recipe it make it as directed and then make changes if needed the next time. The only this I changed is I made it a big pich of cayenne as we like a bit of spice. This will definitely be a keeper.
Hi Fern – thanks so much for your feedback. I’m thrilled you loved this recipe, and I agree, a little extra hollandaise sauce is always a good thing!
I made this had to add extra yolk and 2 tbs of hot water made in glass bowl over water instead of blender but the lemon is overpowering it i would suggest 1/4 tsp lemon juice
Hi Christopher – yes, this recipe is for blender hollandaise, so it’s a different process to make over a bowl. Ironically, someone just commented that this recipe wasn’t lemon-y enough, so just goes to show how different our taste preferences are. But the good news is that it’s easy to tweak to your liking. :)
Dear Lisa: Eggs Benedict is one of my favourite breakfast foods. In trying to do my part to be safe, I haven’t been inside a restaurant since March. While I know it’s an exceedingly small sacrifice, I have really been missing my favourite treat and felt too intimidated to try to make it. I looked at purchasing packaged hollandaise but didn’t like all of the ingredients in them. This morning I finally decided to try your recipe… and it worked! Perfectly! For the first time in months I was able to enjoy an Eggs Benedict! Thank you for this, and all of the other recipes you share. It truly brought me some happiness on a cold day in these dark times. :)
Oh wonderful! I’m so happy you loved this recipe Jennifer. You can’t beat eggs benedict at home. And that’s great you’ve been doing your part to be safe this year. :)
I thought it was so disgusting, it was so salty and gross, it made me feel a little nauseous. I’ve had so many hollandaise sauces, but never one this terrible.
There’s only 1/4 teaspoon of salt in the recipe, so it shouldn’t have been overly salty. I suspect you probably used salted butter, which may have pushed it over the top. I do recommend unsalted butter for this recipe.
Delicious. It was so easy and came together in less than 5 minutes with an immersion blender. Creamy, tangy and perfect for eggs Benedict.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this hollandaise sauce!
Absolutely awesome.. simple and delicious. Only thing was it was too small an amount for my blender (I did with three eggs) so I poured into a jug and whisked by hand – still perfect.
Glad you found a winning hollandaise sauce recipe Toni!
Absolutely fantastic!! No restaurant within 50 miles serves Eggs Benedict, and store sauces aren’t nice. Decided to try and make my own, and it turned out brilliantly with an immersion blender. Only problem is this recipe makes too much for 1 serving of Eggs Benedict….so I had to eat the rest with a spoon 😉
Now you can have restaurant quality hollandaise sauce right at home :)
Absolute perfection!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Mary!
I don’t understand how this recipe has so many high ratings. I followed it as written. The look and consistency was right, but It literally just tasted like lemon and butter. It was inedible and not at all like a Hollandaise sauce. I tried tweaking it on the stove after to adjust the flavor, and in the end just threw out the whole thing.
Hi Melissa – hollandaise is literally just an emulsified sauce of lemon, butter, and egg yolks. So it should taste like lemon and butter. ;) Perhaps you’re confusing it with another sauce?
Made this numerous times but I don’t have a regular blender. I use a stick blender and it turned out perfectly all four times. A must for our version of a local treat, Hangover Poutine. Fries, your choice of breakfast meat, eggs and this hollandaise sauce. Five stars!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you loved this hollandaise sauce, Kelli. And yes, I agree, it’s worthy of being drizzled on everything!
Excellent addition to my Sunday’s “breakfast in bed mornings”. It’s a classy treat with which to pamper my girlfriend, along with coffee and Bloody Mary’s on the back deck, while gazing at the sunrise on over the N Georgia mountains. I also like to use one half of the english muffin as a sweet and crunchy platform for homemade preserves.
Happy to hear this recipe made it to your Sunday breakfast :)
Made in our Vitamix on the lowest setting – next setting is off the charts! Lol! Turned out perfectly! How long is the average time to emulsify? For us personally we used a little less than 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and next time we might use a little less mustard too – I guess we like a milder profile. But everything was spot on! Super easy and quick to make, smooth and delicious!
Hi Kristi – I normally blend for about 5 seconds! But glad this hollandaise sauce turned out perfectly.
very easy and worked great!
Great! Glad this recipe worked out perfectly :)
Worked great. All loved it for our eggs benedict! Can you double the recipe without problems or is it better to make two recipes?
Yay, I’m glad you loved the recipe, Jeff! Yes, you can double the recipe with no problem. Enjoy!
Do you think there’s a difference using chilled or room temperature eggs?
Hi Gina – I’ve tried this recipe with both, and haven’t noticed a difference. It’s pretty fool-proof! :)
Turn out perfect and was delicious!
It is as simple as they say it is. I didn’t use a blender. Just whisked it and very slowly added WARM butter so as not to cook the yolks like I have done in the past. I just set the butter aside until I started my eggs then whisked it together as I seared my Canadian Bacon…
So impressed with this recipe! I’ve never made Hollandaise before and was pretty sure it would turn out awfully – what a surprise! My husband said that if he had this served in a restaurant it would be one of the best Egg Benedicts he’s ever had! Thank you!
Thrilled to hear that Laura! Now you can always have restaurant quality Eggs Benedicts right at home :)
Let me just say yummy ! This was my first time making hollandaise sauce …. I subbed German mustard for Dijon and it turned out excellent …..and super easy too…. will be skipping the package and making this from now on…..
Happy to hear this recipe was a success Jennifer!
I comment frequently, my blender died and food processor is my only option. Would skilled whisking be a last option? I have wanted a simple recipe for this a long time.
Thanks
Amy
Hi Amy – you can definitely make hollandaise sauce by whisking. There are many videos online that show you how to do that method. :)
This was my very first time making — and even tasting — hollandaise, and it was amazing and creamy. I have to say, both my fiance and I couldn’t decide if we liked it or not at first, but found ourselves eating more and more 😅. So the results are in: so creamy and tasty! I’d definitely recommend this recipe, as it was immensely simple.
Amazing! Glad this recipe worked out for your first time making hollandaise sauce :)
Epic fail – the sauce was watery and then whilst the eggs were poaching it separated and was basically disgusting and a complete waste of time & ingredients
Hi Ann – that’s a bummer! It sounds like your hollandaise didn’t emulsify properly. You can still fix a broken hollandaise and not waste the ingredients, check out the tips above. Hope your next try turns out better!
Hey! Thanks for the recipe! I don’t have a regular blender but have an immersion blender and a food processor. Which do you think would work better?
Hi Kristina – an immersion blender would definitely work better. See my tip on using an immersion blender in the post above!
You can just put cold, cubed butter right in the mix, then heat it up and keep it moving over a water bath. Really works every time. I have never broken a Hollandaise or Béarnaise doing this. Weird right? Try it, just make sure that butter is cold, and cubed, and keep it moving.
This recipe really is foolproof. I usually use a mix but the store was out, so I was forced to make it from scratch. In the past I never had luck with this. This recipe is tasty and easy. Love it!
Happy to hear this recipe was a success Kathy! :)
Made this today as a last minute “oh no I forgot to buy hollandaise!” Moment. It was amazing! I actually added extra lemon juice and some whole grain mustard on top of the required Dijon to give it some extra tang and kick. Turned out amazing and was super easy!
I think I’ll be ditching store bought from now on
Awesome! Happy to hear that this recipe was a success.
Far too much lemon. The acidity killed the cayenne heat as well as the Dijon background flavor. Even with the butter being melted and very hot, and slowing steaming it in, the sauce was too watery.
I made a second batch thinking I made a mistake in the recipe, but that batch came out exactly the same. A waste of ingredients and time.
Hi Audrey – sorry you didn’t love this recipe. One tablespoon of lemon juice is the classic amount used in hollandaise recipes. Even Julia Child used one tablespoon in hers. :) If your hollandaise was watery and not thick like the photos, it sounds like it didn’t emulsify properly. Make sure to read my tips above for how to fix that.
Soooo goood! My husband and I ate it up! I made too much though. Can it keep in the fridge ? Is so, how long?
Hi Issy- I would say keep it in the fridge just for one day. It’s best served fresh :)
I’ve only got two words(freaking amazing!!!!!!!)
Woo! Glad this sauce worked out perfectly for you :)
Great recipe!! It is fairly fool proof although don’t try to make it in two stages in hope of preparing and then finishing – it doesn’t work 😂 but made many times following the recipe exactly and it made amazing sauce. Yummie!
This is the easiest, quickest Hollandaise recipe I’ve come across; and I’ve tried several since I can’t find Knorr and most were just too much effort for the reward. I made it this morning and it tastes great and has a perfect consistency! I agree with other comments that it was lemony, but that’s how we like our Hollandaise. I used my small food processor with a whisk that has a streaming device and it worked great. Be careful with the blending though, I think it would be easy to over-emulsify and end up with a heavy sauce. Good-bye Knorr; this is my go to recipe. I think I may try the same technique for a Bearnaise.
So glad you enjoyed this hollandaise sauce!
Can this be made with out a blender?
A blender is best for this recipe!
My first time making hollandaise and it was great. Super quick and easy!
Glad this recipe helped create the perfect hollandaise sauce :)
This is a winner. I rarely make eggs benedict but I heated up the butter over low on the stovetop while I was gathering all my other ingredients, so that it was gently boiling. I should have started heating up my pan for the poached eggs and had my english muffins ready because before I knew it, the hollandaise sauce was done. Just like that. I made a homemade smoked salmon spread (home smoked salmon and cream cheese) that I spread on the english muffins before putting on the eggs, then the delicious hollandaise sauce. My husband said “if you had a restaurant, people would be coming back again and again for this”. Thanks for sharing!
That breakfast combination is my favorite! I’m glad you were finally able to make the perfect batch of hollandaise sauce :)
Can I add a table spoon of hot water to thin the sauce out? It tasted thick buttery and salty not as delicate as I would have thought!
Hi Ivan – sure, no problem! Feel free to tweak to your liking.
A thoroughly acceptable quick and easy hollandaise, thank you for posting
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe Cory!
Double check the measurements. One tablespoon of lemon was overpowering, and the mustard was underwhelming. Swap those around and it should work better. If you’re like me and ended up with too much lemon add a little bit of honey and a pinch of baking soda. It might get a bit of volume from the soda but it will rescue the flavor. Also if your butter isn’t quite warm enough and your sauce is thin, or you are leery of raw eggs and dont have a double boiler…after blending till smooth a minute on the stovetop stirring constantly with low to medium heat will thicken it nicely.
I prefer a more lemony flavor to my hollandaise, but of course always feel free to tweak it to your liking! Thanks for sharing your tips with the double boiler as well, Barb.
Very fast, delicious recipe! Have made it several times now. It always comes our smooth, silky and people rave about the fantastic flavor. Love that I can use my immersion blender. Thanks for the tip on the butter needing to be extremely HOT. PERFECTION,
Hi Evon- So glad this recipe turned out to be a success!
Not as enamored with this recipe as other readers. I don’t like eating raw eggs, plus it was too thin. I like a thicker hollandaise sauce that cooking of the egg yolks provides. And without the mustard, it doesn’t have a great flavor. I’ll stick to my other recipes.
Hi Anita – this should definitely be thick, so it sounds like your hollandaise didn’t properly emulsify. Make sure to check my tips in the blog post for that. And this recipe does have mustard, you can see one teaspoon of Dijon mustard is listed in the recipe card above.
Excellent and super quick recipe.
This morning was my first attempt at eggs Benedict and I used your hollandaise sauce and it turned out wonderfully. Thank you for your recipe
Great to hear Patricia! :)
Made this this morning and it turned out fantastic..fit in my keto diet as well! I think next time I will not use salted butter and will add a little more dijon, as a like my hollandaise sauce to have a little bite to it.
Wonderful Regi! Glad you enjoyed this hollandaise sauce recipe :)
Amazing flavor and so easy! It really is no fail!!
I tried to give this recipe a 5 star, but was having difficulty in pressing the 5th one. I’ve only used this particular method to make this sauce once, but have made it the more traditional way a few times. But I know for sure, I will never go back to the traditional way. This way is so much easier and quicker. Oh, and also so delicious.
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Lyn- Happy to hear you finally found a hollandaise method that works!
As a chef who made hollandaise every single day, this is horrifying. Blender instead of a whisk? Not actually cooking the yolks? No clarified butter? Reheated hollandaise?!?!?! Blegh. Hollandaise doesn’t reheat. And if it does, you made it wrong the first time and didn’t cook your yolks. This article is full of misinformation. Hollandaise is hard to make well and a true hollandaise can’t be made in a blender.
Hi Chris – Obviously the numerous positive reviews would disagree with you. ;) There can be many different ways to make a recipe, and while this version may not be your preference (totally fine), it certainly works for many people. Also, the boiling butter most certainly cooks the yolks. Have a wonderful day!
Thanks a lot, Lisa. How am I supposed to win my Michelin Star now? My family and friends are going to be very disappointed when I break the news to them at brunch. What’s next? BOXED spaghetti?!
This recipe was so quick and easy with my immersion blender that I can make eggs benedict on a week day before work. The texture is right, the flavors are right, my family is happy – that’s all that matters. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Don- Happy to hear this recipe came together easily and everyone enjoyed it!
As person who whips up breakfast every busy morning I appreciate recipes like this one. Your comments are snotty and uncalled for. We’re not chefs, we’re normal everyday people who don’t make Hollandaise every day. But perhaps the biggest difference is the underside of our noses aren’t sunburnt.
Thanks for this recipe!
This is definitely less time consuming/easier than the double boiler method, BUT the double boiler seems to give a silkier/smooth consistency. The blender method is a little more sticky/thick, but the taste is good. I omitted the Dijon mustard and added paprika and garlic powder.
For your nutrition information, what is the serving size that equates to 294 kcals? Is it one tablespoon of sauce that equals 294 kcals?
I’m happy you loved this easy version of hollandaise sauce! For the nutrition info, the serving size is approximately 3 tablespoons. A good drizzle on poached eggs or other breakfast options.
Wow, you took all the hard work out of that!! Absolutely beautiful
Hi Carly- Glad you found this easy to make :)