Hollandaise Sauce Recipe That Actually Holds Together
Whisk egg yolks with lemon juice over a double boiler until thick and pale, then slowly drizzle in warm clarified butter while whisking constantly until the sauce is creamy and coats a spoon. The whole process takes about 15 minutes and requires low, steady heat —? hollandaise breaks when it gets too hot.
I decided to make steak with hollandaise sauce for a dinner that felt like it called for effort. Two components that both have reputations for being temperamental. I felt qualified to handle this because I had watched three different YouTube videos about it, which as it turned out was not the same thing as being qualified to handle it.
The steak was fine. The hollandaise I made by hand over a double boiler broke about halfway through — the butter stopped emulsifying and the sauce went from silky to greasy with a visible separation I could not talk my way out of. I poured it over the steak anyway because at that point the situation was already defined and I was just deciding how to present it. The meal was technically a steak with warm butter sauce. My dinner guest was gracious about it.
The blender method that I learned afterward removes most of the risk from hollandaise. You blend the egg yolks with lemon juice in a blender, then stream in hot clarified butter while the blender runs. The mechanical emulsification that the blender does in thirty seconds would take careful hand-whisking and precise temperature management at the stovetop. The result is the same silky sauce, achieved without the anxiety.
The key is having the butter hot enough to slightly cook the yolks as it streams in, but the blender is doing the emulsifying, so you're not juggling temperature and motion simultaneously. Season at the end with more lemon, salt, and cayenne. It holds for about an hour at room temperature, which is more than enough time to get the rest of dinner on the table.
Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup (1 stick / 113g) unsalted butter, clarified (see tips)
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- White pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- 1Set up a double boiler: fill a medium saucepan with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. The water should steam, not boil.
- 2In a heatproof bowl that will sit over the saucepan without touching the water, whisk together the egg yolks, cold water, and lemon juice until the mixture is pale and slightly foamy, about 1 minute.
- 3Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly, moving the whisk in wide circles and scraping the edges of the bowl. The mixture will slowly thicken —? this takes 3 to 5 minutes. When it holds a ribbon shape when you lift the whisk and coats the back of a spoon, it's ready. If the bowl feels too hot to hold briefly with a bare hand, remove it from the heat and keep whisking off the heat for 30 seconds.
- 4Remove the bowl from the heat. Very slowly —? a thin, steady drizzle —? begin adding the warm clarified butter while whisking constantly. Do not rush this step. Add the first few tablespoons drop by drop, then increase to a thin stream once the sauce begins to emulsify and thicken.
- 5Continue whisking in all the clarified butter until the sauce is thick, glossy, and creamy. It should coat a spoon and hold its shape briefly.
- 6Season with cayenne, salt, and white pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice if you want more brightness. Serve immediately.
Pro Tips
- To clarify butter: melt the stick of butter gently over low heat, then let it sit for 2 minutes. Skim the white foam off the top and slowly pour the clear yellow butter into a small bowl, leaving the milky white liquid at the bottom behind. That milky stuff is what makes hollandaise break —? clarified butter is more stable and gives you a better shot at success.
- Keep the heat low. This is the one rule. If your yolks look like they're scrambling at the edges, pull the bowl off immediately and whisk hard. You can usually rescue it by moving fast.
- If your sauce does break —? meaning it looks greasy and separated —? don't panic. Start with a fresh egg yolk and a teaspoon of warm water in a clean bowl, whisk it over gentle heat until slightly thickened, then slowly whisk your broken sauce into the new yolk mixture like you meant to do it this way the whole time. It works. I have done this in front of people and they never knew.
Substitutions
Storage Instructions
Hollandaise sauce does not store well and is best served immediately. If you must hold it, keep it warm (not hot) in a bowl set over warm water for up to 1 hour, whisking occasionally. Do not refrigerate and reheat —? the texture will not recover and the food safety window on a held egg-based sauce is 2 hours maximum. Make it fresh.
Make Ahead
The clarified butter can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Gently rewarm it before use. The hollandaise itself should be made right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my hollandaise sauce break and turn greasy?
Your butter went in too fast, or the heat was too high, or both. Hollandaise is an emulsion —? egg yolks holding fat in suspension —? and it collapses when the yolks overheat or get overwhelmed by too much butter too quickly. The fix: start a fresh yolk in a clean bowl, whisk it over gentle heat until slightly thickened, then slowly whisk your broken sauce in. Nine times out of ten this rescues it completely.
How do I know when the egg yolks are ready for the butter?
They should have roughly tripled in volume, turned pale yellow, and left a visible ribbon on the surface when you lift the whisk. The mixture will coat the back of a spoon and hold the coating when you drag a finger through it. If they're still thin and yellow, keep whisking. If they're lumpy and starting to look like scrambled eggs, you've gone too far and the heat was too high.
Can I make hollandaise sauce in a blender?
Yes, and it's significantly faster and more forgiving. Blend egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne for 30 seconds on low. Then, with the blender running, drizzle in hot clarified butter in a thin stream. The blender does the emulsification work for you. The texture is slightly lighter and less silky than the stovetop version, but honestly it's excellent and I won't judge you for taking the shortcut.
Can I make hollandaise sauce ahead of time?
Not really, and I'd be lying if I told you otherwise. Hollandaise is a live-fire sauce —? it's best made right before serving. You can hold it warm in a bowl over hot (not boiling) water for up to an hour, whisking occasionally to keep it together. After that, both the texture and food safety start working against you. Budget the 20 minutes and make it fresh.
What's the right temperature for the double boiler water?
Barely simmering —? small bubbles, some steam, definitely not a rolling boil. The ideal temperature for the egg yolks is between 140°F and 160°F (60–71°C). If you have an instant-read thermometer, use it. If you don't, the rule is: if the bowl feels too hot to hold with your bare hand for more than a second, it's too hot. Pull it off and keep whisking off the heat.
Is there a dairy-free version of hollandaise sauce?
Classic hollandaise is built on butter, so a true dairy-free version is a different sauce with different ingredients. The most common approach uses vegan butter —? Earth Balance or similar —? in place of regular butter. It works reasonably well with the same technique. Some recipes use coconut oil for a richer fat content. The result is a little different in flavor but holds together and tastes good, especially over vegetables.
What do I serve hollandaise sauce on besides eggs Benedict?
Steamed or roasted asparagus is the classic move and it's excellent. Hollandaise is also wonderful over poached salmon, grilled fish, steamed artichokes, roasted broccoli, and simple boiled potatoes. If you want to get comfortable with the recipe before committing to full eggs Benedict, make it for asparagus —? there's less going on and you can focus on getting the sauce right.
What's the difference between hollandaise and béarnaise sauce?
Béarnaise is hollandaise's more assertive cousin. The base technique is identical —? egg yolks emulsified with clarified butter —? but béarnaise uses a reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, and tarragon instead of plain lemon juice. It has a more herbaceous, savory flavor and is classically paired with steak rather than eggs. Once you can make hollandaise confidently, béarnaise is a small, satisfying step from there.