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Home ► Recipes ► French

Perfect Hollandaise Sauce

Updated: 04.23.23 | Marc Matsumoto | 5 Comments

4.75 from 4 votes
One of Auguste Escoffier's five French “mother” sauces, Hollandaise sauce can be tricky to make. My fool-proof version is made with a hand blender and includes a stabilizer to ensure it doesn't break.
Recipe

This fool-proof Hollandaise sauce recipe is rich and creamy with some lemony zing.

Hollandaise sauce is a magical emulsion that breaks the rule that oil and water don’t mix. This is made possible by the fact that both butter and egg yolks contain emulsifiers. Emulsifiers such as milk proteins(butter) and lecithin (egg yolks) are molecules where one end is attracted to oil, and the other end is drawn to water. They’re like a mutual friend that bridges the gap between two enemies allowing them to intermingle.

Aside from it’s most common use as a sauce for Eggs Benedict, hollandaise is also excellent on vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, or carrots. Oh, and potatoes! I love scooping refrigerated hollandaise straight into a baked potato or using it as a condiment for french fries. Adding some chopped herbs at the end makes for an herbed hollandaise that's perfect for saucing poached seafood such as salmon, shrimp, or lobster.

Because of the precarious nature of emulsions, I like to add a stabilizer like xantham gum to help the emulsion hold. The resulting hollandaise sauce is so stable that it can be stored in the fridge and then gently reheated (in a bowl placed over hot water) without having to worry about the sauce breaking (oil and water separating). Just be careful not to overheat it, or the egg will cook, and it will give the sauce a lumpy texture. If this happens, you may be able to rescue it by whisking in a bit of warm water until it's smooth again.

As for seasonings, I've kept this recipe very basic, but I like to add a bit of fresh Meyer lemon zest at the end. You can also stir in other herbs and spices like tarragon, marjoram, or sumac for a flavored Hollandaise.

📖 Recipe

This fool-proof Hollandaise sauce recipe is rich and creamy with some lemony zing.

Hollandaise Sauce

4.75 from 4 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Yield 8 servings

Units

Ingredients 

  • 85 grams cultured unsalted butter (6 tablespoons)
  • 3 egg yolks (pasteurized, see note below)
  • 1/16 teaspoon xantham gum (small pinch)
  • ¼ cup boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice (to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Put the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on low power (~500 watts) until the butter is mostly, but not completely melted. Whatever you do, do not let it boil.
    To make the Hollandaise Sauce, melt the butter.
  • Add the egg yolks and xantham gum to the butter and use a hand blender or whisk to emulsify the two together. Make sure the mixture is fully combined, and there is no butter separated out from the mixture.
    Emulsify the melted butter with egg yolks and some xantham gum to stabilize the Hollandaise Sauce.
  • Slowly pour the boiling water into the egg yolk mixture while whisking or blending.
    Blend in some boiling water into your Hollandaise Sauce.
  • Add the lemon juice and salt and whisk to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste. I like adding a bit of lemon zest or some chopped herbs here.
    Season the hollandaise sauce with salt, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  • Keep the hollandaise sauce warm in a double boiler until you are ready to use it.
    Keep your Hollandaise Sauce warm in a double boiler.
  • You can get rid of the air bubbles in the sauce by smacking the bottom of the container on the palm of your hand. 
    Get the air bubbles out of your Hollandaise Sauce by tapping the bottom of the bowl with your hand.
  • If you stabilized your Hollandaise sauce with xantham gum, you can store it for up to a week in the fridge and reheat it in a double boiler.
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Notes

Note: Although you add boiling water to the egg mixture, the mixture will not be fully cooked, which is why I recommend using pasteurized eggs for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Calories • 98kcalProtein • 1gFat • 10gSaturated Fat • 6gCholesterol • 96mgSodium • 77mgPotassium • 7mgVitamin A • 365IUVitamin C • 0.5mgCalcium • 11mgIron • 0.2mg

Comments

    4.75 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. DJ says

    May 08, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    5 stars
    Elegant solution to an age-old problem (oil v. water). Can't believe today I made perfect poached eggs with your technique (after 20 tries over the years with other recipes) as well as perfect Hollandaise on my first try ever. Even my kids gobbled them up (having tried neither before). Really fool-proof instructions. Oh, I substituted some high-end olive oil for butter and it worked out wonderfully. Brunch will never be the same. Thanks Marc!

    Reply
    • Marc says

      May 08, 2023 at 11:04 pm

      Hi DJ, I'm so happy to hear my technique was helpful! Cooking (like most things in life) isn't too difficult if you understand the process that makes the techniques work. Great call on the olive oil BTW!

      Reply
  2. Jin says

    October 24, 2020 at 5:28 am

    4 stars
    I tried it but it ended up really watery, is there anything I could do to prevent that? The only thing I didn't have was the xanthan gum

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      October 24, 2020 at 9:10 am

      Hi Jin, the xantham gum not only stabilizes the sauce (so you you can store and reheat it without having it break), it also thickens it. If you're doing it without xanthem gum you'll need to use less water.

      Reply
      • Jin says

        December 10, 2020 at 1:10 am

        Thank you! I tried it again with less water and it's perfect 🙂

        Reply
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