This is the Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe for you if you've ever wished your vegetables, eggs, or fish could taste just a little more luxurious. Meet your new secret weapon! Silky, bright, buttery, and surprisingly simple, this is the Classic French Homemade Hollandaise for anyone who wants restaurant-quality flavor without restaurant-level stress. Once you learn how to make hollandaise sauce the French home chef way, you'll wonder why you ever settled for anything in a jar.
It is one of the five French foundational mother sauces of French cuisine. The other four are Sauce Velouté, Easy Bechamel Sauce, Espagnole, and Fresh Tomato Sauce. You will need these classic French sauces in your repertoire.
🔍 Quick Look: Velouté Sauce Recipe
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 20 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 1 cup = 4 - ¼ cup servings
- 📊 Calories: ~231 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Stove Top
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: This sauce is rich and buttery with a bright, lemony lift. The texture is velvety and smooth.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy for beginners, easy once you understand Hollandaise requires gentle heat and steady whisking.
❤️ Why You'll Love The Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
- It's a true French mother sauce, that is wonderfully approachable.
- Uses simple hollandaise sauce ingredients you already have.
- Ready in minutes, not hours.
- Elevates eggs, vegetables, and fish instantly.
- Tastes far better than anything store bought, either from a packet or jar.
- Works for both classic and quick hollandaise sauce variations.
- Easily adapted into a blender hollandaise sauce if you prefer.
- Make it low-fat or vegan, I show you how.
🗝️ Key Ingredients
- Egg yolks - The backbone of the emulsion.
- Lemon juice - Adds brightness and stabilizes the sauce.
- Butter - Unsalted or clarified, the key to richness.
🔄 Substitutions And Variations For Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Butter: Use clarified butter for a more stable sauce.
Lemon juice: White wine vinegar works in a pinch.
Vegan Hollandaise Sauce: Use vegan butter, olive oil, or avocado oil.
Blender Hollandaise Sauce: Melt the butter and drizzle it slowly into the blender with the yolks and lemon.
Quick Hollandaise Sauce: Melt butter first and whisk it in gradually for a faster, more forgiving method.
Ⓥ Hollandaise Can Be Made Dairy Free or Vegan!
Yes, hollandaise sauce can be made with olive oil instead of butter, resulting in a lighter, dairy-free, vegan, and lower-saturated-fat version. The process uses the same emulsion technique, whisking egg yolks, lemon juice, and warm water while slowly drizzling in oil. For best results, use light-flavored olive oil or avocado oil to avoid an overpowering taste.
Try these two Garlic Soup versions:
French Tourin Soup - Le Tourin D'Ail Doux
Garlic Soup Recipe - An Alternative Recipe
What Other Versions Of Hollandaise Sauce Are There?
You can make a version of hollandaise sauce using cream or replace part of the butter with cream, though it technically becomes a richer, more stable, and milder sauce that is less likely to split. (And, with just cream is more akin to Sauce Mousseline (A German Buttercream) or a cream-based emulsion.)
This fish dish uses the partial butter and cream technique, with a little white wine too... Classic Sole Meunière - Filets De Sole Au Vermouth
🔄 More Hollandaise Butter Substitutes
Top substitutes are:
- Refined coconut oil for a dairy-free "buttery" mouthfeel
- Greek yogurt is a healthy, lower-fat option
- Dairy-free butter sticks
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- Other oils - avocado, or a blend of mayo and sour cream for a quick mock version
🥣 How To Make Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
🤫 Secrets From My Kitchen To Yours
- Start with room temperature ingredients for the smoothest result.
- Warm your bowl before whisking to help the yolks thicken evenly.
- Place egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt, and white pepper in a heatproof bowl.
- Set the bowl over a pan of gently heated water or use a double boiler. The water should be hot, not boiling. Hollandaise prefers a gentle heat.
- Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens into a creamy base.
- Remove from heat and add butter slowly, one piece at a time, whisking until fully incorporated before adding more.
- Adjust seasoning and consistency with a few drops of warm water if needed.
- Serve immediately while warm and silky. If you must hold it, keep it warm near the stove, not over direct heat.
☝️ Expert Chef Tips
- If it thickens too much, whisk in a teaspoon of warm water.
- If it separates, whisk vigorously off heat; it often comes back.
- A tiny splash of lemon at the end brightens the whole sauce, if you need more flavor.
What To Serve With Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
❔ Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe FAQ
Fridge: Store homemade hollandaise sauce in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently over very low heat while whisking.
Freezer: It does not freeze well due to the delicate emulsion.
Yes, but it is best made a couple of hours before eating. This easy hollandaise sauce can be made a day ahead, if warmed slowly, stirred often, and kept warm near the stove, not over direct heat, until time to serve.
The classic hollandaise sauce ingredients are egg yolks, butter, lemon juice, salt, and white pepper.
Absolutely. A blender hollandaise sauce is fast, reliable, and perfect for beginners. Melt the butter and drizzle it slowly into the blender with the yolks and lemon.
Yes! A vegan hollandaise sauce can be made with vegan butter, plant milk, lemon juice, and a touch of turmeric for color. Or follow the many options given above in the Substitution section.
📖 Recipe
Best Hollandaise Sauce Recipe - Easy & Beginner Friendly
Equipment
- Heatproof bowl
- Saucepan or double boiler
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- salt and white pepper
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter for best results, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces (Take from refrigerator about an hour before use.)
Instructions
- Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, water and the salt (just a pinch) and pepper in a bowl.
- Place the bowl over a pan of hot water (or use a double boiler), which is just hot and not boiling. Do not let the water in the pan touch the bottom of the bowl, or the eggs will simply scramble.
- Whisk the mixture until it thickens to a creamy consistency and remove from the heat.
- Add the butter, one piece at a time and whisk until each piece is completely incorporated. This is important as it may curdle if you put large pieces in. Some prefer to melt the butter first so try that and see which method you prefer. (See tips below)
- Make this hollandaise sauce recipe for your very own favorite foods, so comforting and so much better than anything in a jar!
Notes
- Never allow the sauce to overheat or boil.
- If your sauce is too thick, thin it with a few drops of water.
- Always let the ingredients warm up to room temperature before beginning.
- Add butter slowly at first to help the emulsion form.
- If it separates, whisk vigorously off heat; it often comes back.
- Start with room temperature ingredients for the smoothest result.
Nutrition
Judith says
I’d love to hear if you tried this hollandaise sauce recipe! Did you serve it with eggs, vegetables, or something wonderfully creative? Your comments and photos help others and are a joy for me to read! Bon appétit! 🤩