Easy Hollandaise Sauce

hollandaise sauce in a bowl with a spoon next to citrus and herbs

My Easy Hollandaise Sauce recipe uses just 4 ingredients and is ready in only 10 minutes following simple steps! Perfect for eggs benedict and more.

Course Sauce

Cuisine French

Keyword easy hollandaise sauce, hollandaise sauce recipe, how to make hollandaise sauce, simple hollandaise sauce

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings servings; makes about ¼ cup

Calories 263kcal

Author Isabel Laessig

Equipment

2 Bowls for separating the eggs
1 Large bowl to use as a double boiler
1 pot or deep pan to steam the sauce
1 Whisk

Ingredients

2 egg yolks see notes for how to separate egg yolks
1 Tablespoon lemon juice use fresh lemon juice for best flavor
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter ¼ cup; salted butter may also be used
1 dash cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions

Double Boiler Method

Add egg yolk and lemon juice to a heat-proof bowl, and whisk together until fully combined.
2 egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Melt butter in a small pan or in the microwave.
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Set a deep pan or pot over the stove and fill halfway with water. Bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, place the bowl with the egg mixture over the pot so it sits over the water, but not in it, allowing the steam from the water to heat the bowl.
Whisk the melted butter into the egg mixture, stirring gently as it thickens.
It should form a smooth, creamy hollandaise sauce. Once thickened to your liking, take the bowl off of the heat from the steam and add cayenne pepper.
1 dash cayenne pepper
Serve, and enjoy!

Blender Method

In a covered bowl, melt the butter in the microwave until very hot, about 1 minute.
Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper in the blender, and blend for 5 seconds.
Slowly pour in the very hot butter while the blender is still running.
Once the butter is fully blended in, pour the sauce into a bowl and serve!

Notes

Tips for Making Hollandaise Sauce

Use a large enough bowl that it sits on top of the pot without touching the water. Don’t hold the pot over the water – the steam may burn you.
It is very important the bowl does not touch the water. You don’t want to boil your hollandaise sauce!
If your sauce is struggling to thicken, place it into the microwave for 5 seconds at a time. Whisk between each interval until it thickens.

How to Separate Egg Yolks

Using your hands:

Near two bowls, crack the egg.
Carefully pry the egg open into your hand over one of the bowls.
Move the egg from one hand to the other*, letting the egg whites drip through your fingers into the first bowl. Repeat to separate all of the whites from the yolk.
Once all of the white has separated from the yolk, drop the yolk into the second bowl.

You can use either your hands or the shell of the egg to separate the whites from the yolk. Simply move the yolk between each shell half until all of the white has separated into the bowl.

Using a Water Bottle:

Make sure the bottle is clean first.
Crack eggs onto a deep plate or into a bowl.
Hold the water bottle at a 45 degree angle. Press the mouth of the bottle against the egg yolk and squeeze the bottle.
The bottle should easily suck up the egg yolk, separating it from the egg whites. Squeeze it into a separate bowl to get the yolk out of the bottle.

Nutrition