Easy Hollandaise Sauce – No Blender Required
This easy Hollandaise sauce recipe doesn’t require a blender, a double boiler, or constant whisking. If you want a thick, creamy, and tangy sauce that’s easy to make and an easily-scalable recipe that’s a cinch to memorize, give this one a shot!
If you saw last week’s recipe for bistro-style turkey burgers with Hollandaise sauce, I’m sure you’ve been dying for the recipe for that deliciously tangy, creamy, thick sauce that’s oozing out of the side of the burger. Oh, Hollandaise sauce. I love it so much I could practically be in a relationship with it.
Except, you know, that I’m happily married. To a human man, even, and not to a delicious emulsion of butter, egg yolk, and lemon juice.
I have been making this easy Hollandaise sauce recipe, learned from my mother, since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and it’s pretty much the best thing ever.
Hollandaise sauce is one of those things I can wax poetic about, so this is a very long and thorough post today, including information on technique, scaling, safety, and storage, as well as ideas for uses and variations. I’ve added subtitles so you can easily skip ahead to the parts you want.
Flavor and texture
Now, I will give you a disclaimer about this recipe. I grew up putting copious amounts of lemon in everything, so I like my Hollandaise sauce very tart and creamy. I’ve ordered a lot of eggs Benedicts at restaurants and am frequently disappointed in their Hollandaise sauce, usually because it’s runny and you can barely taste any lemon.
I’ve seen recipes that have a ratio of 10 tablespoons of butter for only one of lemon juice, and that to me would not be a sauce I would enjoy on my eggs Benedict. If you prefer your Hollandaise to be made of mostly butter, this recipe is not for you.
My recipe uses equal parts lemon, butter, and egg yolks, which not only makes it nice and thick as well as tangy, but also has the added benefit of making this recipe a snap to remember and easily scaleable.
If you, however, don’t like as much lemon in your Hollandaise as I do, you could always sub out some water for some of the lemon juice, or add a little extra butter.
Cooking method
Maybe you’ve been intimidated by the thought of making Hollandaise sauce from scratch. Maybe it’s like a mystery sauce and you were never sure what actually went into making it. You might not want to deal with a double boiler and precise timing. Or maybe you have heard horror stories about people’s Hollandaise separating or curdling.
With this recipe, I have never had that happen. I assure you that this is a very easy Hollandaise sauce recipe. I can’t even count how many times I’ve made it, and it’s never failed on me.
It doesn’t require constant whisking, or hauling out a blender (most “easy Hollandaise sauce” recipes I’ve seen use a blender, which I find to be a huge pain to haul out and clean, and I don’t think this one is difficult at all).
Cooking vessel
You can use a more traditional double boiler for this, or set a Pyrex bowl on top of a pot of simmering water – but what I’ve done my whole life is to set a two-cup Pyrex measuring cup in the bottom of a medium saucepan filled with a couple inches of water.
Sure, I know it’s not the traditional way to do it since the whole point of a double boiler is that the vessel containing your ingredients is not directly touching the heat source, but this has always worked for me and I see no reason to change my technique now.
While the bottom of the measuring cup does touch the bottom of the pan, the sides are enveloped in a nice warm bath of simmering water, so it’s a gentle, multidirectional heat source rather than bottom-only heat. As long as you scrape the bottom of the Pyrex when you stir or whisk the sauce, it will not curdle and turn into scrambled eggs.
If the thought of your Hollandaise sauce coming into contact with a heat source bothers you, by all means set a larger bowl on top of your saucepan of simmering water. The recipe will work just as well.
Tempering your eggs
When a cold egg is poured into a hot liquid, it scrambles or cooks solid. Think egg drop soup or poached eggs. It’s the opposite of what you want for your smooth, silky, creamy Hollandaise sauce.
To combat that, we pour the hot liquid into the cold eggs first. It brings the eggs up to temperature without shocking them, so you can avoid curdling.
Tempering the eggs properly is the single most important thing in this recipe.
You can mess with ratios if you’d like, adding more butter or less lemon juice, but don’t mess with the technique.
Easy Hollandaise sauce, step-by step
What I do is:
- Bring a medium saucepan half-full of water to a light simmer, with a two-cup Pyrex measuring cup sitting in the middle.
- Melt the butter in the measuring cup.
- Remove the measuring cup from the saucepan and add the lemon juice (fresh or bottled is fine) to bring the temperature of the butter down a bit.
- Slowly pour the butter-lemon mixture into the bowl that contains your egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent curdling the eggs. (This is the “tempering the eggs” part).
- Pour the mixture back into the measuring cup and return to the saucepan.
- Cook over medium/medium-low heat (water bath should be a low simmer) for 10 minutes or so or until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently with a fork or whisk. Every minute or two should be fine – this does not require constant whisking.
If your sauce gets too thick, don’t worry. You can add in some of the hot water from the saucepan a spoonful at a time, whisking to combine, until it has the consistency you are looking for.
Hollandaise sauce for one… or a dozen.
Because this easy Hollandaise sauce recipe uses a simple ratio of 1:1:1 (1 tbsp butter to 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 egg yolk) it’s easy to scale up or down as much as you’d like.
Plan on one of everything for each person, or two if the person really loves Hollandaise sauce. For example, to go with my recipe for bistro-style turkey burgers, I would use 4 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp lemon juice, and 4 egg yolks to go with 4 burgers.
If you’re just making eggs Benedict for yourself, use 1:1:1. If you’re serving 8 people, do an 8:8:8 ratio. You get the gist.
Safety concerns
There are people who are concerned about the presence of raw eggs in recipes and are hesitant to eat things like homemade egg nog and Hollandaise sauce. I am not one of those people.
If you, however, are wary of raw eggs, never fear. A lot of Hollandaise recipes are thickened mainly because egg yolk is an emulsifier, but this one is thickened as the yolk cooks. By the time you get done with this sauce, the yolks are fully cooked, as much as they are in any custard.
Storage
You can store any leftover sauce in the fridge for a few days. It will thicken as it chills until it really is like a custard, pudding, or a savory lemon curd. It’s tempting to eat any leftovers straight from a spoon.
You can whisk in a little water to thin it out and then reheat for just a few seconds in the microwave (10-15 seconds should suffice) to restore it to a nice, pourable sauce, or you can relish in its thick, custardy texture and use it as a cold spread.
If spreading leftover Hollandaise sauce like mayonnaise onto a piece of bread with a knife is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Uses for Hollandaise sauce
In my opinion, pretty much anything is better smothered in a nice tangy Hollandaise sauce. But if you’re looking for a few ideas of what to serve with your sauce, I’m happy to share. It’s not just for brunch!
Breakfast/brunch
- Poured over a classic eggs Benedict (of course) or these variations:
- Eggs Florentine (with spinach) or Eggs Royale (with smoked salmon) from What a Girl Eats
- Eggs Royale with smoked trout from Eat with Ellen
- As a sauce for grits
- Over perfectly-ripe avocado slices
- On an omelet
Lunch
- Serve on these juicy, sagey turkey burgers with avocado and tomato (pictured above)
- This light lunch of Asparagus with Crispy Prosciutto, Egg, and Hollandaise Sauce from Mon Petit Four
- As a topping for crab cakes
- Over grilled or pan-fried polenta cakes
Dinner
- With chicken Florentine (chicken and spinach)
- Over seared scallops or other fish
- With steak
Side dishes
- Drizzled on blanched asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, or mushrooms
- On zucchini fritters or potato latkes
- As a dip for the leaves of a steamed whole artichoke
- From a spoon
Variations and additions
I think this easy Hollandaise sauce is pretty much perfect as is, but there are so many things you can add or switch out for some variety if you’d like.
- Add spices:
- Cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce
- Garlic
- Mix in purees, to taste:
- Roasted red pepper
- Canned chipotle pepper
- Jalapeño peppers
- Avocado
- Basil
- Substitute other acids for the lemon juice:
- Lime juice
- Meyer lemon juice
- White wine vinegar
Now that you’re armed with the know-how and some inspiration, you too can go Hollandaise-crazy and have it with breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner!
What’s your favorite use for Hollandaise sauce? Let me know in the comments!
Easy Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
For extra-lemony Hollandaise (the way I love it, but it's not for everyone)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 egg yolks
For a more traditional Hollandaise
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan half-full of water to a light simmer, with a two-cup Pyrex measuring cup sitting in the middle.
- Melt the butter in the measuring cup.
- Remove the measuring cup from the saucepan and add the lemon juice (fresh or bottled is fine) to bring the temperature of the butter down a bit.
- Slowly pour the butter-lemon mixture into the bowl that contains your egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent curdling the eggs. (This is the "tempering the eggs" part).
- Pour the mixture back into the measuring cup and return to the saucepan.
- Cook over medium/medium-low heat (water bath should be a low simmer) for 10 minutes or so or until the sauce thickens, stirring frequently with a fork or whisk. Every minute or two should be fine - this does not require constant whisking.
I can’t see where this lemoniness could overpower eggs, but for avocados, strong veggies, and fish…thanks for the shout out.
This was amazing! I’ve been crazing hollandaise sauce through my pregnancy, but was reluctant because of the under-cooked egg yolks, and finding this recipe made my weekend. So good!! And many thanks for the hint about what to do when the sauce thickens too much – mine did and two spoonfuls of hot water from the pot thinned it to the perfect consistency.
So glad you loved it! Definitely nice to have a version on hand with no raw-egg worries associated!
Loved the simplicity of this recipe. I will be making hollandaise more often now that I can do it so effortlessly. Thanks!
I did need to add cayenne, salt and pepper because I thought it was a bit bland. But appreciated the tip to thin out the sauce, which thickened as it sat, with the hot water in the saucepan. I’m going to try making bernaise the same way, substituting vinegar for the lemon and adding tarragon.
Glad this recipe was helpful to you! Your bernaise sounds like a great idea too!
Just tried this for breakfast. GREAT!!! Creamy goodness. When making eggs benedict I will probably reduce the lemon a little but everything else (crab cakes, yum) as is. Thank you!!!
So glad you liked this! It’s one of my favorite sauces, especially with crab cakes, asparagus, or turkey burgers!
The method for making this sauce is pretty perfect, but the taste is awful. I used the “less-lemony” version, and it was still way too much lemon. I’d suggest cutting it down to one tablespoon at most.
Hi Brandon, thank you for your feedback. I tend to be a little lemon-immune since I love it so much! I will reduce the amount of lemon in the traditional ingredient list to 1 tbsp (or to taste). Glad you found the method helpful!
Is it possible to make this sauce for 200 people?
Ratio-wise, I don’t see why not, although I’m sure it would require a much larger vessel and will take much longer to thicken.
I’m not sure how large a container you’d need for 200 of everything, but you might need to make it in several smaller batches, and try a more traditional double boiler method of setting a larger pyrex or similar bowl atop a below-simmering pot so you can have more space for the sauce.
I like your method. I found it very helpful and easy, but ratios did not work for me. I made the first batch with the 1:1:1 ration and it tasted like pure lemon juice. 1 tbsp of lemon is too much. I’d cut it to 1 tsp or less.
Let me know how you like the ratios I included for the more traditional hollandaise!
I tried this recipe tonight to have with soft boiled eggs and sardines (i usually use some type of mustard sauce, but after trying an eggs benny with lox I thought hollandaise would be great with this, too). I think I had a bit too much heat going, as it thickened much quicker than the recipe (about 5 min and it was perfect consistency), but as soon as I removed the measuring cup from the water bath and stired the sauce it started to crack. I did, however, taste it a few times and I really like it, especially how lemony it is. I will try it again fr Sunday breakfast, maybe with a regular double boiler rather than the water bath so I can control heat a bit better. My stove is old and finicky so I really only have medium and hellfire lol
If the sauce gets too thick you can add a little of the hot water from the pot back into the sauce (about 1 tbsp at a time) and stir until it’s smooth again! Sounds great on an eggs benny with lox! LOL at your stove description.
This was absolutely fabulous! I love the extra lemony recipe. Thanks so much for the “double boiler” tip. I am one of those who is squeamish about raw eggs, but also do not own a double boiler, so having a recipe & method where I feel like the egg is actually cooked provides oodles of relief to me as I serve this to my family.
Michelle, thank you so much for commenting! I’m glad you liked the recipe. I could eat it on just about anything! And I know my mother-in-law will eat it too, since she’s also squeamish about raw eggs!
Way too much lemon juice, it was overpowering and I had to dump it. 😞
Sorry you didn’t like it! Did you use the ratio of ingredients I included in the recipe notes for the less lemony version, or the one I said was very lemony?
I’ve just added the “more traditional” ratio into the ingredient list in addition to where it already was in the recipe notes, for anyone who may not look at the recipe notes.
We were both suprised by the VERY tart taste, Too much lemon!
Sorry you were surprised that it was tart! I tried to make it pretty clear in the “Flavor and texture” section of the post as well as in the recipe notes on the recipe card that the original 1:1:1 recipe will yield a very lemony sauce.
Did you use the ratio of ingredients I included in the recipe notes for the less lemony version, or the one I said was very lemony?
I’ve just added the “more traditional” ratio into the ingredient list in addition to where it already was in the recipe notes, for anyone who may not look at the recipe notes or blog post.
I’m eager to try this. Thank you for adding all your alternatives, as well. It’s so nice to have ideas when you’re new to something.
I hope you like it! Are you planning to try any of the variations or just making the basic one first?
Safety Concerns, if anything, don’t separate the Yolk and Egg Whites using the Shell, that is a good way of getting sick! The easiest trick, is to break them out on a plate, wash your hands, then use an empty Water Bottle, squeeze, put it on the Yolk, release 🙂
Since the yolks in this Hollandaise are fully cooked, I don’t think there should be safety concerns regardless of how you separate the yolk. But I have seen that water bottle trick and it sure is cool! I’ve never tried it myself though!
I’m a hollandaise addict as well. My favorite is with artichokes. I can’t get enough. I became obsessed with cheesecake factories grilled artichokes with tarragon hollandaise sauce. Tarragon is a wonderful add in on beef as well. In a pinch one day (no eggs, no lemon) I melted butter and mayo together. It worked. And it’s fast. But nothing beats a home made recipe like this one
Hi Kathleen, I love love love hollandaise with artichokes too! I bet adding tarragon would be wonderful! I’ll have to try the butter and mayo trick if I’m ever in a pinch and am out of an ingredient or need something fast!
I thought it was really good! I am a lemon freak too. I am going to use the leftover sauce on fish later this week. The lemon really brightened the taste of an otherwise really heavy dish.
Glad you liked it! Hollandaise sauce is so good on fish (and everything!). Thanks for the rating!
YUMMOLA! This is SO going to happen! The easy ratio is brilliant and just too easy not to make homemade. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Ruth! I hope you like it! I’ve also included an alternate ratio for a less tart sauce if you’re not as much of a lemon lover as I am!
This had Way way way too much lemon juice. Other than that, I liked the method. However all that lemon juice pretty much ruined a breakfast that took a while to prepare.
Hi Stacy, I’m sorry to hear your breakfast was ruined!
I know not everyone loves lemon as much as I do, which is why I made sure to put a note about it in the very first section, “Flavor and texture”, along with some suggestions on how to adapt the recipe to your personal taste if you like your Hollandaise sauce less tart. Due to your feedback, I am also adding a note about it in the printable recipe portion as well in case people skim over the body of the post.
Since it sounds like you prefer your Hollandaise on the hint-of-lemon end of the spectrum, I might try doubling the butter and halving the lemon juice next time you make it. I’m glad you found the method useful.
Why on earth did you let this happen, Stacy, as Caroline gave numerous warnings about how lemony it is. To anyone else trying the extra-lemony version of this recipe, once you melt the butter, mix ONE tablespoon of lemon juice into your 4 tablespoons of butter, TASTE it! Using only one tablespoon of lemon juice makes it TWICE as lemony as the normal butter/lemon juice ratio. So if it’s too lemony for you already, stop and add more butter to the cup and put it back into the simmering water. You can make it to your taste RIGHT AWAY before proceeding. If after adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice tastes good to you, you can either keep going with the recipe as written, OR add another tablespoon of lemon juice to the measuring cup. Again, if it tastes way too lemony for you, you can add more butter and put it back to melt in the simmering water; don’t proceed until you have reached a butter/lemon taste that feels good to you.
Another tip that I find useful when trying someone’s recipe for the first time, just thank them for it and explain how it might not have appealed to your family’s taste and how you perhaps altered it to make it more to your liking. But never look a gift horse in the mouth by saying someone’s recipe you could have easily altered “ruined” your meal.
I gave this five stars as I just LOVE the way Caroline posted the ingredients for her extra-lemony version right next to the ingredients for a traditional hollandaise sauce — not only does it advise you before you begin how lemony her version is, but the traditional amounts help guide you to make it more lemony than usual without going with her full blast lemony version. Super way to post another variation of a super way to make hollandaise without a blender or a bowl that will work for a home-made double boiler — even the most novice cook has a measure cup and a saucepan! Thanks so much, Caroline! I normally make hollandaise in the blender. My husband is not a super fan of hollandaise mainly because he knows how many eggs are in it, but I’ll bet he’ll really like a more lemony version that you showed us all how to make. Will be trying your version, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice at a time, really soon!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! I have been craving eggs Benedict for about two months. My first attempt, with a different recipe, failed miserably. I made yours this morning. It was perfect. This will be my go to recipe from now on! Thank you!!!!!
Hi Jen, this is one of the nicest comments I’ve ever received! You made my day! Nothing makes me happier than to hear that one of my recipes is now in someone’s regular recipe rotation, or better yet, is a go-to! Feedback from people like you are what makes blogging worth it. Thank you so much, and I hope you find some other recipes on my site you like just as much!
This looks so creamy and perfect! Can’t wait to try it!!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!
I can’t wait to try this, Caroline! I love a good Hollandaise, and your lemony version sounds amazing!
I hope you like it! I grew up on extra-lemony Hollandaise so I have no idea if it’s “correct”, but it sure is good!
My FIRST time making this! Came out perfect!! Just like the picture. Took about 7-8 minutes. I’m so happy.
So happy to help! Everyone could use a little extra hollandaise in their lives 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing my two egg dishes! As you can see I LOVE Hollandaise on anything! Pinned!
Thanks, Cynthia! I agree, anything’s better with Hollandaise. And I can’t wait to try your eggs Benedict variations! Thanks for sharing!