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Many people are afraid of hollandaise sauce, are you? Some think eating it will make them fat. (It will if you eat it every day, so don’t eat it every day.)
If you are like me, the thought of making hollandaise conjures up visions of toque clad chefs with big bowls and even bigger whisks swearing because the beautiful sauce they have spent the last several minutes vigorously whisking has separated on them, “Merde!”
I have been desperately afraid of making this sauce since forever. (Not afraid of eating it mind you, I’ve never met an Eggs Benedict I didn’t like, or eat.) To overcome this fear I asked my friend Hank to show me how to make it.
OMG. Hank’s hollandaise didn’t separate, and he didn’t swear (any more than usual), but the work! The beads of sweat forming on this man’s forehead as he whipped those egg yolks and butter into submission.
I was dreading the attempt. Hank has arms of steel. I have arms of, hmmm, a young, willowy sapling? Whatever. Not steel.
Topping With Hollandaise Sauce
The solution? Blender hollandaise. It’s easy! Even I can do it. Which means even you can do it. So I encourage you to try it, if you like me have been intimidated by the thought of attempting this sauce.
Use it over fish, steamed vegetables like broccoli or asparagus, or on top of poached eggs, bacon, and English muffins for Eggs Benedict.
By the way, if you want to try your hand at traditional Hollandaise, Michael Ruhlman has a great post breaking down all the steps on his site: Classic Hollandaise Sauce.
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (if using salted butter, skip the added salt)
- 3 egg yolks (see how to separate eggs)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Method
1 Melt the butter: Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil—you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away.
2 Blend egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, until lightened in color: Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds.
The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.
3 Lower blender setting, slowly drizzle in melted butter: Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the hot melted butter slowly, while the blender is going.
Continue to blend for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
4 Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste: Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste.
If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.
Store until needed in a warm spot, e.g. next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
I think you put the incorrect amount of butter just tried it and it tasted horrible too much butter
xxxxxyyyyy
Oh, Kayla, we’re so sorry your sauce was horrible. Hollandaise is supposed to be a luxurious treat and not a sad mess that’s too buttery. I think your sauce was broken, because when the butter separates out, it does taste like nothing but weird lemony melted butter. The texture of this sauce when it’s spot-on is what makes it so appealing, and it hits your palete in a way that all the elements are in harmony.
The amount of butter in this recipe is correct, even though it seems massive. What kind of blender were you using? Another option might be that you simply don’t like hollandaise. It is buttery no matter what, and not for everyone.
The amount of butter
My mom taught me to make it this way when I was in HS back in the early 80’s. She started adding a slight trickle of butter as soon as the yolks were in the blender, using sliw speed. It was thick and yummy. Paprika and lemon juice.
This did not work in a Vitamix. The 3 yolks did not reach the blade so it could not emulsify anything. Then i tried putting in the melted butter but I still ended up with just a thin liquid buttery substance which would not whip up. It appears people are rating this recipe on the idea and not the actual execution.
xxxxxyyyyy
I noted the same thing with my Vitamix. I added an extra yolks so it would reach the blades then left on 1 the whole time. Turned out perfectly, even with the extra yolk.
Mine was also watery im going to use my other recipe
Hey folks! If your hollandaise turned out watery, it’s because it broke–meaning it didn’t emulsify. Certain large blenders (like the standard Vitamix) are too big for the yolks to whirr around right to emulsify. Some readers, as you can see from the comments, remedied this by adding an extra yolk.
I also used my Vitamix and decided that doubling the recipe would cover the blade.
I love this recipe. I don’t use a blender. I use a cheap ice cream malt blender. not the stand kind. works awesome. the larger blenders do make it hard to blend.
xxxxxyyyyy
Hollandaise Sauce has been a hit or miss for me. However, I so much enjoy Hollandaise Sauce. Thank you for your blender recipe and all of your recipes.
hi i am new here Elise. wow :) since 2003 you been here! liked the hollandaise sauce but saw a bunch of popular video recipe snipets out of the corner of my eye and now i have to come back. TONS of gr8 recipes. i really LOVE that you are dedicated to helping people become cooks in their kitchens ~a very needed thing in our society now, but so few options! maybe for the panicy, fledgling cooks/bakers, you would consider a Cooking Hotline LOL *KUDOS!!!!!
Thanks so much Elaine, welcome to the site!