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Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce (with video)

Hollandaise sauce is one of those culinary staples that always eluded me. The velvety, smooth texture and rich flavors always seemed unobtainable. Don’t you have to be a professional chef to even attempt this sauce? If you’re like me and put off trying homemade Blender Hollandaise Sauce, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is.

Spatula coated with Hollandaise Sauce

Whether you’ve had visions of curled, lumpy sauce or a counter full of splattered, melted butter, you can put those worries aside. Just a few simple steps and some hints along the way will have you making this sauce with your eyes closed, or at least without butterflies in your stomach.

If that wasn’t assurance enough, you only need a handful of ingredients, most of which you probably have in your fridge and pantry right now, and about 10 minutes to make Hollandaise Sauce. 

There’s something about this sauce that is quintessential for breakfast. Sure, you could go with an omelet or French toast, but Egg Benedict smothered in Hollandaise sauce elevates things to a whole new level and makes breakfast fancy. Now you can feel like royalty at home while drizzling this decadent sauce all over your plate. Go ahead and indulge yourself, you deserve it.

Ingredients for Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredient for Hollandaise Sauce on a counter with text overlay for amounts required of each ingredient

Let’s start with the basics of what you’ll need. Besides a blender (or food processor if don’t have a blender) you’ll need the following:

  • Egg yolks – from large eggs. Do your best when separating the eggs to not have any whites in the sauce.
  • Lemon juice – fresh squeezed is best. Don’t settle for bottled or jarred.
  • Hot water – hot to the touch, but not boiling. You don’t want to cook and set the yolks.
  • Butter – unsalted lets you control the amount of saltiness. But salted is fine, just don’t add any extra to the sauce.

Process shot of egg yolks, lemon juice and hot water in a food processor

Hollandaise Sauce in the Blender

A blender or food processor is the easiest way to make Hollandaise Sauce. You can slowly, yet vigorously blend the ingredients together, allowing it to emulsify (ie – not creating a coagulated, clumpy mess of a sauce). This saves you the trouble of tirelessly whisking the ingredients, which can lead to an uneven texture or breakage (more on this later).

There’s also something rewarding about watching that thin stream of butter pour into the other ingredients, knowing it’ll form into a magical, tasty sauce.

How to Make the Sauce in a Blender 

  1. Start by slowly melting a ½ pound butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Slower is better to prevent browning. It should be fully melted and just start to bubble, about 185º F with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. Alternatively, you can melt the butter in a microwave in 30-second increments.
  2. Place 3 large egg yolks, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon hot (not boiling) water in a blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth, about 10 seconds.
  3. Here’s where the magic happens. With the blender running at medium speed, slowly drizzle the warm, melted butter into the mixture. The timing here is important, it should take about 60 seconds to drizzle all of the butter. Too fast and it won’t incorporate.
  4. That’s it, you just created a homemade Blender Hollandaise Sauce. How easy was that? If using unsalted butter, stir in a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper to taste. Serve immediately (read on for tips about leftovers).

Don’t have a blender, or want to try it the old-fashioned way? Try Serious Eat’s hand-stirred Hollandaise Sauce.

Using an instant-read thermometer to check temperature of melted butter

How to Ensure a Creamy Sauce

  • Separate the eggs carefully, without any whites in the mix
  • Heat the butter to the correct temp, about 185º F. Too hot and it’ll cook the eggs, too cool and it won’t warm the eggs and emulsify with the water
  • SLOWLY pour the butter into the other ingredients. It should take about a full minute to pour 2 sticks of melted butter
  • Keep an eye on consistency. If the sauce is thick enough, you can stop adding butter to create the desired consistency
  • Be ready to serve immediately. You can keep the sauce warm for up to an hour, but it’s best served right away. Have your food prepared or ready around the same time the sauce is ready.

Opening the lid of just blended Hollandaise Sauce in a food processor

What Makes Hollandaise Sauce Break?

The main reason people may avoid making this sauce is ‘breakage’. This is when the butter doesn’t emulsify into the eggs and water, and instead clumps up into a curled or runny disaster.

Hollandaise Sauce will break if the butter is too hot or too cool, or you pour the butter in too quickly. It can also separate as it sits. Keep over very low heat and stir occasionally if you can’t serve immediately. Follow the steps above or in the recipe below to easily avoid breakage.

If it Does Break, Is All Hope Lost?

Take a breath and remember to relax. While the sauce shouldn’t break, something may go wrong. Here are a few tips to fix an unlikely disaster:

  1. If it’s not looking right, try blending it about 30 seconds longer. Maybe it didn’t have enough time to blend together.
  2. If it’s clumpy, try adding a tablespoon of water at a time while blending (up to 3) to smooth things out.
  3. Add another yolk. Pour the broken sauce into another container. Quickly blend an extra yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in the blender, then slowly pour in the broken sauce.
  4. If it breaks while sitting, blend again for about 30 seconds then serve immediately.

Overhead shot of easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce in a food processor

Can I the Sauce in Advance?

Because the sauce is so delicate this is not recommended. It’s best to have the food you’re serving prepared ahead of time, or plan to have it finished around the same time. You can keep it warm over very low heat or a double-boiler for up to an hour if you need extra time. 

What About Leftovers?

Hollandaise Sauce is very temperamental and leftovers are not recommended. On top of that, it’s so yummy so I’d be surprised if it lasts past brunch. 

Can it Be Refrigerated or Frozen?

You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days but it’ll most likely break when reheated. Be careful when heating and do it slowly over low heat, then blend again to make it creamy. 

Freezing is not recommended as it’ll be even more difficult to resuscitate the sauce due to the fat crystallization and separation when frozen.

How to Serve Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise Sauce is best served as part of Eggs Benedict. If you’re eating on a keto diet or low-carb, you’ll love my Keto English Muffins, which can be made in the microwave in just a minute.

Hollandaise Sauce spread over Keto Eggs Benedict on a plate

You can also serve the sauce over poached eggs, salmon, marinated prime rib, oven roasted chicken breast, grilled rack of lamb, or vegetables such as asparagus.

Looking for more brunch recipes? Browse all my breakfast recipes for more inspiration.

Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.

 

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Spatula coated with Hollandaise Sauce
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5 from 4 votes

Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Blender Hollandaise Sauce is easy and fail-proof. This rich and velvety sauce uses just a few common ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes.
Course Breakfast, Sauce
Cuisine American, French
Keyword Easy Hollandaise Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce in the blender, No-Fail Hollandaise Sauce
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Calories 180kcal
Servings 20 tablespoons
Author: Matt Ivan
Did you know? Servings and ingredient amounts can be adjusted on all my recipes. Click the green number above to change.

Ingredients

  • ½ pound salted butter, 2 sticks
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon hot water, not boiling
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Melt butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Slower is better to prevent browning. It should be fully melted and just start to bubble, about 185º F with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Alternatively, you can melt the butter in a microwave in 30 second increments.
  • Place egg yolks, lemon juice, and hot water in a blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth, about 10 seconds.
  • With the blender running on medium speed, slowly drizzle the warm, melted butter into the mixture. Timing here is important, it should take about 60 seconds to drizzle all of the butter. Too fast and it won’t incorporate.
  • If using unsalted butter, stir in a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper to taste. Serve immediately or keep warm over very low heat until ready to serve.

Notes


How to ensure a creamy sauce:
  • Separate the eggs carefully, without any whites in the mix.
  • Heat the butter to the correct temp, about 185º F. Too hot and it’ll cook the eggs, too cool and it won’t warm the eggs and emulsify with the water.
  • SLOWLY pour the butter into the other ingredients. It should take about a full minute to pour 2 sticks of melted butter.
  • Keep an eye on consistency. If the sauce is thick enough, you can stop adding butter to create the desired consistency.
  • You can keep the sauce warm for up to an hour, but it’s best served right away. 
 
Did your sauce break? Try these steps:
  1. If it’s not looking right, try blending it about 30 seconds longer. Maybe it didn’t have enough time to blend together.
  2. If it’s clumpy, try adding a tablespoon of water at a time while blending (up to 3) to smooth things out.
  3. Add another yolk. Pour the broken sauce into another container. Quickly blend an extra yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in the blender, then slowly pour in the broken sauce.
  4. If it breaks while sitting, blend again for about 30 seconds then serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Amount Per Serving (2 tablespoons)
Calories 180 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Trans Fat 2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 104mg35%
Sodium 164mg7%
Potassium 14mg0%
Carbohydrates 0.1g0%
Fiber 0g0%
Sugar 0g0%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 640IU13%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Recipe adapted from The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt. Print 2015. 

 

Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce (with video)Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce (with video)
Breakfast Recipes | Gluten-Free Recipes | Keto Recipes | Recipes

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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I never realized how simple it is to make Hollandaise sauce! This definitely seems like something I can do. Can’t wait to try it out!

  2. 5 stars
    Hollandaise sauce is one of my favorite sauces. I love it the most with eggs in the morning – such a delightful flavor!

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