15-Minute Stovetop Hollandaise Sauce
This recipe for classic hollandaise sauce is so straightforward and takes just 15 minutes to make! It’s prepared on the stovetop and relies on two simple rules: keep the flame (or burner) as low as it will go and don’t stop whisking! Let’s make it.
Classic Hollandaise Sauce
When it comes to a brunch menu, a classic eggs benedict gets my vote every time. The salty ham, runny poached eggs, and lightly toasted English muffin or brioche rolls are all important, but they are nothing compared to the creamy hollandaise sauce on top.
A good hollandaise sauce is one of my favorite from-scratch dressings and sauces. It is thick, creamy, and buttery with a light, lemony essence and a hint of spice. It’s one of the five “mother sauces” that make up the foundation of French cooking, and in addition to the classic eggs benedict, it tastes great on vegetables, steak, seafood and many egg-based easy breakfast recipes.
The latest take on hollandaise is to make it in a blender, which may be easier for some, but this recipe is for the classic way: in a pot on the stovetop. It can be easy to mess up, but once you understand how it works, you will get it right every time.
The most iconic dishes for hollandaise sauce are eggs benedict, poached salmon, or oven asparagus. In my home, I like to serve it over a simple vegetable omelet or with pork chop surf n turf.
What You’ll Need
This quick hollandaise sauce is made from seven ingredients, many of which you will find on hand in a well-stocked pantry. I refer to a “pinch” and “smidgen” as amounts in this recipe. Yes, they are real measurements, although uncommon, and some measuring spoon sets do come with these sizes.
A pinch is 1/16th of a teaspoon, while a smidgen is 1/32nd of a teaspoon. In other words, use just as much as you can pinch between your finger and thumb for a pinch and about half of that for a smidgen. This sauce is delicate, and while the spices are necessary, they can easily overwhelm the flavors, especially at this volume.
Featured Ingredient: Creamy Melted Butter
For this sauce, the butter must be melted to a creamy consistency, not solid but not liquid, and definitely not melted to the point where the milk solids separate from the fat. Starting with butter in this creamy consistency makes it easier to get the right consistency in your hollandaise sauce at the end.
The easiest way to achieve this consistency is to let butter sit on a hot stovetop for about six hours. While that’s all well and good for a commercial kitchen, where someone is actively running the stove all day long, no home cook I know has time for that. Instead, we are going to use the microwave.
First, chop the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks, then microwave on defrost (or about 30% power) for 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts until the right consistency is achieved. It should still have the same color as cold butter and be slightly softer than “spreadable” butter, as you can see in the ingredients picture above. Let the butter sit on the counter until you are ready for it.
How to Make Stovetop Hollandaise Sauce
I don’t use the double boiler method when making my hollandaise sauce. I find that it’s just as easy to do it straight in the pan. If anything, it takes less time but still cooks consistently.
There are two rules for making a great hollandaise. 1. Keep the flame as low as it will go. 2. Don’t stop whisking. Note I said rules. A lot of what I do and say in my kitchen are guidelines, which I outline in hopes of inspiring you to try something new. These, however, are hard and fast rules. If you don’t follow them, you will end up with an unpleasant version of scrambled eggs.
The Two Rules of Stovetop Hollandaise
1. Keep the flame low.
2. Don’t stop whisking.
- Prepare the butter. Melt to a creamy consistency using the microwave on 30-second bursts.
How to Store and Reheat
The sauce can be made in advance and refrigerated, but be careful when reheating. Just like when we originally made the sauce, it must be whisked constantly, or it is prone to break.
While hollandaise can be frozen for longer storage, thawing it out and reheating it while whisking constantly to maintain the proper texture can be more work than making it fresh. Personally, I don’t recommend it.
15-Minute Stovetop Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 ounces butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- pinch salt
- pinch white pepper or paprika
- smidgen cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Start by softening the butter. Chop the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place them all into a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave it for 30 seconds on defrost (30% power). Pull it out and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds on defrost, pull it out and stir. The butter should be soft but not melted to a liquid form or separated.
- Add the egg yolks into a cold pan. Add the lemon juice, white wine, and salt to the eggs and whisk thoroughly.
- Place the pan over a burner on the lowest heat setting possible. Start whisking and don’t stop until it’s done.
- The sauce will get foamy and lighten in color, turning creamy and then thickening. Keep whisking! Once it is thick enough that you can clearly see the bottom of the pan for a second or two after the whisk has scraped it, you'll know it's done.
- Remove the pan from the heat by turning off the gas burner or moving the pan to a cool burner if cooking on an electric stove.
- Continue whisking and immediately begin adding the butter in three parts, about 2 tablespoons at a time.
- Keep whisking until all the butter has been added.
- Add a pinch of paprika or white pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper, then taste and adjust as necessary.
- Keep the sauce covered and warm until ready to serve. If it cools off, reheat over a low flame while whisking constantly.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Check out my Amazon shop to see all of my recommended kitchen tools.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is for general information purposes only. For the most accurate information, calculate using your select brands and exact measurements.
Like this recipe?
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating along with a comment below — it helps other readers know what they are getting into before they start. (Five stars is the best!)
I made eggs Benedict. Very tasty, but too thin. Thank goodness I was making for myself. I will find another recipe for my dinner party this weekend for my asparagus.
I didn’t know that I could make hollandaise sauce in just 15 minutes. What made me like this recipe is the authenticity of the sauce’s taste. This is really amazing!
It’s definitely one of those recipes that you expect to be so complicated and it’s not. Quick and delicious. Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment!