Easy Hollandaise Sauce

4.7 stars, average of 271 ratings

By Martina Slajerova, updated June 21 201941

How do you get enough fat on a low-carb diet? Making hollandaise sauce is one of the best ways to add healthy fats to your meals. Simply serve it over eggs or meat, fish or cooked vegetables. As some of you may know, I've been I've working on a detailed guide to fat fast (update: you can now find all you need to know about fat fast here) and Hollandaise will be one of the crucial ingredients in meals suitable for the fat fast!

Although you can find many recipes for Hollandaise on the Internet, many of them require special tools. My approach is simple, and you won't have to use a thermometer or any special methods. I've been making Hollandaise this way for years and it has never clumped.

It's also one of the many recipes recently added to the KetoDiet apps as part of 62 new recipes. The new version is pending approval and will be in the AppStore soon.

0 hours, 0 minutes

Hands-on 10 minutes Overall 10 minutes

Nutritional values (per ¹/₄ cup)

1.7 grams 0.1 grams 3 grams 27.6 grams 16 grams 262 calories

Total Carbs	1.8	grams
Fiber	0.1	grams
Net Carbs	1.7	grams

Protein	3	grams
Fat	27.6	grams
of which Saturated	16	grams

Calories	262	kcal

Magnesium	4	mg (1% RDA)
Potassium	69	mg (3% EMR)

Macronutrient ratio: Calories from carbs (2%), protein (5%), fat (93%)

Ingredients (makes 1 serving, about ¹/₄ cup)

2 tbsp butter, ghee, duck fat or extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)
1 large egg yolk
¹/₄ tsp Dijon mustard (you can make your own)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (15 ml) - see note below
pinch salt or more to taste
dash of water if too thick

Note: If you prefer your hollandaise mild, only use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and add 2 teaspoons of water.

Instructions

Make sure all the ingredients have reached room temperature. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk (I tripled the ingredients to make 3 servings).
Slowly melt the butter (or ghee) in a water bath and keep it aside. It should be warm, not too hot.
Mix the egg yolk with the water, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt.
Fill a medium sauce pan with ~1 cup of water and bring to a boil.
Keep on medium heat, place the bowl with the egg yolk mixture on top of the sauce pan and keep mixing. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Keep mixing until it starts to thicken.
Slowly pour the melted butter into the mixture until thick and creamy. Keep stirring at all times to avoid clumping. If the Hollandaise is too thick, add a splash of water. If it clumps, place in a blender and pulse until smooth.
Serve immediately over poached eggs or baked salmon.
Dijon mustard will give the Hollandaise bright yellow colour. You can use regular or even horseradish mustard, too.
Do not reheat the Hollandaise or it will clump. If you only make it for yourself, prepare one serving at a time. Enjoy!

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Elaine 8 months ago #

Hi, Martina: I am a newbie at keto but have been cooking for a long time. Years ago a friend of mine showed me how to make blender hollandaise. It has everything in your recipe but the mustard (although you could try adding it anyway) and the cooking. Here it is: whirl one egg and 1 Tblsp. of lemon juice in a blender with a hole in the lid until the egg is lemon colored. While the blender is running, slowly pour in one stick of hot melted butter. This will cook the egg yolk. The hollandaise will be perfect and the prep is simpler than cooking it. I usually triple the recipe because my husband and kids eat the leftover sauce with spoons!
Hope this is helpful. Thank you so much for your hard work on our behalf. This is a tough diet for me and you have given me great info, creative food and hope.
Best wishes, Elaine

Martina @ KetoDiet 8 months ago #

Thank you Elaine!❤ You're so right! I've actually tried that a while ago and have been making it in a blender ever since. It is faster and foolproof (no curdling) 😊

Saskia one year ago #

It never thickened.... too much water? Or not enough stirring before adding butter? It never seemed like it was starting to thicken before adding butter

Martina @ KetoDiet one year ago #

Hi Saskia, did it split? Mine always gets too thick and I actually thin it down with water. Maybe you didn't cook it for long enough? You should drizzle the melted butter in the egg mixture very slowly while stirring.

Maria one year ago #

Can you add cooked spinach and if so would you add it at the end?

I would serve it over cooked spinach, salmon or eggs (not add it to the sauce). I hope this helps!

Dan Phillips one year ago #

Way too much lemon juice. Ruined my Salmon dinner. Even 1 tsp may be too much.

I suppose that if you know you don't like lemon juice you should perhaps use it to taste? Just a thought before your dinner is "ruined"...

grace one year ago #

I don't think it's too much. This is how much I've always used in my hollandaise and it kind of reminds of complainers saying there is too little or too much salt or pepper 🤷🤷🤷

DaveT one year ago #

Didn't hollandaise used to be hard to make?
This is fantastic and easy. Like velvet - Great on salmon & asparagus. My passion for cooking has been re-ignited with LCHF diet and awesome recipes like this - Wow!

Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you like it!

Sue DeLong one year ago #

WOW! I have never made hollandaise sauce before. I just made your wonderful recipe. It came out perfect and delish. Impeccable directions. Thank you!

Bev Stockwell one year ago #

I love your recipes. I'm new to Keri but the way you set your recipes put make them easy to understand. Thank you

Madison one year ago #

My brother trained at the culinary institute of America. I guess he enjoys to add a splash of whatever white wine he has open. Just worth a thought 😉

Cheryl Migliorini one year ago #

This hollandaise sauce was easy and fantastic. Generous single serving. Caveat**it's lemony (but I love lemons) so you might want to cut back on the lemon and maybe add a tad more water and mustard for flavor. I recommend this and will make again in the future!

Thank you! I agree, it is quite tart so substituting it with some water might be better for those who prefer it mild. Thank you!

Debbie 2 years ago #

Could I cool this and use it for faux potato salad, using cauliflower? It looks like a homemade dressing I used to make for that purpose.
Debbie

Martina @ KetoDiet 2 years ago #

Hi Debbie, yes, that may work - I haven't tried it but let me know if you do 😊

Melissa 2 years ago #

Method was fool proof and sauce came out perfectly. I kept it warm by placing my serving bowl over a dish of warm water. Worked perfectly

Hannah 3 years ago #

I love all your recipes. Do you have a Keto "English" style muffin recipe that can be used to make "Eggs Benedict"?

Martina @ KetoDiet 3 years ago #

Thank you Hannah, you can try any of the bread recipes: ketodietapp.com/Blog/Filter
or this one is English Muffin in a mug: Quick Keto McMuffins

leslie 3 years ago #

it sounds yummy but can I make enough for a couple of days or is it 1 serving at a time?

Hollandaise sauce is best when it's freshly made and my fear is that it would curdle and the fat would separate. Ot's difficult to reheat without breaking the texture.

Ethna 3 years ago #

Just made this for the first time following your instructions. The sauce was a big success. Thanks for the foolproof method 😊

I'm glad you liked it!

Jackie R 4 years ago #

I Love your website!! I am a newbie,, just started. Have been trying to keep track of all my totals. Have to do it old school, pen and paper. I don't have an Ipad to keep track. That would be wonderful. Ok, I was wondering in the total calorie for each item, is that where you put total energy? (I do keep track of fat, protein and net carbs) But I wanted to also make sure to keep my total calorie intake within my range. Could you help me?
Thanks

Martina @ KetoDiet 4 years ago #

Thank you Jackie! Yes, what is stated as "energy" in "kcal" is the calories per meal (serving). Hope this helps.

Germaine 4 years ago #

Okay! That sauce was really good! Thank you.

That's great, glad you liked it! 😊

Casey (http://www.meowspace.biz/) 4 years ago #

Pretty awesome! And I used the egg white in a smoothie 😊

I keep the egg whites to make my keto buns - you should try them 😊 Ultimate Keto Buns

hamid 4 years ago #

It's wonderful recipe & delicious

Thank you!!

Kim (http://www.kimholl.com/) 4 years ago #

Just made this and it was awesome! Came together quite easily and very fast since you are only making a small amount. I will be making this again very soon!

Thanks Kim, glad you liked it! 😊

audi 5 years ago #

I made this today: it was really smooth because I used a whisk and not a spatula! and great over fish 😊 but a bit too sour - can I reduce the lemon juice and add a bit more water?

Martina @ KetoDiet 5 years ago #

Hi Audi, yes, you can definitely use more water instead. I like it with more lemon juice but water works too 😊

Orijeta 5 years ago #

I love Hollandaise, more than mayo. ..steamed vegetables, fish, Benedict eggs-plus this sauce=so tasty!! Perfectly illustrated recipe, thanks Martina

Thank you Orijeta, me too! 😊

Linda @ Fit Fed and Happy (http://thefitty.com/) 5 years ago #

Can I use any other kind of oil? Will that work?

I've heard people using coconut oil but I'm not sure if that will work. Let me know if you try it 😊

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

Hands-on 10 minutes Overall 10 minutes

Nutritional values (per ¹/₄ cup)

Ingredients (makes 1 serving, about ¹/₄ cup)

Instructions

Leave a comment

Comments (41)

Hands-on 10 minutes Overall 10 minutes

Nutritional values (per 1/4 cup)

Ingredients (makes 1 serving, about 1/4 cup)

Instructions

Leave a comment

Comments (41)

Nutritional values (per ¹/₄ cup)

Ingredients (makes 1 serving, about ¹/₄ cup)