Foolproof Sous Vide Hollandaise Recipe

Achieve the perfect sous vide hollandaise sauce with only 5 minutes of hands-on time. This foolproof, step-by-step guide will help you make effortless hollandaise every time.

The buttery, lemony concoction of hollandaise is one of the five essential sauces in French cuisine and can be used to elevate any meal. It’s made with egg yolks, which are a great source of nutrients such as vitamins A, D, and E, as well as minerals like iron and selenium. The butter used in the sauce is also a good source of vitamin A and other essential fatty acids. In my opinion, the sauce is a great healthy fat option to add to your diet in moderate amounts. 

But getting the perfect hollandaise can be tricky. The good news is that you don’t need to enroll in culinary school to master it, especially when you have a sous vide machine in your kitchen. In this blog post, I’ll show you the foolproof method to reliably produce hollandaise that the fussiest Parisian saucier chef would be proud of, every single time.

Advantages of Sous Vide Hollandaise Sauce

Why is getting perfect hollandaise tricky? Here’s how you are supposed to make the sauce in the traditional way. 

First, melt butter.

Second, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice with seasonings over a double boiler until doubled in volume. Keep your heat moderate to avoid curdling the yolks. 

Next, remove from heat and slowly drizzle in the warm melted butter as you whisk until all butter has been incorporated in the sauce. If the butter is added too fast, the sauce will break. 

You see how easily things can go wrong with the traditional method of cooking hollandaise sauce? 

With the sous vide cooking method, there are a number of advantages.

• Hands off. No melting butter or whisking is required. You literally throw all ingredients together, then let the sous vide take care of the rest of the cooking.
• Peace of mind. No need to worry about curdling egg yolks or sauce breaking. It will all come together nicely in the end.
• Guaranteed results. Whether you make it one time or one hundred times, the result is consistently the same—perfect hollandaise sauce. 
• Less cleaning required. You either make the hollandaise in a sous vide bag (reusable or ziplock) or in a Mason jar and store it in the same jar.

What You Need

Sounds good? Cool. 

Now let’s get you ready with the ingredients and equipment you need to make this happen.

Essential Ingredients

• Egg yolks: Use large eggs of good quality.
• Butter: I recommend unsalted, grass-fed butter. You can also use clarified butter, known as ghee.
• Water: This keeps the sauce from getting too thick and achieves the perfect consistency.
• Lemon juice: You can also use white wine vinegar to add acidity and tartness.
• Salt: It helps enhance the flavor of the sauce.   

Essential Equipment

• A sous vide machine. I made my hollandaise sauce with an Anova Culinary AN500-US00 Sous Vide Precision Cooker. 
• A sous vide container or a large pot. I used a 12-liter Anova sous vide container, which I purchased together with the sous vide cooker. 
• A Ziplock-style bag. You don’t need a vacuum-sealer bag for this recipe. Any food-grade ziplock-style bag or a Mason jar can do the job. 
• A food processor. After sous vide cooking, the hollandaise will most likely still look separated. To finish it up, you will need a food processor to blend it all together. (If you use a Mason jar to hold the ingredients, a hand-held immersion blender will come in handy as you can simply blend the sauce in the same jar.)

Sous Vide Hollandaise Time and Temperature 

There are two temperatures at which you can cook hollandaise sous vide. It depends on which one fits well with your schedule. 

• 147°F (64°C) for 1-2 hours. Typically, I will use this temperature when I want to sous vide eggs in the sous vide bath simultaneously for the same amount of time. This makes a weekend brunch of eggs Benedict a whole lot easier. Remember, the longer you cook the sauce, the thicker it gets. 
• 167°F (75°C) for 30 minutes. To make the hollandaise sauce on its own, a higher temperature will save you time. I used this temperature for this recipe.

How to Sous Vide Hollandaise Sauce

There are two ways to make hollandaise sauce in the sous vide that require different tools. You can choose either way depending on what you have in your kitchen. 

Methods

1. Ziplock Bag and Food Processor: Use a ziplock bag to hold all ingredients to sous vide; once the cooking is done, transfer the contents to a food processor or blender to blend until smooth. 
2. Mason Jar and Hand-Held Immersion Blender: Use a Mason jar to contain all ingredients for sous vide cooking; once the cooking is done, open up the jar and use a hand-held immersion blender to mix the sauce in the same jar. The good thing about this method is that cooking, blending, and storing happen all in one jar. 

Since I don’t have a hand-held immersion blender at the moment, but I do have a blender, the following instructions are based on the first method.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set up sous vide: Preheat water to 167°F (75°C) or 147°F (64°C) using a sous vide immersion circulator.
2. Gather all ingredients in a ziplock bag: Combine the egg yolks, butter, water, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne (if using) in a ziplock bag. 
3. Cook hollandaise sous vide: Once the water is ready, lower the bag into the water bath, using the water displacement method to push the air out, seal, and clip the top at the edge of your cooking vessel. Don’t worry about mixing the ingredients at this stage, as that will come later. Set the timer for 30 minutes if the temp is 167°F (75°C) or 1-2 hours if the temp is 147°F (64°C). 
4. Blend it all together: Once the timer goes off, remove the hollandaise sauce from the water bath. If it looks separated and oily at this point, don’t panic. Transfer all contents to a blender or a food processor and blend at medium speed until it’s silky smooth.

Change It Up

• Add 1 or 2 fresh serrano or jalapeño peppers in the cooking bag to infuse your hollandaise with the chili flavor. This works particularly well with this Chilaquiles Eggs Benedict.
• Consider adding shallot, mustard powder, chili flakes, or paprika for some extra flavor. Herbs like tarragon will elevate the flavor as well. 
• For more variety, you might replace the lemon juice with lime juice and zest or, if you’re feeling posh, 8 saffron threads steeped in 2 tablespoons of orange juice.

What to Serve with the Sous Vide Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise is, of course, the crowning glory of classic eggs Benedict, but don’t stop at poached eggs! Drizzle it over sous vide asparagus, steamed broccoli, grilled fish and seafood, roasted sous vide potatoes, crepes, or a green leafy breakfast bowl.

Sous vide hollandaise sauce can be a delicious addition to any meal and doesn’t have to be a stressful endeavor. With the right ingredients, tools, and steps, anyone can make a delicious hollandaise. I hope this recipe takes the hassle out of the process, allowing you to make the perfect Hollandaise every time with little to no effort. 

Don’t forget to share your sous vide experience and how you served your perfect hollandaise sauce in the comments below. I look forward to seeing your creations!

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