This sous vide hollandaise sauce is so easy to whip up. Dump all your ingredients into a jar, cook for a half hour, then blend!
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Here in the Cole house, we don’t really do brunch out. I know, weird, especially since we live in Portland, the land of brunch.
But we like slow mornings, where we don’t have to get dressed or leave the house and can spend hours sipping coffee without standing in an epic line outside a restaurant.
So I make brunch at home. I make peanut butter chocolate chip scones. I make cheesecake stuffed waffles. I make cinnamon apple french toast bake.
But until now, I always felt like I was missing out because eggs benedict at home was not a possibility. Hollandaise is a pain in the ass to make.
But as with all things difficult, sous vide makes it doable! Thanks to sous vide, I can have it all! Easy sous vide hollandaise cooked in a jar is a game changer.
All you need are an immersion circulator and immersion blender to nail this fussy sauce at home!
Why I Love Sous Vide
New to sous vide cooking? Read about it, then come back!
I have a philosophy: if it’s hard to cook, it’s probably perfect for sous vide. And that definitely applies here.
If something needs to be “tempered”, you can usually use sous vide to skip that step, which is amazing. That is primarily how sous vide is used to make hollandaise!
Part of what makes hollandaise so challenging is the balancing act of getting the eggs to just the right temperature without scrambling them. With sous vide hollandaise, the precise 167 degree F temperature is held exactly there for 30 minutes.
Ready to sous vide all the things? Check out all of my sous vide recipes.
What You Need to Make Sous Vide Hollandaise
Luckily, you don’t need much to make sous vide hollandaise!
Equipment needed:
- An immersion circulator. The Vesta Precision Imersa Elite is my go-to.
- A container (you can just use a stockpot, or my favorite sous vide containers are Everie containers)
- Pint sized canning jars. You could also cook the ingredients in a bag, but I find a jar easier because you can blend right in it!
- An immersion blender
Ingredients needed:
- A whoooole lotta butter. It doesn’t need to be fancy butter.
- Egg yolks from large eggs
- Apple Cider Vinegar. I always get mine from Thrive Market.
- Lemon juice. Can be fresh or bottled – really.
- A shallot. You can skip this if you want to keep things traditional.
- Water
- Salt. I prefer to use kosher salt.
How to Make Sous Vide Hollandaise
This sous vide hollandaise recipe is incredibly easy: just add all of the hollandaise ingredients into a jar, place the jar in the water bath at 167 degrees F, and let it cook.
After 30 minutes, you remove it from the water bath, stick an immersion blender in the jar, blend until thick, and serve. You literally can’t mess it up.
Use this recipe to make classic eggs benedict with sous vide hollandaise, or try it as a sauce for sous vide salmon, a breakfast hash, or drizzled on asparagus.
Get the Recipe:
Easy Sous Vide Hollandaise
- An immersion circulator. The Vesta Precision Imersa Elite is my go-to.
- A container (you can just use a stockpot, or my favorite sous vide containers are Everie containers)
- Pint sized canning jars. You could also cook the ingredients in a bag, but I find a jar easier because you can blend right in it!
- An immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced shallot
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Using your immersion circulator for sous vide cooking, preheat water bath to 167 degrees F.
- Add all ingredients to a pint sized jar. Screw on the lid to just “finger-tight”, meaning only as far as you can screw it on with just your fingertips.
- When the water is ready, add the jar. Make sure all ingredients are completely submerged by water. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove jar from water bath. Remove lid. Insert immersion blender into jar, and blend until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes.
This changes EVERYTHING! I can’t believe how easy this sounds. So many possibilities (like the crab cake Benedict I’m currently envisioning)…
Okay, back with an update. I made this hollandaise sauce for brunch this AM (crab cake eggs Benedict, ftw!). It was so easy and so delicious. I loved that I could just let it hang out in the water bath while I took care of the rest of the prep. 10/10 will be making again!
Omg I was thinking with shrimp cakes! Great minds and such
I ended up not having an immersion blender, adding 1/16th tsp xanthan gum fluffed up the mixture nicely
Sounds so simple! Can I leave out the vinegar and shallots and still get a good consistency? When I make hollandaise sauce the classic way I just use lemon juice, egg yolk, butter and a pinch of cayenne.
Absolutely! You can always thin it out with more water. If I were you, I would make omitting the vinegar and shallots, then taste. If it tastes like it needs more “bite” from the missing vinegar, add 1 tbsp lemon juice and blend it in!
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
Sorry, I have one more question…does the butter go in cold?
Yes, the butter goes in cold! Room temp is fine, too.
Do you at least stir it up a little before cooking?
No need, but you can if you want!
Can this be scaled down say 1 egg yolk and 1/4 of everything else? Or is this mixture freeze able after making?
I haven’t tried scaling it down that far – you could certainly halve it. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this. If you try either, please report back!
We love Hollandaise but really dislike the attention it requires via standard cooking methods. Sous Vide is a game changer! Made this for broccoli – it was so easy, delicious, and surprisingly, reheated in the water bath two days later and it was still terrific!
Thank you muchly.
So glad you liked this Rick! Sous vide makes hollandaise so easy!
I assume it was solid in the fridge. Did you reheat at the same temp 167? How long did it take.
The sauce was cold, solid. I put it in a zip lock bag, expelled air and put it in the water bath. I was making Salmon Fish Tacos with Hollandaise Sauce – I sous vide the salmon at 122 for ~ an hour.
I put the sauce in at the start while the water was heating to 122 and let it heat with the salmon. Blended.
Perfect!
Could you use a blender rather than the immersion blender?
I haven’t tried it – I would just be careful not to over-emulsify (blend too long).
Chelsea, if you don’t use all the Hollandaise sauce at once can you save it and reheat again? I’m worried it would turn to a solid in the fridge
I made this tonight to accompany the sous vide asparagus. I found it very tasty. I’d say it is 85% as good as making it conventionally in a double boiler however the easy of this recipe and sous vide more than make up the difference
My wife loves eggs Benedict when we travel and I don’t order it for me. I have been having this recipe on my tabs for months and so decided to make it last night. I did cut the recipe in half for those wondering if that can be done and it turned out so great. She said there might have been a touch too much vinegar and I can change that next time. I posted a photo on my instagram page with a tag to #ducksoven so I hope you see it Chelsea.
Oh I’m so glad you liked it, Bob! I will go look for your post!
I made this recipe tonight minus the shallots and it was very easy and very tasty. Next time I make it I will reduce the vinegar. It was a bit strong for me. I prefer a slightly stronger lemon taste. I made it in a ziplock bag and then poured it into my two cup glass measuring cup and then used my immersion blender. This was SO EASY.
I am so glad to hear that, Debbie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Do you have a recipe for bearnasise sauce? I would love one if you do.
I don’t, I may have to make one!
The temperature in this recipe is WAY too hot! Most other recipes call for around 147 to 149 degrees, and guess what? I tried 167 as directed with a sealed mason jar and it broke the glass… I had a huge mess to clean up and had to start over. I’m trying this same recipe now at 147 degrees for 90 mins like all of the other online recipes call for.
Hi Jeff! Thank you for your comment. I regularly cook with mason jars even hotter than 167 (in fact, most folks cook their egg bites in jars between 170-185 degrees F). Not to mention, most canning takes place at at least 180 degrees F up to 250 degrees F, so these jars are designed to withstand high temperatures.
The issue is likely that your lids were sealed too tight. You want to make sure your lids are only closed to “finger tip tight”, meaning the lid can be unscrewed with just the tips of your fingers. This allows air to escape (pressure to release!) to prevent your jars from breaking during the cook. I’ve had jars break before (doing 100 mini cheesecakes for events means I get sloppy with the lid tightness) and I know how frustrating it can be – I’m sorry this happened to you!
Chelsea,
Thanks! I’ll try that next time. I definitely had the lid on tight!
A more likely reason for breakage is thermal shock. Try placing jar in the water before it begins to heat up.
Is this really only a 1/2 c plus of butter? The ratio of egg yolks to butter is so different than normal hollandaise. Most call for a cup of butter and only 3 egg yolks help!
Yes, the recipe as written is correct.
What is the shelf life of this sauce? Normal Hollandaise has a very short life but since the sous vide pasteurizes the egg, I wonder if it is food safe for a longer period?
This is a great question. According to the safety temps provided in this Cook’s Illustrated article (https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1131-is-sous-vide-safe), we’ve definitely killed off any trace of salmonella with this time and temp. I use it safely for up to 2 weeks and just microwave/reheat in the bath to bring it back to life before each use. It’s probably safer even longer.
Thanks – that’s great news. I made it two days ago and it’s delicious.
I forgot to make sure my stick blender would fit the jar, so I after the sous-vide, I had to dump the contents into a bowl to blend. Other than that, this is a game changer! It was so easy to make and tasted WONDERFUL! Will keep this in my rotation of sous-vide recipes!
I’m so glad to hear this Ryan!!! It’s one of my favorites!
I made this today for Father’s Day as my husband requested Eggs Benedict and it was absolutely delicious! The easy level of this recipe is what truly makes it 5 stars. To be able to throw the ingredients in a jar, set & forget about it ?! I’ve made hollandaise many times and the recipe’s I’ve used have been constant attention on the stove which made it difficult to get other dish elements done. When the jar came out of the water bath my heart did sink for a moment and I truly thought “there is no way this is going to turn out” but I blended it together and sure enough it combined into a beautiful sauce! Personally I would’ve done less vinegar (and when I make it in the future I probably will) but my husband said he couldn’t taste vinegar at all so that must just be my preference!
What is the best way to keep the jar fully submerged? Mine keeps floating.
You should use a smaller jar if it keeps floating! The jar needs to be fuller. Also make sure the lid is only on “finger tip tight”.
Awesome recipe. I added a little lemon juice.
I’m so glad you liked it!