This article was updated on 13/07/2023 for clarity and to incorporate new insights.
Most sources online suggest not even attempting to reheat hollandaise sauce. They claim that it won’t be the same or is too likely to break. But that didn’t fly with me.
There was no way I was throwing out perfectly good (and delicious) hollandaise sauce. There had to be a way… so I decided to do an experiment and find out the best way of reheating hollandaise sauce.
In a rush? Here’s the short answer.
The best way to reheat hollandaise sauce is in the microwave. Set the microwave power to 20% and heat the sauce in 10-second increments, stirring vigorously after each cycle. Repeat this process until the hollandaise sauce is warm. For best results, serve the sauce immediately.
How I tested reheating hollandaise sauce
I made a batch of hollandaise sauce in the evening and left it in the fridge overnight. The following day, I tested several different methods of reheating it:
- In the microwave: My favorite method.
- In a double boiler: Tied for second best method.
- On the stove: Okay, but need to be careful
- Warming it in a water bath: Tied for second best method.
- Slowly pouring in hot water: Avoid this method.
Tips for reheating hollandaise sauce
The most important thing to remember when you’re reheating hollandaise sauce is that your aim is to get the hollandaise sauce lukewarm, not hot.
And here’s a tip for next time. If you know you’re going to have leftover sauce, add a small amount of mustard to the mix along with the eggs. The mustard will stabilize the sauce and mean it’s less likely to split when you reheat it.
There’s always a risk your hollandaise will split while you’re reheating it. If this happens skip to the bottom of the article where I talk about how to re-emulsify it.
How to reheat hollandaise sauce in the microwave
Time: 30-60 seconds
Rating: 9/10
- Put the hollandaise sauce in a microwave-safe bowl and set your microwave to low power (20%).
- Heat the hollandaise sauce for 10 seconds.
- Check on the sauce and stir it vigorously for a few seconds.
- Repeat the heating-stirring cycle until the hollandaise sauce is just warm, don’t heat it until it’s hot.
The cycle of 10 seconds heating then stirring might sound tedious, but it’s necessary. A few seconds too long in the microwave will be enough to split the sauce. And the stirring keeps the sauce emulsified.
If you don’t have the option to pick a low power setting on your microwave, then go in even smaller 5 second time increments. I tested this with my sauce and it worked perfectly.
Ideally, you would use a whisk to do the stirring, but a spoon will do as long as you give it a lot of elbow grease.
Results: I was wary of the microwave because it can be unpredictable, but it performed surprisingly well in my tests. The sauce warmed quickly, and there were no signs of it weakening or starting to split. It was also the fastest method and made the least mess.
How to reheat hollandaise sauce in a double boiler
Time: 5 minutes
Rating: 8/10
- Set up your double boiler. Or improvise with a bowl and a saucepan.
- Put the hollandaise sauce in the bowl and start heating the water on a very low heat.
- Whisk the sauce constantly and vigorously while it’s heating.
- Once the bowl is warmed and the sauce has softened, take the sauce off the heat and continue stirring until it’s up to temperature.
A double boiler is a gentle heating method because it uses second-hand heat. The hot water warms the bowl, which in turn warms the sauce.
The most important thing here is to keep the water temperature low. You don’t want the water simmering, and you definitely don’t want it boiling. It just needs to be hot enough to warm your bowl.
If you notice the sauce starting to split, take it off the heat and whisk in a few drops of warm water. The water should bring the sauce back together.
Results: Lots of people recommend this method for reheating hollandaise sauce, and I can see why. But full disclosure, I actually split the sauce on my first attempt because I was too impatient. My second, slower attempt resulted in warm, smooth hollandaise sauce.
How to reheat hollandaise sauce on the stove
Time: 3-4 minutes
Rating: 6/10
- Set your stove to the lowest heat setting possible.
- Put the hollandaise sauce in a heavy-bottom pan and start heating it on the stove.
- Stir continuously as the sauce heats, taking the pan off the heat for a few seconds if it gets too hot.
- If you notice any signs of splitting, add a few drops of warm water or melted butter and stir vigorously (optional).
- Heat the sauce until it’s lukewarm and serve immediately.
The stove is one of the more dangerous ways to heat hollandaise sauce because you’re using direct heat. But as long as you keep the heat levels low, the sauce will be fine.
The pan you use here will make all the difference. A thin pan will heat too quickly and unevenly so find the thickest bottom pan you have. Size matters too. You want the pan to be appropriately sized for the amount of sauce you have.
Results: I’ll hold my hands up here and say I made a bad pan choice – it was too big for the volume of sauce I had. But I muddled through keeping the sauce to one section of the pan and it reheated well. It didn’t split and was a good temperature.
How to reheat hollandaise in a water bath
Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 6/10
- Put your hollandaise sauce in a freezer bag and gently soften it with your hands.
- Fill a bowl up with warm water. You want the water to be slightly above the temperature you’re aiming for with your sauce.
- Put the freezer bag in the bowl of warm water and leave the hollandaise sauce to heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Mix the sauce around in the bag every 30 seconds but squeezing the bag with your hands (be careful not to burst the bag).
- When the sauce is warm, cut the corner of the freezer bag and squeeze the sauce out to serve.
This is a pretty hands-off heating method because it doesn’t involve constant stirring. It works best for small portions of sauce, large volumes will take a long time to heat through.
Don’t use boiling or even near-boiling water in your water bath. You want to be comfortably able to put your finger in the water. You can always add more hot water if the sauce isn’t heating up, but it will be hard to rescue the sauce if it splits.
Results: I was a bit worried about the lack of stirring in this method, but my worrying was unnecessary. The sauce didn’t split and came out smooth and creamy. One downside was that it was hard to tell when the sauce was warm enough. You could open the bag and stick your finger in, but that’s not ideal.
Method to avoid: stirring in hot water
I tested this method because it was mentioned a few times on forums, but it wasn’t successful. The idea was to slowly drizzle hot water into your hollandaise sauce while stirring it, but my sauce didn’t heat up well and got thin really quickly. It also tasted watery.
How to keep hollandaise sauce warm
The best way to keep hollandaise sauce warm is to use the thermos trick. Fill a thermos with boiling water to preheat it, then pour the water out. As soon as you’ve emptied the thermos, pour the hollandaise sauce in. The preheated thermos will keep your hollandaise sauce warm for up to an hour.
Other ways to keep hollandaise sauce warm include:
- Using a warm water bath, changing the water if it starts to cool.
- Using a bowl above a saucepan of hot water.
- Using the oven on the ‘warm’ setting, or 200°F (90°C).
- Using a pan on the stove with it set to ‘warm’.
But be careful! If you use too high of a temperature when you’re holding the hollandaise sauce, it will split, or the egg yolks will scramble. If your sauce does split while you’re warming it, don’t panic. You can try and save it by re-emulsifying it – I go through how to do this below.
You can keep hollandaise sauce warm for up to an hour before you need to discard it. After an hour, the sauce will enter the danger zone for bacteria.
How to store hollandaise sauce
To store hollandaise sauce, put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. The sauce will solidify in the fridge, but will soften again when you reheat it.
Make sure you put the sauce in the fridge within 2 hours of making it, or you risk it harboring harmful bacteria.
Can you freeze hollandaise sauce?
You can freeze hollandaise sauce, but it does become more prone to splitting. To freeze hollandaise sauce, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then remove the frozen cubes and transfer them to a freezer bag for up to a month.
The idea behind using the ice-cube tray is that it allows you to take out and thaw portion-sized servings of the sauce rather than having to thaw all the sauce in one go. If the sauce cubes are refusing to come out of the ice-cube tray, run some cold water over the bottom of the tray, taking care not to wet the cubes.
The best way to thaw hollandaise sauce is to leave it in the fridge overnight.
But, if you’ve left it too late for overnight, put the frozen hollandaise sauce in a freezer bag and submerge it in lukewarm water. The water will soften the sauce, and then you can soften it further with your hands. Once it’s thawed, reheat it using one of the methods above.
How to fix a broken hollandaise sauce
There’s always a chance your hollandaise sauce will break while you’re reheating it. But don’t worry – not all is lost. There are two ways to re-emulsify a broken hollandaise sauce.
The hot water method
The first one is to drizzle in a small amount of hot water (not boiling) and whisk like your life depends on it. Add the water slowly, a drop at a time. A teaspoon per portion of sauce should be enough.
You really need a whisk here and not a spoon. A blender is even better if you have one on hand. Whisk the sauce constantly for a couple of minutes, and it should start to come back together.
The egg yolk method
The second way is to slowly whisk your split sauce into a new egg yolk. Drizzle the sauce into the egg yolk as you whisk. Again, a blender is better here if you have one. If not, be prepared to put some elbow grease into the task!
If neither of these methods work after a good amount of whisking, then sadly the sauce is a lost cause.
Can you eat hollandaise sauce cold?
Yes, you can eat hollandaise sauce cold. It will have a thicker texture, sort of like a dense mousse that’s perfect for dipping or spreading. I like using cold hollandaise as a dip for raw veg or replacing butter in sandwiches. Aim to use the sauce within two days of making it.
Read next: The Best Substitute For Hollandaise Sauce
BEST Way To Reheat Hollandaise Sauce [Tested Methods]
Ingredients
- 1 portion hollandaise sauce
- 1 tsp hot water optional
Instructions
- Put the hollandaise sauce in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Set your microwave to low power (20%).
- Heat the hollandaise sauce for 10 seconds.
- Check on the sauce and stir it vigorously for a few seconds.
- Repeat the heating-stirring cycle until the hollandaise sauce is just warm, don’t heat it until it’s hot.
- The cycle of heating and stirring might sound tedious, but it’s necessary. A few seconds too long in the microwave will be enough to split the sauce. The stirring keeps the sauce emulsified. Ideally, you would use a whisk to do the stirring, but a spoon will do as long as you give it a lot of elbow grease.
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