Foolproof Béarnaise Sauce Recipe (2024)

Western European
French

This elegant sauce for steaks and fish can be made in five minutes.

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated September 15, 2022

Why It Works

Blending hot butter into the vinegar and egg yolk mixture instead of whisking it over a double boiler makes for a foolproof and stable emulsion every time.
Using a tall container that barely fits the head of a hand blender creates a strong vortex that leads to a strong, stable emulsion.

For my money, the very best classic steak sauce you can make at home, a sauce that will wow your guests with its flavor and elegance, and—most importantly—a sauce that can be made start to finish in under half an hour, is béarnaise.

Classic French steak sauces likeespagnoleor its derivatives,bordelaiseor Robert, for instance, require intensely rich, gelatin-packeddemi-glace. Those sauces are multi-day affairs that nobody but the most ambitious home cooks will even attempt.Compound buttersflavored with herbs and aromatics are a great option for a home-cooked steak, as is a simplepan sauce, but they're lacking in class and panache. That's where béarnaise comes in. It's as classy as sauces come, it requires nothing that you can't find at your average supermarket, and it's quick to make.

What Is Béarnaise?

Béarnaise is a fat-in-water emulsion—in this case, butter emulsified into a reduction of white wine and vinegar flavored with shallots, tarragon, and chervil, all bound and thickened with egg yolks.It's technically a derivative of hollandaise sauce, one of the five French mother sauces. And just like with hollandaise, the ways to mess it up are plentiful. Traditionally, you'd make béarnaise over a double boiler, slowly drizzling in clarified butter while whisking egg yolks until a thick emulsion is formed. Add the fat too fast and you break your emulsion. Heat it up too much and it turns into scrambled eggs. Don't heat it enough and you'll have a thin, wet sauce instead of a rich, meat-coating sauce.

The Key to Making a Foolproof Béarnaise

Fortunately, we can use the exact same technique we use to make foolproof hollandaise and mayonnaise to make a foolproof béarnaise. The key is to completely forgo the double boiler, instead heating up the butter and using its residual heat to cook the egg yolks. By placing the yolks and the wine reduction in the bottom of a tall container that just barely fits the head of a hand blender, we can create a strong vortex that then pulls hot butter down towards the blades of the hand blender, creating a strong, stable emulsion. Check out our foolproof hollandaise video to learn more about the science behind this technique.

Stir in some chopped tarragon and chervil (I sometimes also add a few tablespoons of minced chives), and you're ready to serve. Steak never had it so good.

April 2015

Recipe Details

Foolproof Béarnaise Sauce Recipe

Cook30 mins

Active15 mins

Total30 mins

Serves14 servings

Makes1 3/4 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 sprigs chervil, leaves finely minced, stems reserved separately (optional; if not using add an extra sprig of tarragon)
3 sprigs tarragon, leaves finely minced, stems reserved separately
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 egg yolks
Kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Directions

Combine wine, vinegar, herb stems, shallots, and black peppercorns in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and lower heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until reduced to about 1 1/2 tablespoons of liquid, about 15 minutes. Carefully strain liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Combine wine reduction, egg yolk, and a pinch of salt in the bottom of a cup that barely fits the head of an immersion blender. Melt butter in a small saucepan over high heat, swirling constantly, until foaming subsides. Transfer butter to a 1-cup liquid measuring cup.
Place head of immersion blender into the bottom of the cup with the wine reduction and turn it on. With the blender constantly running, slowly pour hot butter into cup. It should emulsify with the egg yolk and wine reduction. Continue pouring until all butter is added. Sauce should be thick and creamy (see notes). Season to taste with salt. Whisk in chopped tarragon and chervil, if using. Serve immediately, or transfer to a small lidded pot and keep in a warm place for up to 1 hour before serving. Béarnaise cannot be cooled and reheated.

Special Equipment

Immersion blender, tall container that fits blender head, small saucepan, fine mesh strainer, small lidded pot (optional)

Notes

If your béarnaise is thin and runny, transfer to a large bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly and vigorously until sauce is thickened.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
109	Calories
11g	Fat
1g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 14
Amount per serving
Calories	109
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g	14%
Saturated Fat 6g	32%
Cholesterol 66mg	22%
Sodium 58mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 1g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	2%
Calcium 15mg	1%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 40mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

FAQs

What are the key flavor components of a sauce béarnaise? ›

Béarnaise sauce is a piquant child of hollandaise, one of the so-called mother sauces of French cuisine. It is simply an emulsification — egg yolks and butter cut through with vinegar flavored with tarragon and shallots, with a bite of black pepper.

Get More Info Here ›

Why is my bearnaise sauce not thickening? ›

Notes. If your béarnaise is thin and runny, transfer to a large bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly and vigorously until sauce is thickened.

See Details ›

What are the ingredients in bearnaise sauce? ›

What goes in Béarnaise Sauce. To make Béarnaise Sauce, you need: white wine vinegar, white wine, butter (which we clarify – more on this below), egg yolks, tarragon, chervil and eschalots/shallots (the small sweet onions sometimes called French eschalots.)

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How do you fix bearnaise sauce? ›

Put egg yolk in a clean bowl. Whisk it then add the broken sauce drop by drop with continuing to whisk. If you don't have 3 hands or a way to hold the bowl still, you may want someone to help you. Whisk until the sauce is creamy and hom*ogeneous.

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What is sauce béarnaise syndrome? ›

sauce béarnaise effect

a colloquial term referring to a conditioned taste aversion. If a person happens to become ill after tasting a new food, such as sauce béarnaise, they may subsequently dislike and avoid that food. Regardless of the actual cause of the illness, the sauce will be identified with it.

Keep Reading ›

Does Ruth's Chris serve bearnaise sauce? ›

Entrée Complements SHRIMP Six additional large shrimp dusted with blackening seasoning and broiled. LOBSTER TAIL Cold water lobster tail, lightly seasoned with Cajun spices, sea salt and butter. OSCAR STYLE Jumbo lump crab cake, asparagus and homemade béarnaise sauce.

Why did my bearnaise sauce curdle? ›

This happens when there's too much fat or liquid in the mixture. This can happen when there are not enough emulsifiers (which help keep your ingredients together). Sauces are usually made from multiple ingredients that include both oil and water. Oils and water will naturally separate.

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What will happen to a bearnaise sauce if it gets too hot? ›

Béarnaise sauce may be made ahead of time and reheated. Simply leave it in the top half of the double boiler, off the heat. When nearly ready to serve place it back over the bottom half of the double boiler, filled with water that is warm but not simmering. Be careful: if the water is too hot, the sauce will separate.

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How long can you hold bearnaise sauce? ›

Béarnaise sauce is best served immediately, but will keep for three days in an airtight container in the fridge. Use it straight from the fridge like butter for toast, or reheat over a double boiler.

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Which is the principal herb used to flavor a bearnaise sauce? ›

It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is only in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while hollandaise uses white pepper or a pinch of cayenne. The sauce's name derives from the province of Béarn, France.

Learn More ›

What is a substitute for butter in bearnaise sauce? ›

Yes, you can make a "light Bearnaise" with olive oil, in fact Gordon Ramsay has done it before and it's featured in a recipe somewhere. Just warm the oil slightly (as you would warm the ghee/clarified butter in an actual Bearnaise sauce,) to keep the temperature correct.

What is the difference between Hollandaise and bearnaise sauce? ›

It's what happens next that sets them apart: Hollandaise gets its acidity from lemon juice (sometimes vinegar) and is usually seasoned with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Béarnaise, meanwhile, builds upon hollandaise with white wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and other fresh herbs.

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Why is my bearnaise sauce too thin? ›

Either you have added too much reduction to your eggs or you have added the melted butter too fast. Remove all but 1 tbsp of the sauce from the bowl. Add tsp of the lemon juice or vinegar reduction and whisk in over heat. Once it thickens, start to add the sauce back in slowly as you would the butter.

Tell Me More ›

Can Bernaise sauce be saved? ›

A: in my experience, yes it can be saved/reheated. it's great straight but you can thin it out (stretching it, a bit) by adding butter too. And i've kept them for months in the refrig, and it tastes the same. Looks the same, too.

View Details ›

What does Béarnaise sauce taste like? ›

Irresistibly creamy, buttery, and rich, béarnaise combines an herby, slightly acidic reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, fresh tarragon, and lemon juice with hollandaise to make a luscious sauce for spooning over grilled steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.

What are the 4 components of a sauce? ›

The major sauces are basically made of three components:

A liquid, the body of the sauce. stocks, milk, fats,
A thickening agent: roux, starch, liaison (cream, egg yolks,) vegetable purees, fat and sometimes blood, as used in Europe for wild game sauces,
The flavoring and seasoning.

Show Me More ›

What are the key features of sauce? ›

sauce, liquid or semiliquid mixture that is added to a food as it cooks or that is served with it. Sauces provide flavour, moisture, and a contrast in texture and colour. They may also serve as a medium in which food is contained, for example, the velouté sauce of creamed chicken.

What does bearnaise sauce mix taste like? ›

Béarnaise sauce has a rich, creamy, and tangy flavor with a slight herbal, licorice-like note from the tarragon. The sauce is known for its velvety texture and buttery taste, and it pairs well with a variety of dishes, including steak, fish, and vegetables.