We love breakfast heat, no doubt about it. So a little spicy hollandaise sauce (heat by cayenne) over a delicious plate of Eggs Benedict? Just the thought of it makes us smile. But hollandaise sauce can serve many more purposes as well. Try it over steamed vegetables like broccoli or asparagus. It makes a delicious spicy sauce for biscuits, too.
🌶️ Quick recipe snapshot
| Flavor profile | Rich and buttery, with bright lemon up front and a warm cayenne kick at the finish. |
| Primary heat source | A quarter to half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder. 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. |
| Heat level | Mild at a quarter teaspoon, with more of a kick if you go all the way to half. |
| Texture | Smooth and silky, thick enough to coat a spoon but still easy to pour. |
| Best uses | Eggs Benedict, steamed asparagus or broccoli, warm biscuits and baked salmon. |
| Customization ideas | Smoked paprika or chipotle powder for smoke, a few dashes of hot sauce, or extra lemon for a sharper sauce. |
| Before you start | About 15 minutes. You’ll need a heatproof bowl that sits over a saucepan without touching the water. |
Flavor notes
Cayenne runs 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat units, a big jump from a jalapeño, so the range here matters. Start with a quarter teaspoon, taste, and only then decide whether you want to go up to the full half teaspoon.
Keep the heat gentle the whole way through. The water should barely simmer, and the bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch it. If the sauce starts to look grainy or scrambled at the edges, lift the bowl off the pan for a few seconds and keep whisking until it smooths out again.
Go slowly with the butter, too. Drizzle it in a little at a time while you whisk, because if it goes in too fast, the sauce can turn greasy and separate instead of thickening.
The cayenne and salt go in at the end, once the bowl is off the heat. And since the butter’s unsalted, you’re the one deciding how salty the sauce gets, so taste before you add more than a pinch.
One food safety note: hollandaise is made with egg yolks that aren’t thoroughly cooked, and the USDA lists it alongside homemade mayonnaise and Caesar salad for that reason. The FDA recommends pasteurized eggs for dishes like this. That matters most if you’re serving young children, older adults, anyone pregnant or anyone with a weakened immune system.
Adaptation ideas
Most of these change the heat, or rescue the sauce when it misbehaves.
- Want more heat? Use the full half teaspoon of cayenne, or whisk in a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.
- Want some smoke? Swap half the cayenne for smoked paprika or chipotle powder. Both bring smoke, and they’re milder than cayenne.
- Too thick? Whisk in warm water a teaspoon at a time until it pours the way you want it to.
- Did it break? Put a tablespoon of warm water in a clean bowl, then slowly whisk the broken sauce into it a little at a time. It should come back together as you go.
- Want it sharper? Add another squeeze of lemon juice at the end, a little at a time, tasting as you go.
Serving ideas
Eggs Benedict is the classic, but this sauce works anywhere you’d like something rich with a little heat.
- Over Eggs Benedict. Spooned over poached eggs and ham or bacon on toasted English muffins.
- With steamed vegetables. Asparagus and broccoli are the classics, and green beans work well too.
- On biscuits. Poured over warm split biscuits, with a fried egg or some sausage on the side.
- With fish. Spooned over baked or poached salmon, with a wedge of lemon.
Storage notes
Hollandaise is at its best right after you make it, so plan to make it last, once everything else is nearly ready. Keep it covered and warm until you serve it, and don’t leave it out for more than two hours, which is the FDA’s limit for egg dishes.
If you do refrigerate leftovers, they’ll firm up in the fridge. Rewarm them gently in a bowl over barely simmering water, whisking the whole time, since too much heat can make the sauce separate.
Like this recipe? You’ll love these too:
- Sweet And Spicy Bacon: Sweet, salty bacon with a cayenne kick, for the side of your Eggs Benedict plate.
- Baked Eggs In Avocado: Eggs baked in avocado halves with black pepper and cayenne, for a quick spicy breakfast.
- Habanero Hash Browns: Hash browns with fresh habanero, and a lot more heat than this sauce brings.
50 quick, bold sauces and salsas: classic salsas and fun twists, BBQ sauces with a kick, and dippers with bang. Simple to make, big on flavor.
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Spicy Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted (1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Heat a saucepan with a few inches of water until the water is lightly simmering.
- Separately, in a heatproof steel mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together until well blended and a little frothy.
- Place the mixing bowl above the simmering water (but not touching it) and keep whisking while you slowly drizzle in the melted butter, a little at a time. The sauce should thicken as the butter goes in. If it starts to look grainy at the edges, lift the bowl off the heat for a few seconds while you keep whisking.
- Remove the sauce from above the simmering water and add the cayenne pepper powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk the sauce until everything is combined.
- Use immediately, or cover and keep warm until needed, whisking it before serving.
