This Easy Béarnaise Sauce is made right in your food processor or blender! It’s creamy, rich and perfect on a sandwich, eggs, or a steak for some fancy flare.
Looking for more amazing homemade sauce recipes? Try these reader favorites: “Oh My!” Steak Sauce, Tzatziki Sauce and Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce!
Classic Bearnaise Sauce
I never used to make Bearnaise sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the rich, creamy deliciousness of a good Bearnaise sauce, but it was just so stinkin’ hard to get right! And, by the end, my arm basically felt like it was going to fall off from all the whisking!
Well, that, my friends, is no longer an issue. I found a way to make my favorite Bearnaise sauce in a food processor or blender. That’s right! No more whisking for that perfect Bearnaise! Now that it’s so easy to make, the only problem is not eating it – ALL. THE. TIME. I have no willpower. I want it on everything!
What is Bearnaise?
Bearnaise is a sauce that originated in France in the 1830’s. It’s named for the province of Bearn, but was really created just west of Paris.
Traditionally, it is a sauce made of egg yolks and clarified butter emulsified with a white wine, tarragon, and shallot reduction. It is a “child” of the “Mother Sauce” Hollandaise.
Recipe Ingredients
Butter wine and eggs are the base of this easy but decadent sauce.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- white wine
- tarragon vinegar
- shallots
- egg yolk
- black pepper
- garlic salt
- fresh tarragon leaves
- unsalted butter
How to Make Bearnaise Sauce in a Food Processor or Blender
1. Reduce: Combine the wine, vinegar, and shallots on top of a double boiler. Simmer until the mixture is reduced by half and then let the mixture cool.
2. Blend: Once cooled, place the mixture, egg yolks, pepper, garlic salt, and tarragon leaves in a food processor (or blender). Blend for about 10 seconds.
3. Add: Melt the butter in the microwave for 1:15, or until slightly bubbling, but be careful not to burn! Then remove the center stopper from the food processor (or blender) and slowly pour the butter through the opening while the motor is running. This process should take about 30 seconds.
Process for another 10 seconds after all the butter has been added.
4. Serve: The sauce should be the consistency of a thin mayonnaise. If not, blend for another 5 seconds. Serve immediately.
How to Use Bearnaise Sauce
My favorite way to use Bearnaise sauce is on a perfectly grilled and charred steak. It is the best pairing out there. You’ll love it over salmon and chicken, too.
Bearnaise also goes great with eggs – top an omelette with it, drizzle it on top of Eggs Benedict, or smear some on a fried egg sandwich.
You can also drizzle it over your favorite veggies, like asparagus, green beans, or brussel sprouts.
Have you tried dipping your fries in Bearnaise? Life. Changing.
What’s the Difference Between Hollandaise and Bearnaise Sauce?
The major difference between a Hollandaise sauce and a Bearnaise sauce is the flavor. A Bearnaise sauce has kicked the flavor up by adding in tarragon and shallots to a wine reduction. These additions make the sauce more than simply a rich but bland sauce like Hollandaise. Instead, it has a fragrant and savory twist.
The Best Way to Store Bearnaise
It’s best to serve your Bearnaise sauce immediately, but if you have some that needs storing, just put it in a Tupperware and store it in the fridge. Then you can use it like butter on toast. Or reheat it.
To reheat your leftover Bearnaise you’ll need to pull out that double boiler again. Simmer the sauce over medium in your double boiler and add a splash of tarragon vinegar. Give it a few moments to start melting and once it has – Whisk! Whisk! WHISK! As soon as it has returned to normal consistency (runny mayonnaise), remove it from the heat and serve!
Béarnaise Sauce
This Béarnaise Sauce tastes great on just about everything. It's so easy to make with your food processor or blender, using just a few ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white wine
- 3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
- 1 large shallot, about 2 tablespoons worth, minced
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 4 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, minced (unless using food processor)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
Instructions
Combine wine, vinegar, and shallot in top of a double boiler. Simmer until reduced by half and then let mixture cool.
Once cooled, place mixture, egg yolks, pepper, garlic salt, and tarragon leaves in food processor (or blender). Blend for about 10 seconds.
Melt butter in microwave for a 1:15, or until slightly bubbling, but be careful not to burn! Then remove the center stopper from the food processor (or blender) and slowly pour the butter through the opening while the motor is running. This process should take about 30 seconds.
Process for another 10 seconds after all the butter has been added. The sauce should be the consistency of a thin mayonnaise. If not, blend for another 5 seconds. Serve immediately.
Notes
The heat from the butter is used to cook the egg yolks. So there is no raw egg issues!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 303Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 184mgSodium: 171mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g
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I did a test run, came out just perfectly. Now my concern for Christmas I need more sauce for a larger group. Can bearnaise sauce recipes be doubled?
Yes you can double it! Glad you enjoyed it! ;-)
A boneless steak cooks at a rate of 3 min. per side per inch of thickness. It demands a special occasion to spend a half an hour making a sauce for a 10 minute steak, so we make everyday Beranaise in about 5 minutes. Egg yolks are used in the classic recipe to thicken melted butter. Its a long pain in the butt way to thicken melted butter. We omit the yolks and thicken with Arrowroot or cornstarch. Arrowroot costs more but puts an attractive sheen on the sauce.
Make the thickener: put cornstarch in a very dry measuring cup. Add the wh wine & vinegar (we skip vinegar. Its better without) and stir until all the thickener is in suspension. Melt the butter in a pan, Add tarragon to the melted butter and a pinch of cherval. Stir the thinker again, it will have settled. Pour it into the butter. Raise heat to boiling and gently boil for 2-3 minutes. This does two things. It causes the thickener to thicken and it boils off the alcohol. Simple, easy, and fast. You can kick up the ‘weight’ of the sauce to more closely resemble the classic sauce by adding a small dollop of heavy cream.
BTW: I do not measure, so you will have to play it by ear to find the right quantities. BTW BTW: There are good reasons to never measure when cooking except fro some baked goods, but that’s another story
I have made this recipe several times now and it is perfect every time. This technique is very similar to James Beard’s hollandaise sauce that I have made for over 40 years. Sauce has a velvety smooth texture and is perfect for steaks and many other meats and vegetables.
Tarragon vinegar? Any substitute for that?
You can also use plain white vinegar, but if you are already at the store, I love the flavor the tarragon vinegar adds to it!
White wine vinegar then add some dried tarragon let it soak and infuse for 10 minutes
I’m sorry but this sauce looks curdeld and not soft and smooth at all.If my bearnaise looks like this I’ll say it went wrong. Still might taste fabulous, but not the way a good bearnaise should look like.
hoping to reheat my sauce tonight very important party
This looks incredibly tasty! I am actually hosting an asparagus-themed linky party over at 2 Sisters 2 Cities as part of our Fresh Produce Tuesday series. I would love if you linked up this post!
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Hmmm – this looks sinfully delicious. I can see myself growing very addicted to this sauce.