Béarnaise Sauce

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A drizzle of béarnaise sauce instantly elevates any dish — especially steak! It’s an elegant, buttery emulsion with hints of fresh tarragon and my foolproof version is made in just 15 minutes.

Bearnaise sauce in a bowl with a spoon
Photo: Gayle McLeod

As I was testing my favorite filet mignon recipe (which you all should make at some point), I was reminded of the béarnaise sauce I always love to order at top-notch steakhouses.

If you’re not familiar, béarnaise sauce is a variation of hollandaise sauce and is considered one of the five French mother sauces. Hollandaise sauce is simpler and flavored with lemon, Dijon mustard, and a little cayenne pepper. Béarnaise sauce on the other hand is a bit more elegant and infused with white wine, shallots, and tarragon.

Classic sauces like béarnaise sauce are notorious for splitting if not whisked properly (it’s an emulsion after all). But my version is completely foolproof and no-fail, thanks to the same super easy method used on my hollandaise sauce – the blender!

Ingredients for bearnaise sauce on a table

Béarnaise Sauce Ingredients

This recipe is essentially my hollandaise sauce, but with the addition of an infused vinegar and chopped tarragon. Here is what you will need:

  • Infused Vinegar: This is what gives the sauce a punch of flavor! And all you need is dry white wine, white wine vinegar, a shallot, and some tarragon.
  • Béarnaise Sauce: To make the rest of the sauce you’ll need egg yolks, lemon juice, unsalted butter, a bit more tarragon, and salt.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Béarnaise Sauce

Make the infused vinegar. Bring a small saucepan of wine, vinegar, shallot, and tarragon to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer, until the liquid has reduced to about 1½ tablespoons (about 5 to 7 minutes).

Cooking infused vinegar for bearnaise sauce

Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve, using the back of a spoon to extract as much flavor as possible into the liquid. Then let it cool for 5 minutes, as you prep the rest of the sauce.

Infused vinegar in a bowl for bearnaise sauce

Melt the butter in a microwave (make sure sure the cup or bowl is covered as it will splatter) for about 1 minute, until it’s very hot.

Melted butter in a cup for bearnaise sauce

In a high-powered blender, blend the egg yolks, infused vinegar, lemon juice, and salt for about 5 seconds until it’s well combined.

Blending up egg base for bearnaise sauce

Stream in the butter. With the blender running on medium-high, slowly stream the hot butter through the top opening until it’s emulsified.

Streaming butter in blender for bearnaise sauce

Add fresh herbs. Pour the béarnaise sauce into a small bowl, stir in the finely chopped tarragon, and serve while warm.

Bearnaise sauce in a white bowl with spoon

Ways to Use Béarnaise Sauce

Bearnaise sauce on steak

Storage Tips

If you can, serve this sauce while it’s still fresh and warm. Otherwise, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just be careful when reheating as you can easily cook the eggs! Here are some options for reheating:

  • Microwave: Place the béarnaise sauce in a glass bowl and microwave it in 10-second increments until it’s warmed up.
  • Stove Top: Pour the béarnaise sauce into a pan over low heat. Stir in a bit of melted butter and water to re-emulsify it. Once it’s warmed up, pour the sauce back into a bowl for serving.

More Versatile Sauce Recipes

I can’t wait for you to try this béarnaise sauce with your next meal. If you make it, let me know how it turned out in the comment box below!

A white bowl of bearnaise sauce

Béarnaise Sauce (Easy & No-Fail)

4.91 from 33 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

A drizzle of this easy béarnaise sauce instantly elevates any dish — especially steak! Watch the video below to see how this sauce comes together.

Video

Ingredients 
 

Infused Vinegar

  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves

Bearnaise Sauce

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter or ghee, melted and hot (add more for a thinner consistency)
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon leaves

Instructions 

  • Make the infused vinegar. Add the wine, vinegar, shallot, and tarragon to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, until the liquid has reduced to about 1½ tablespoons (about 5 to 7 minutes).
    Infused vinegar in a pot for bearnaise sauce
  • Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve, using the back of a spoon to extract as much flavor as possible into the liquid. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
    A small bowl of infused vinegar for bearnaise sauce
  • Melt the butter in a microwave (make sure sure the cup or bowl is covered as it will splatter) for about 1 minute, until it's hot. Alternatively, you could heat it on the stove.
    A cup of melted butter for bearnaise sauce
  • In a high-powered blender, add the egg yolks, infused vinegar, lemon juice, and salt. Blend for 5 seconds until combined.
    Blended egg yolks for bearnaise sauce
  • Stream in the butter. With the blender running on medium-high, slowly stream the hot butter through the top lid cap opening and into the mixture until it's emulsified.
  • Add fresh herbs. Pour the bearnaise sauce into a small bowl, stir in the finely chopped tarragon, and serve while warm.
    Mixing in herbs into bearnaise sauce

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 207mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1020IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Bearnaise Sauce, Bearnaise Sauce Recipe
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

4.91 from 33 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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70 Comments

  1. Hello Lisa, How can I save your excellent recipe for Bearnaise Sauce? My printer isn’t working right now and I can’t get it that way. The sauce is just wonderful, and I’ve never found a better way to make it! Thank you, robin Carlson5 stars

    1. Hi Robin! There is a “Save” button in the recipe card. Click on that and it will prompt you to login or make an account on my website.

  2. Recipe seems OK. Perhaps better to finely chop the shallot not just slice it. Remove the solids from the butter.
    A Chardonnay is a good wine to use (avoid a Sauvignon Blanc as too acid), along with a good quality white wine vinegar.4 stars

  3. My first time making bearnaise sauce and I followed the recipe exactly. I used a hand blender and it worked perfectly.

    The flavour was subtle and the sauce was creamy. The husband really liked it too.

    Thanks for the pictures and tips.5 stars

  4. Hi, I know you said you used white wine what specific white wine did you use? I’m a red wine drinker so I don’t know white wine as well is there one that works better? ex. Chard pino ect.

  5. The sauce had a nice flavor profile, but I followed the recipe precisely and it came out of the blender watery.3 stars

    1. Hi Keith – I’m happy you loved the flavor. But it sounds like your sauce didn’t properly emulsify. Hopefully your next try comes out thicker!

  6. This worked perfectly!!! I was so excited! It was very easy to make and follow the recipe. I used ghee from a jar. Very tasty too!5 stars

  7. Tried this tonight and it was fool proof and delicious! Only thing I would add is to make sure butter is between 55-60oC when pouring into the blender – sauce was a little thin so heated in a bowl over water and whisked until thickened

  8. Excellent recipie. I mage a minor change and used fresh sage instead of tarragon. I made cauliflower steaks over a bed of Farro, braised kale, blistered cherry tomatoes, and roasted mushrooms. The sauce brought everything together. Thank you so much for this recipe.5 stars

  9. Wow!! Delicious! My first endeavour to make béarnaise Sauce. 3 of us devoured it over some Eggs Benny…
    Thank you!!5 stars

  10. I made this recipe, it was the first time I have successfully made bearnaise without it splitting. It is delicious. Also helpful to be able to keep the blender going whilst you finish off other bits of the meal and then go back to adding the butter when you have a moment.5 stars

  11. Easy and delicious. I used white balsamic vinegar and dried tarragon because that’s what I had on hand, but it still tasted great. I prepped everything, cooked the filet mignon, and whipped up the Bearnaise in a blender while the steak was resting. It worked exactly as described-took about 30 seconds or so to emulsify in the blender. Thanks Lisa!5 stars

  12. Just made this. My 1st time trying bearnaise, and it worked great! Used immersion blender. Wonderful recipe and easy!5 stars

  13. Absolutely loved this Bernaise. My only question is how do I stop it from separating after I pour it into serving vessel. I am certain it was something I did with temps. No matter…it was enjoyed by all! I would like the secret for preventing separation. Thank you so much.5 stars

    1. Happy you loved the recipe, Deborah! And it sounds like it may not have fully emulsified if it separated. I’ve got extra tips on my hollandaise sauce recipe that you can reference to fix that. :)

    1. Hi Barb – while I haven’t tried that with this recipe, I do think it should work. Let us know how it turns out!

  14. I’m having a dinner party for six – filet mignon topped with a crabcake and asparagus. Should I make a double batch?

    1. Hi Karen – that might be best, just to be safe. And btw, I want to be invited to your dinner party, haha. Sounds amazing!!

  15. I’m anxious to try this; however, I have a family member who has dairy allergies. Do you think this would work with plant-based butter (Myokos or Earth Balance)?

    1. I wouldn’t try the fake butters. This is chemistry after all. If someone is allergic I would set aside the steak or fish with/out the sauce.

  16. Hi ….was planning on trying this for christmas but would need about 15 servings….was thinking of staging back to back lots with all the flavoring prep in advance and storing in a thermos 1 hour before serving….. do larger batches work or should i plan on my original thoughts….?….

    1. Hi William – I haven’t tried quadrupling this recipe, so I’m not quite sure how that would turn out. I think doubling would be fine, so maybe just make two batches to be safe. Enjoy!

      1. I wish I could send you a picture. I prepped a filet mignon in the sous vide… medium rare and dressed it with your lovely recipe. One of the best meals I’ve ever made. Thanks so much!!!

  17. Fantastic recipe! And so easy to make….
    Next time I will add a bit more lemon and another pinch of salt. But truly, even without adding anything else, we all enjoyed it.

    Thank you.

    Nicole5 stars

      1. I plan to make this for Christmas Eve I know I will not be able to make it at the last minute and serve it hot how can I make this an hour or two ahead and have it work well? Thank you

      2. Hi Mary – yes, you can make this ahead of time. See my note in the post above for reheating. Just make sure to reheat it gently (stovetop is best if you can do that). Enjoy!

  18. Can i make this without the white wine?? I cant use that in my food. Will it make a huge difference if I dont use it??

  19. I love bearnaise sauce and lost this recipe or one similar to it in the fire when my house burned. I have not been able to find one until now. I can’t wait to make this!5 stars

  20. In Sweden béarnaise sauce is a standard and I was so surprised when I talked to some Americans and they didn’t know what it was 🙈 you can find bea-flavored potato chips, dips, hamburgers with bea-sauce etc. 

    Mine keeps in the fridge for up to a month! I like to put it on fried eggs or meat just from the fridge and it’ll warm up from that and be perfect consistency, and no risk for it getting overheated 😊5 stars