12 Creative Uses for Hollandaise Sauce Beyond Eggs Benedict

If you’re a fan of brunch, then you also might be a fan of eggs Benedict. And if you’re a fan of eggs Benedict, you’re likely fond of its signature topping, hollandaise sauce. It’s rich, creamy, and tangy — so good, in fact, that you might not want to wait until Sunday brunch to bust it out. Fortunately, you don’t have to. That’s because hollandaise pairs well with a variety of foods besides eggs Benny.

So, what exactly is hollandaise sauce? It’s both a simple yet notoriously tiring sauce to make. Considered one of the French mother sauces, it’s composed of butter, egg yolks, lemon juice and pepper, and is believed to have originated in Normandy. In the past, it was considered tricky to make, mostly due to all the whisking needed as well as how easy it was for the sauce to separate. Today, thankfully, there’s an easier way to make this luxurious sauce using a blender. Now even the greenest of chefs can get a delicious and smooth hollandaise sauce every time — and drizzle it on some unexpected dishes. From finishing off fish to topping off gourmet burgers, here are some of the most delicious ways to use hollandaise outside the brunch menu.

Hollandaise sauce is known for being decadent, which makes it a great addition to amp up your salmon. With this fish specifically, the combination of the oiliness of the skin paired with the tangy taste of hollandaise is a match made in heaven. Whipping up a batch is a great way to impress your partner or make something special. A mouthful of tender salmon smothered in lush, citrusy hollandaise will have your tastebuds dancing. Poach the salmon for a more tender dish, and for more flavor, try poaching the fish in broth and wine rather than plain old water.

Beyond that, hollandaise makes a great topping for many kinds of fish, such as cod, halibut, sole, walleye, and turbot. The buttery goodness of hollandaise boosts the flavor of most fish, though you might want to stick to those with a milder taste — white fish is a popular option. It also doesn’t matter how you cook your fish. Whether it’s poached, grilled, pan-fried, baked, or steamed, hollandaise makes fish more lavish.

Moving through the seafood section, it may come as no surprise that the buttery richness of hollandaise works beautifully with the sweetness of lobster. After butterflying and cooking a lobster tail to perfection, simply drizzle the sauce over it for a delicious combo of sweet and creamy. You can also use it to top off your lobster roll or a large helping of lobster poutine. Think of it as an extra layer of sophistication.

Lobster isn’t the only shellfish that pairs well with hollandaise, of course. It can lend a bit of tanginess to crab cakes, where you’ll get a burst of flavor before a nice crunch as you bite down. (Fresh is always best, but if you’re far from the ocean, refrigerated crab meat works as well.) If you’re interested in another crunchy dish, try crab hushpuppies dipped in hollandaise. You can also do a twist on the hollandaise itself by adding the crab meat to it and using it to top other food, like steak.

Shrimp’s sweetness also plays well with hollandaise sauce. To keep things in the breakfast arena, think shrimp crepes or shrimp omelets with hollandaise on top. If you’re tired of eggs Benedict for brunch, try a shrimp toast with a touch of Cajun spices and a drizzle of hollandaise. Pouring it over freshly grilled shrimp is pretty tasty, too.

Chicken is a staple in many kitchens, so it should be no surprise that it’s another great pairing with hollandaise sauce. The hint of lemon can jazz up poached or broiled chicken. There really aren’t any extra steps here: Simply poach or saute your chicken breast before topping it with the citrusy sauce. You don’t need a ton of seasoning or special poaching liquid either – ultimately, the hollandaise will do all the heavy lifting.

If you’re a fan of crispy and creamy, its lush texture can also play well with fried chicken cutlets or chicken schnitzel. There’s something about having that hit of smooth tanginess while biting down into a crunchy exterior before hitting the tenderness of the meat within. Many schnitzel recipes call for brining your chicken prior to frying, ensuring optimum juiciness, which works well with the punch of flavor you’ll get when topping it with the sauce. You can even give chicken Parmesan a zesty twist by replacing either the marinara or cheese topping with hollandaise. 

Hollandaise sauce is perfect for a nice, tender, juicy steak. Grill it up outside and add the sauce before you serve to get a restaurant-quality meal right at home. Steaks with higher fat content (and thus, a lot of flavor) tend to work best with a rich  lemony sauce like hollandaise — think filet mignon or ribeye.

As long as you know how to pan sear steak, though, you can opt for more affordable cuts too — the hollandaise will mask the imperfections of your cut and you’ll save a few bucks at the butcher. Such is the advantage of working with such a flavorful and versatile topping. If you make steak frites, for example, you can smother your steak and dip the fries in it all at once. And of course you can still tie it back to breakfast as well: Steak and eggs with hollandaise, anyone? 

Hollandaise’s creamy richness is practically begging to be used on pasta, especially if you enjoy a lemony zing with your noodles. It’s best to think of it as a cream sauce, and as such, you’ll want to pair it with the right type of pasta – something shorter and rounder with enough surface area and texture to sop up the thick sauce.

Once that’s settled, you can throw pretty much anything into it, too — there are endless potential additions to a hollandaise pasta. Go veg-heavy with asparagus and mushrooms, and toss in chicken for a little protein. Pasta salad can use a boost from hollandaise, too — one filled with steak and basil will both complement the sauce and add rich, hearty flavor. Talk about making meal prep more interesting. No matter what pasta or dish you decide to make, be sure to coat your noodles fully in the sauce to get the most out of its creamy, citrusy kick.

Eggs Benedict for breakfast is tough to pull off at home, especially if you’re feeding a crowd. But if you want the creamy freshness of hollandaise without as much hassle, try using it with a quiche or breakfast bake. Whichever you choose, most of the dish can be assembled the night before, cutting down on your morning prep. All you’ll have to do the next day is pop it into the oven and whip up your sauce while the dish is baking. This way, you won’t have to worry about the hollandaise separating in the fridge. This is great for a girls’ weekend or when the entire family is over for the holidays. 

Hollandaise also works well as a topping for many egg-based quiches or bakes. While there are quite a few that are twists on eggs Benedict, there are plenty that aren’t. Try a ham and cheese bake with hollandaise drizzled on top – it’s a great way to use leftover ham from the holidays. 

While there are no shortage of restaurants out there making artisan or gourmet burgers, you can get the same effect at home by using hollandaise as a burger sauce. While yes, it does work well with breakfast-inspired burgers, it can level up normal burgers as well. After using a little butter to keep the burgers from drying out, break out the hollandaise. Its creamy tang will work beautifully on your favorite bacon burger. You can upgrade it in other ways, too — opt for Wagyu beef for an even more sumptuous experience, or replace your plain lettuce with coleslaw (without the sauce, course).

If you’re not into beef burgers, hollandaise goes well with turkey, too. It’s a common complaint that turkey burgers don’t have as much flavor as their beef counterparts, but once you introduce a little hollandaise into the equation, flavor won’t be an issue. We also think a hollandaise-smothered turkey burger is a smidge more gourmet — a perfect addition if you want to make your cookout feel a little more sophisticated.

Asparagus very well may be the most popular side (and vegetable) to cover in hollandaise. There’s something about the rich, creamy sauce that tastes so good with the earthy, slightly bitter taste of asparagus. It’s also the cream versus crispy you get with that first bite. Not to mention, the famous chef Julia Child recommended this dish. Try her technique for tender asparagus the next time you want to make this combo.

Asparagus and hollandaise can elevate many a home-cooked meal, making you feel as though you’re eating at a high-end restaurant rather than at home. Try it as a side with steak, chicken, and pretty much any protein. If you want to go for something a little bit different, use white asparagus. It has a nutty flavor that combines smoothly with the citrus in the sauce.

How you cook the asparagus doesn’t matter so much — both steamed and roasted work well with hollandaise sauce. Just bunch them together on a plate after cooking, then pour on the hollandaise and let it do its work.

Speaking of nutty flavor, enter the artichoke. This veg and sauce pairing is made in appetizer heaven. Perhaps the best part is that, if you know how to cook a whole artichoke safely, there’s no need to cut it up or break it apart. Braise or steam a whole artichoke and pull the leaves off before dunking them in your hollandaise. You can then scrape the meat of the vegetable and sauce off with your teeth. The tangy, creamy nuttiness of the pairing will keep you coming back for leaf after leaf.

Probably one of the best parts of the artichoke to dip into hollandaise sauce is, of course, the heart. Once you’ve cleared out all of the leaves, you can remove the fur. Dice up the tender heart and give it a good coating sauce. You can, almost quite literally, enjoy every part of an artichoke with hollandaise.

It’s no secret at this point that hollandaise sauce is delicious on vegetables, and broccoli is no different. Like other items on the list, it has a nice contrast between the thick sauce, particularly when crisped up. Plus, broccoli is an easy side for many different kinds of dinner — hollandaise is a simple way to make it more lavish.

Cook your broccoli however you like. Hollandaise works well whether the vegetable is roasted in the oven or steamed in the microwave or stovetop. Air fryer broccoli works just as well, too. You don’t even need to use fresh. Frozen broccoli florets taste just as good once cooked.

Give the broccoli a decent-size drizzle of hollandaise before you serve for a lemony taste that will dance on your taste buds. You can season it or not — the sauce adds a lot of extra flavor, so you might not need anything more.

If you have leftover hollandaise from brunch that you don’t want to go to waste, roast some Brussels sprouts for dinner and coat them in it. Like asparagus, Brussels sprouts have an earthy, bitter flavor that is enhanced with the citrus of hollandaise. Plus, they’re relatively easy to make. Adding the sauce creates a creamy finish.

Depending on how you cook your sprouts, you also produce that nice crunchy texture with a rich sauce. Roast your sprouts in the oven or air fryer if you want a crunch with your rich hollandaise. If you prefer a more tender bite with your sauce, then steam them. Sauteing Brussels sprouts with onions will add a bit more punch before you coat them in a good helping of hollandaise. No matter how you cook them, hollandaise sauce brings some extra zest, and it just might get the kiddos to finally down an entire helping of the notorious side.

Potatoes are versatile, and yes, they taste oh-so-good with hollandaise sauce. You can fry up a pan of breakfast potatoes in a skillet or use baked potatoes as a side for a romantic dinner for two — the sauce will add a good punch either way. It’s good to remember, however, that not all potatoes are the same. Whatever dish you plan to make, be sure to check if you need a waxy potato or a starchy one.

The velvety smoothness of hollandaise can make a simple potato dish more decadent and complement the tuber’s texture. Keep it simple and drizzle hollandaise over a baked potato for a hit of citrus. If you’re looking for a great option for a buffet-style gathering, try mini baked potatoes. Include whatever toppings you like best. Potato salad is also a fun application — hollandaise takes this spring dish from good to special. It amps up the flavor without sacrificing creaminess you’d get with a typical mayo dressing.