Is Hollandaise Sauce Keto Friendly?

Is hollandaise sauce keto friendly, or do you have to say goodbye to it until you're done dieting?

Luckily, hollandaise sauce is keto friendly because it has a very low carb count and is rich in fat and calories. It also has a wonderful combination of healthy ingredients to boost your ketogenic diet.

So not only are you taking your taste buds on a joy ride, but you're also helping yourself to diet by eating hollandaise sauce.

Let's talk about it in a little more detail.

Is Hollandaise Sauce Keto-friendly?

Yes, hollandaise sauce is keto friendly, so it's a great addition to the diet.

Of course, you'll still have to watch your diet, but as far as I know, you can happily add hollandaise sauce to your keto-friendly meals.

Hollandaise Sauce: What's In It? 

A traditional hollandaise sauce contains butter, lemon juice, and egg yolk, but you can tweak the recipe a little. Hollandaise sauce has a great nutritional profile thanks to its simple yet nutritious ingredients.

Let's look at what one tablespoon of hollandaise sauce has to offer:

You can tell by looking at the table that it's loaded with healthy nutrients and has a minimal carb count, so hollandaise sauce is keto-friendly.

Another great thing about the hollandaise sauce is the concentration of essential nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are present in a healthy amount, so you won't have to worry about over-consuming nutrients with hollandaise.

And while you might be worried looking at the cholesterol, don't because it's not dangerous. The bad cholesterol in your body doesn't always come from food, so a high-cholesterol food doesn't need to be harmful.

How Many Calories Are There in the Hollandaise Sauce?

A tablespoon of hollandaise sauce has roughly 82 calories, 79-80 of which are from fat.

Typically, you'd need only 2-3 tablespoons of hollandaise sauce over a dish, so you'll consume around 246 calories from a single serving.

Of course, hollandaise is a high-calorie sauce, but you can easily balance it out because it practically goes with most foods.

How Does Hollandaise Sauce Fit in My Keto Diet?

Hollandaise sauce is a high-calorie and fat sauce with moderate amounts of protein. Naturally, this high-fat sauce seems befitting for a keto diet; of course, it is.

But you can't suddenly drop dollops of hollandaise on every meal because it is a high-calorie sauce and needs all the general precautions you can take. It's also important to balance the sauce with whatever food you take because of its high-fat count.

Yet, there's nothing to worry about. A hollandaise sauce naturally fits into a keto diet because it has all the right nutrients and a minimal carb count.

Benefits of Adding Hollandaise Sauce to Your Keto Diet

You might add hollandaise sauce to your keto diet because you like it, but it has countless benefits. Here are just some of the wonderful benefits of hollandaise sauce:

●    Anti-inflammatory Properties

Hollandaise sauce is made from egg yolks containing phosvitin, a protein that battles inflammation. Hollandaise has a high concentration of egg yolks, so eating it might prevent inflammation.

●    Manages Blood Pressure

Egg yolks have tons of health benefits. One of these benefits is their ability to counter high blood pressure, which is handy if you're ketoing to improve your health.

●    Strengthens Vision

The three main ingredients in a hollandaise sauce, egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice, contain vitamin A, which strengthens vision.

Egg yolks also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that prevent cataracts and eye diseases.

●    Boosts Skin Health

Butter boosts skin health and prevents skin inflammation. Eating butter can also boost healing from skin wounds.

●    Promotes Hydration

Dieting (whether it's keto or not) can take a toll on your body, so you can dehydrate quickly. You can get recurring headaches and fatigue from dehydration, impacting your commitment to dieting.

Luckily, the lemon juice in a hollandaise sauce boosts hydration, so you can count on it to keep you on track.

●    Adds Flavor & Texture

Let's be honest; keto doesn't bring much flavor to the table unless you're spicing up everything.

The lack of flavor makes you feel bored, and you eventually dream about the burgers and pizzas you left behind. This random bout of boredom can be dangerous for ketoers because it can convince them to give up on keto.

Thankfully, a hollandaise sauce has the right flavor to perk you up. Yes, a traditional hollandaise sauce only contains butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice, but you can tweak the recipe by adding your favorite spice.

The creamy texture of the hollandaise sauce is a lifesaver, too, because it adds richness to everything and makes even the driest foods delicious.

Recipe for Homemade Keto Hollandaise Sauce

Here’s an easy recipe you can follow to make hollandaise sauce:

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 250 grams of butter
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (you can substitute it with vinegar)
• ¼ teaspoon of your favorite blend of seasoning

Cutlery/Appliances

• 1 Heatproof glass bowl
• A saucepan big enough to hold the heatproof bowl
• Whisk/hand beater
• A smaller saucepan
• Thermos container

Directions

1. Pour water into a saucepan and set it to simmer on the stove at medium heat.
2. Carefully place your heatproof glass bowl over the saucepan without touching the water.
3. Place your eggs in the glass bowl. Reduce the heat and whisk the eggs.
4. Put your butter in the smaller saucepan and place it over the stove at a low-medium flame so it melts.
5. Whisk your eggs until they get slightly thick and lose their color.
6. Gradually and slowly add the melted butter to the egg yolks
7. Continue beating until the egg and butter mixture thickens and turns pale yellow.
8. Add salt, pepper, or any seasoning of your choice.
9. Turn the stove off. Preheat the thermos container by running it through hot water; dry it by turning it upside down.
10. Pour the hollandaise sauce in the hot thermos. Let the steam out, and then close the container.
11. Serve over your favorite dish.

How Do I Get the Perfect Keto Hollandaise Sauce?

A hollandaise sauce is one of the most difficult sauces to make, despite only having 2-3 ingredients. This is because a lot can go wrong while making the sauce, and it could either split or become mayonnaise.

Even the most experienced chefs struggle to make the perfect hollandaise sauce, but I have some tips to help you. Making a hollandaise sauce has a lot of don'ts, so focus on these few pointers:

●    Don't Overheat the Pan

You make a hollandaise over a warm pan, but you mustn't overheat it. Your pan should be warm enough for the yolks to thicken but not so hot that they curdle; Overheating the water can cook the yolks, making a weird scrambled egg mixture that nobody can eat.

●    Don't Use A Cold Bowl

It's very easy to split a hollandaise sauce. One of the few reasons a hollandaise splits is the sudden temperature drop/rise.

Egg yolks from a cold bowl will take a long time to heat and whisk over hot water. The egg yolks will thicken eventually, but there's a high chance you're looking at a curdled sauce at the end.

●    Don't Overcook the Butter

Many people make the mistake of adding hot butter to the yolks when making a hollandaise sauce. Hot butter will immediately cook the whisked egg yolks, and you'll get stuck with a weird concoction.

You still need melted butter for this sauce, so you can't skip heating the butter at all.

Heat the butter over a medium-low flame to get the perfect butter temperature. The flame should be high enough to melt the butter while your eggs are still whisking but low enough to prevent it from cooking.

●    Don't Dump the Butter

You must gradually and slowly add butter to the egg yolks. Suddenly dumping all of the butter in the egg yolks will cook them or ruin the consistency of the sauce.

●    Don't Abandon the Sauce

Prepare all your ingredients and containers before you get to whisking because abandoning your station for a little while can split the sauce.

Making a hollandaise sauce is like boiling milk; it's fine as long as you're paying attention, but the second you look away, it will all boil over.

Keep an eye on the hollandaise sauce while picking the butter and getting the container. Continue whisking slowly to prevent the yolks from thickening and curdling.

●    Don't Store it in A Cold Place

Imagine making a rich, creamy hollandaise, only to ruin it when you're storing it.

A hollandaise is a warm-temperature sauce that needs the same temperature to store. The sauce doesn't take well to reheating, so it's best to store it in a warm container or serve it immediately.

Keto-Friendly Ways to Serve Hollandaise Sauce

Is hollandaise sauce keto? Absolutely. And can you eat it in any way you like? You bet.

The numerous ways you can serve it make a hollandaise sauce amazing. Of course, ketoers must watch what they're eating, so they can't blindly throw a hollandaise on everything. However, there are several keto-friendly ways to serve and eat hollandaise sauce:

●    A Classic Dressing

Dribble your homemade keto-friendly hollandaise sauce over breakfast or as a dressing over your favorite salad. Here are more ways you can enjoy a hollandaise sauce:

➔ Eggs

Isn't it a good thing you can eat eggs on a keto diet? But make your eggy breakfast better by adding a hearty dollop of hollandaise sauce.

Whether you like your eggs poached, boiled, fried, or scrambled, you'll love what a hollandaise sauce can do to them.

➔ Steamed Vegetables

We've all grown up despising at least one vegetable. Well, you can't be picky on a keto diet because your options are limited, so you'll have to deal with vegetables.

But you can dabble hollandaise sauce over any vegetable, and it'll taste as good as your favorite snack. Try hollandaise sauce with steamed broccoli, carrots, brussel sprouts, or the all-time favorite, asparagus.

➔ Keto-friendly Salads

A hollandaise sauce is a perfect way to eat your keto-friendly egg salad. You can also add hollandaise to caesar and other salads.

●    A Hearty Dip

You'll miss dipping nachos in salsa, so it's a good thing you can count on hollandaise to keep you occupied. Here are some ways you can enjoy hollandaise sauce as a dip:

➔ Keto-friendly Chip

There are various keto-friendly chips in the market, which you can eat by dipping them in hollandaise sauce.

Keto-friendly cauliflower and sea salt crackers and low-carb tortilla chips go surprisingly well with hollandaise sauce.

➔ Air-fried Chicken Shots

You can dip keto-friendly air-fried chicken shots in hollandaise sauce to get an extra buttery kick.

●    A Side Sauce

There are a hundred dishes you can pair with a hollandaise. But let's go over some classic, popular dishes that never fail with a side of hollandaise sauce.

➔ Fish

Salmon is one of the healthiest things to eat on a keto diet. It has a low carb count and is rich in essential minerals. Poached salmon is keto-friendly, so you can serve it with a hollandaise sauce to get the perfect meal.

It's also a great idea to eat baked turbot with hollandaise. You can also add the sauce over a seafood boil.

➔ Baked Chicken

It can get boring to eat plain boiled chicken. But serving hollandaise sauce with baked chicken can do wonders.

➔ Steak

Is hollandaise sauce keto-friendly? Yes, and that's why you can pair it with any keto-friendly meal.

You might be used to eating steaks with heavy dressings and sides, but any keto-friendly steak goes well with hollandaise sauce. Plus, adding hollandaise to your steak gives it a creamy texture, and the buttery flavor compliments the meat.

Precautions When Consuming Hollandaise Sauce on the Keto Diet

Is hollandaise sauce keto? Yes. But should that mean you don't have to worry about potential health risks? No.

Hollandaise sauce is healthy, but there are some concerns you should keep in mind before eating it frivolously on a keto diet:

●    High-Fat Content

Hollandaise sauce has a high-fat content; most calories come from fat. Eating high-fat foods is good on a keto diet, but you don't want to overeat to the extent you get sick.

Keto encourages high-fat food, but you're still supposed to balance the diet. Excess quantities of saturated fat can be dangerous because they could promote heart problems.

While eating a high-fat diet isn't too bad, it's risky eating something that's majorly concentrated in fats. It is best to restrict your consumption of hollandaise to a few times a month; avoid eating it regularly.

●    Risk of Food Poisoning

Raw eggs could carry the harmful bacteria Salmonella, which is responsible for food poisoning. Food poisoning from Salmonella can be painful and lead to multiple stomach problems, so it's important to cook your eggs properly.

Making a hollandaise sauce is tricky because overcooking the eggs can split it, but it's still important that your egg yolks aren't raw. Overheating the pan cooks the eggs but ruins the sauce.

Carefully whisk the egg yolks in a warm bowl, so they cook and thicken simultaneously. Don't whisk cold eggs and butter because you could make the sauce, but it will contain raw eggs.

You're looking for a partially cooked sauce; partially cooked egg yolks don't curdle and can't carry harmful bacteria.

●    Proper Storage of Sauce

Hollandaise isn't a sauce that stores well, so you must know how to preserve it.

➔ Airtight Containers

The egg yolks in a hollandaise sauce aren't fully cooked, so they'll quickly spoil if exposed to the environment. This is why it's important to store your hollandaise in an airtight container while it's still warm and close the lid immediately.

Storing in an airtight container helps preserve the sauce and keeps it fresh until the next serving.

➔ Immediate Storage

A hollandaise is a warm sauce that needs a warm container to store immediately after it's made. This is why most recipes will ask you to prepare a warm airtight container while making the sauce.

➔ Storing in the Fridge

You don't typically store hollandaise in the fridge because it can have a weird texture after reheating, but it's possible to cool the sauce for a bit.

You can store hollandaise in the fridge for up to 2 days, but only if you place it in an airtight container.

Don't eat hollandaise that's been in the fridge for more than 2-3 days.

➔ Freezing the Sauce

You can store hollandaise in the freezer for up to 2-3 weeks if it's in an airtight container and goes in the freezer within two hours of being made.

However, the sauce will lose its consistency while reheating, so prepare for a slightly thicker sauce.

➔ Re-heating Correctly

Hollandaise sauce will split if you reheat it, but there's a way you can preserve it even while warming it up. It's still important to know that hollandaise will lose its consistency over time.

Transfer your refrigerated hollandaise sauce to a clean, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it at minimal power for 10-15 seconds and take it out to stir. Place the sauce back in the microwaves and repeat 2-3 times or until the sauce warms up.

You don't need to heat the sauce to the point it's hot; a slightly warm sauce will do.

Alternative Low-Carb Sauces for Keto

You don't have to stick to hollandaise for the entire diet; there are wondrous sauces and condiments you can try, like mayonnaise, aioli, espagnole, tahini, and chimichurri. Here's a quick comparison:

You can incorporate these 6 sauces into your keto diet. Of course, you'll have to watch your calorie and fat intake, but these sauces are safe for your journey. 

Mayonnaise, hollandaise, and tahini go well with salads and keto-friendly buns. You can also pair them with air-fried chicken and kale chips.

Aioli makes a great dip for keto-friendly chips and artichokes. It's also a great substitute for hollandaise with breakfast. Chimichurri tastes great with most steaks and sauteed seafood, but you can also eat it with kebabs and vegetables.

FAQs

Have some questions? Find your answers below.

●    Can You Eat Hollandaise Sauce on the Keto Diet if You Have High Cholesterol?

Hollandaise has a relatively high cholesterol concentration, so it's understandable to feel concerned. High cholesterol can impact blood cholesterol levels, but most cholesterol from food isn't harmful.

Even so, it is best to avoid hollandaise sauce if you struggle with controlling blood cholesterol levels. The sauce might not directly impact your cholesterol, but it could be triggering.

You don't have to skip the sauce entirely, but it's better to restrict your consumption to once or twice a month.

●    Are There Any Dairy-Free or Vegan Options for Hollandaise Sauce?

Hollandaise contains butter, eggs, and lemon juice. You could substitute the ingredients, but there's a chance you won't get the consistency you want.

You can make a dairy-free hollandaise using dairy-free or plant butter instead of ordinary butter.

You could also make a vegan version of hollandaise by skipping the original ingredients and using various vegan options. However, the vegan sauce will taste and feel different from the classical hollandaise you're used to.

You can make vegan-friendly hollandaise using gluten-free flour, plant butter, almond milk, and lemon juice.

●    Can Hollandaise Sauce Be Frozen and Reheated?

You can freeze a hollandaise sauce only if you place it in an airtight container. A hollandaise sauce doesn't reheat well, and directly microwaving it can ruin the texture.

Transfer the sauce to a clean container, microwave it for 15 seconds on low, and then mix. Repeat the process until you get a warm, thick sauce.

Overheating the sauce can split or curdle it, so it's best to stick to the 15-second method.

Conclusion

Is hollandaise sauce keto friendly?

Yes. The delicious, creamy blend of butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice is keto-friendly because it's low in carbs and has a high fat count. The sauce pairs well with most vegetables and meats, but you can even dribble it on eggs, keto-friendly chips, and steaks. Preparing and storing a hollandaise sauce is tricky, but you'll love the zesty kick it adds to your keto dishes.

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