Easy Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

This easy Vegan Hollandaise Sauce is super creamy, tastes like its eggy non-vegan counterpart, and comes together in 5 minutes or less! This one is egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, oil-free, and gluten-free! Enjoy it on a variety of dishes such as tofu, vegetables, potatoes, and more.

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Hey Internet, I've got another vegan sauce for you! No, this one's not cheese, but given my track record that's a pretty good guess.

The sauce I'm bringing you today is actually called Hollandaise, an emusified egg, butter and lemon juice sauce originating in the Netherlands and France. It is considered to be one of French cooking's five mother sauces along with bechamel, espagnole, veloute, and tomate (before you yell at me my editor doesn't allow accents over letters :'( ).

However, as mentioned above, it is typically made with non-vegan ingredients, so back when I published my Tofu Eggs Benedict, I decided to make my own. It was actually super easy and took only a few minutes and a handful of ingredients I already had on hand.

You'll notice mine is quite a bit brighter than most vegan Hollandaise sauces. I like the turmeric flavor--but you can leave it out if you'd prefer.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Like I said, I put it on Tofu Eggs Benedict but I also like it on roasted vegetables like asparagus, potatoes, pasta, etc.

How Do You Make Hollandaise Sauce From Scratch?

Well, the authentic non vegan version might be a little more complex, but we aren't going to worry about that today because all you have to do is mix the ingredients of this in a bowl or measuring cup.

I mix all my sauces and dressings in a measuring cup--I think it's highly convenient (most measuring cups have a spout for easy drizzling-) but it's also just the way my mom did it and I picked it up from watching her cook.

Although a quick hack and I can't believe I don't do this: Mix it up in a jar then just pop on a lid to store it!

What Do I Need to Make Vegan Hollandaise Sauce?

The base of this easy vegan Hollandaise sauce is actually tahini. I experimented with several different bases and found this to be the most delicious and authentic tasting while still following the whole food plant based lifestyle guidelines.

However, you may substitute it if you do not have tahini or don't like it. See the next section for substitutions.

Back to what you'll need for the sauce, you'll also need nutritional yeast to give it that savory and buttery flavor.

The lemon juice is an integral part of this recipe. I always prefer fresh squeezed lemon juice if available.

I realize that may make me sound like a snob but seriously, once you try it it's hard to go back to the bottled stuff.

For that eggy flavor, you'll need a substance called black salt or kala nemek.

What is Kala Nemek or Black Salt?

Kala nemek / black salt is a rock salt that is fired in a kiln and has a sulphurous smell. It gives food that eggy flavor, and you’ll see it commonly recommended in scrambled tofu recipes that are meant to taste like scrambled eggs.

You can find black salt at Indian groceries or online. However, if you’re not a huge eggs fan, leave it out and this recipe will still be delicious.

Since black salt is not super salty (ironically), I also added a pinch of regular salt. Well, again it might sound boujee, but I LOVE the flavor of Himalayan pink salt.

I actually only started using Himalayan pink salt because a friend saw a bag of it at Home Goods, thought of me, and gave it to me. I tried it and loved it. It doesn't taste as salty as salt… if that make sense.

All this to say use whatever salt you like!

For color I added a little turmeric, and I like the flavor it adds, but it's not necessary to the recipe if you'd prefer not to use it.

What Substitutions Can I Make?

If you'd prefer not to use tahini, pick another fat to use. I also liked this with coconut cream and cashew butter (thinned out), but i didn't include those because I thought the tahini was the best one.

If you're cool with consuming oil, melt a plant-based butter like Earth Balance and use that instead. I personally don't use it in my house for health reasons (I will occasionally indulge when eating out, though because I'm not perfect).

If you're looking to make this recipe lower fat, you could try blending tofu or beans and substituting that. However, the fat adds the all-important mouthfeel of butter in this recipe, so I'll leave it at that.

Don't have fresh or bottled lemon juice? White or apple cider vinegar would be a nice substitution in this recipe.

What Does Hollandaise Sauce Taste Like?

Describing flavors has never been easy for me. I could tell you it's good, and while I believe that to be the truth, it's completely subjective.

For what it's worth, I would NEVER share a recipe I didn't think was delicious. I'm very thankful that I love cilantro because otherwise I couldn't provide any recipes using this healthy herb (as it so happens though, Mr. Zardyplants cannot stand it so I always leave it out of his/the bigger portion).

In the same vein, I am still working on my spicy food tolerance, but I do not currently share a lot of significantly spicy food due to my intolerance for spiciness. I'm working on it, though!

Back to the sauce at hand (and usually on my hands), Hollandaise is rich, creamy, buttery (even my vegan Hollandaise tastes buttery!), savory, lemony, egg-y, and a touch salty.

Some season their Hollandaise with black or cayenne pepper, and that's certainly an option. If you include the turmeric in yours, adding black pepper would boost the turmeric's anti-inflammatory effects!

What Do You Use Hollandaise Sauce For?

Hollandaise is typically served with eggs, vegetables like asparagus, and fish.

I have a recipe for Vegan Tofu Eggs Benedict if you'd like to try it. It's super delicious and an easy 30 minute breakfast that's fancy enough to serve for a special occasion or just a lazy Sunday morning.

I also love it over roasted lemon and garlic asparagus, maybe on the side of some Portobello mushroom steaks?

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do (otherwise I wouldn't post it, duh).

Let me know in the comments below if you make it and tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3

Liz

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