EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (2024)

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This silky beurre blanc sauce is easily at the top of my list of favorites. It’s thick and creamy and works well drizzled over anything from steak or salmon to veggies or potatoes.

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (1)

When translated, beurre blanc literally means white butter. Made with butter, cream, shallots, wine, and an acid like lemon or white wine vinegar, the sauce is lightly simmered before being strained and served.

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What is Beurre Blanc Sauce?

Beurre blanc is not one of the original five French “mother sauces,” but some have referred to this simple sauce as the sixth mother sauce.

It is a hot butter sauce made from butter, wine, lemon juice, shallots, and cream and is the base for many other sauces and customizations.

Why You’ll Love Beurre Blanc Sauce

This classic, buttery sauce is so easy to love.

  • Simplicity – While it’s a luscious and silky sauce that will elevate any meal, it’s made with simple ingredients and is incredibly easy to make.
  • It’s A Great Base – Once you know how to make this “mother sauce” you can easily customize it or use it to make tons of other sauces.
  • Elegant – This luxurious sauce is a great way to turn a potentially mediocre meal into a fancy affair.
EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (2)

Ingredients

Keep these easy ingredients around on the regular so you can whip up this sauce whenever you like!

  • Dry White Wine – Pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc are both great options in terms of both flavor and affordability. Avoid chardonnay which can be too oaky, and sometimes turns bitter when heated.
  • Lemon Juice – Since there are so few ingredients, to get the best results you’ll want to use fresh and high-quality ingredients. Freshly juice the lemons for the best citrus flavor.
  • Shallot – Because they are mild, shallots impart only a subtle amount of onion flavor. Avoid using sweet or more pungent varieties so that the onions don’t overpower the delicate sauce.
  • Sea Salt – Sea salt offers the cleanest flavor — using other varieties can sometimes result in a metallic aftertaste.
  • Ground White Pepper – Using this mild pepper helps to retain the light color of the sauce, rather than dotting it with specks of black.
  • Heavy cream – Cream gives the sauce its velvety texture and helps to build the right consistency.
  • Unsalted butter – Be sure to use cubed, cold butter. Aim for the best butter you can find, keeping in mind that the quality will definitely affect the flavor.
EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (3)

What To Serve Beurre Blanc Sauce With

Beurre blanc is one of my favorites, so it would probably be easier to give a list of what I wouldn’t put on it! That said, it’s a versatile sauce that pairs well with anything from chicken and seafood (especially white fish) to beef, pasta, and vegetables.

Some of my favorite recipes to serve beurre blanc on are crab imperial filet mignon, baked cod, and steak frites. Drizzle it over anything that will benefit from a butter sauce.

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (4)

How to Make Beurre Blanc Sauce

The trick to making a good beurre blanc is paying close attention to temperature. Keep it on low to medium heat and continuously stir to prevent the sauce from separating.

Shallots and seasoning add flavor and are filtered out for a silky smooth sauce. If you prefer, you can use an immersion blender to smooth it out. I don’t prefer the texture that the method creates, but you can choose the way that you like best to make it.

  1. Simmer & Infuse. Add the white wine, lemon juice, and shallot to a small saucepan and bring it to a low simmer, just barely bubbling.
  2. Season. Add the fine sea salt, white pepper, and cream, keeping it at a super low temperature. Whisk until combined.
  3. Emulsify. To create an emulsification, you’ll need to slowly combine the butter and blend it with the wine mixture. Slowly whisk in a few of the cubes of butter at a time until fully melted. The sauce will start to thicken and as soon as it does, remove from the pan from the heat.
  4. Strain. Pour the sauce through a fine sieve to remove large pieces of seasoning or shallot.
  5. Enjoy. Serve immediately.

If you wind up with a broken sauce (meaning it has separated), whisk vigorously to recombine. This is normal and it will taste the same.

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (5)

Variations

This simple sauce can be modified or dressed up in a bunch of ways.

  • Vinegar – While I prefer the light citrusy flavor that lemon imparts, you can substitute white wine vinegar as the acid in the sauce.
  • Salt – If using coarse salt, double the amount. If you use salted butter, omit it altogether.
  • Herbs – Minced fresh herbs (like tarragon or chives), spices, or bay leaves can be added for extra flavor.
  • Red Wine Vinegar – Swap out lemon juice for red wine vinegar and make a beurre rouge (red butter sauce), another classic sauce.
  • Compound Butters– Instead of using standard butter, try a flavored butter like truffle butter.
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Storage and Freezing

You can easily make this beurre blanc sauce in advance and store it to use when you’re ready.

Make Ahead: Make beurre blanc and store it for up to 24 hours until ready to reheat.

Refrigerator: Store leftover beurre blanc in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Freeze beurre blanc for up to 6 months in an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag.To reheat, just return it to the stovetop and warm over low heat.

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Common Questions About Beurre Blanc Sauce

My beurre blanc sauce seems too thin, what can I do?

If you want a really thick creamy sauce, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch or arrowroot to a small amount of the sauce and then whisk. Add this to the rest of the sauce and whisk again. Beurre blanc isn’t meant to be a super thick sauce.

My sauce is too thick, how do I thicken it?

To make a thicker beurre blanc, gradually add small amounts of additional cream until it reaches the desired consistency.

What is the difference between beurre blanc and hollandaise sauce?

Beurre blanc does not contain egg yolks which are a core ingredient in hollandaise sauce.

Is there alcohol in beurre blanc sauce?

Yes, there is white wine (typically a dry white like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) in beurre blanc).

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (8)

Other Savory Sauces

Here are a few more delicious savory sauces to elevate your next meal.

Bearnaise Sauce Recipe

A close cousin to hollandaise, one of the French mother sauces, this EASY Bearnaise Sauce is a delicious sauce with a creamy texture!

Check out this recipe

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (9)

Chinese Hot Mustard Recipe

This EASY Chinese Hot Mustard recipe, with its signature kick of horseradish-like spiciness, is incredibly easy to make and enjoy at home!

Check out this recipe

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (10)

Caramelized Onion Jam

This EAST Caramelized Onion Jam is an amazing condiment to top anything from meats and vegetables to cheeses and pizza!

Check out this recipe

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (11)

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (12)

Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe

Beurre Blanc is a classic French sauce translated as “white butter”- which is an emulsified lemon butter sauce.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: French

Keyword: beurre blanc sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 1.5 cups

Calories: 2433kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 medium shallot minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, bring the white wine, lemon juice and shallot to a low simmer.

  • Whisk in the fine sea salt, white pepper and cream.

  • When barely bubbling, slowly whisk in a few butter cubes at a time until all are added and fully melted. The sauce will thicken. If you don’t keep the temperature low and whisk continuously, the sauce will separate.

  • Pour the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove large pieces of seasoning or shallot. Serve immediately.

  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.

Notes

This sauce is an emulsification, it can potentially separate. Whisk well or shake to recombine.

Nutrition

Calories: 2433kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 265g | Saturated Fat: 168g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 68g | Trans Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 711mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 256mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 8343IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 1mg

EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (13)
EASY Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe (Thick & Creamy Savory Sauce) (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken beurre blanc sauce? ›

If you've ever added cold butter to thicken a pan sauce, you have made a warm butter emulsion—it's the same technique used in making this sauce. Here, like many modern chefs, we break with tradition and use a portion of cream to create a more stable sauce than butter alone.

What is beurre blanc sauce made of? ›

Beurre blanc ("white butter" in French) or Beurre Nantais is a warm emulsified butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and/or white wine (normally Muscadet) and shallots into which softened whole butter is whisked in off the heat to prevent separation.

What consistency should beurre blanc be? ›

Whisk to achieve smooth butter sauce

Bring the sauce almost up to the boiling point and when the sauce starts to truly come together, remove it from the heat immediately. Is your beurre blanc pale and does it have a thin, custard-like consistency? Then you have just created the perfect smooth butter sauce.

What do you eat with beurre blanc sauce? ›

Beurre blanc traditionally accompanies white fish, like pike or bass, but is equally delicious on steamed vegetables like asparagus or cauliflower. The heat from the stove and the action of whisking help create a stable emulsion and a creamy sauce. Keep the heat low to keep the sauce from breaking.

How do I make my sauce thicker and creamier? ›

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

Why is my beurre blanc sauce not thickening? ›

too quickly initially will result in a thin sauce that is difficult to thicken later on. Only once at least half the butter has been added and a double cream consistency has been achieved can the butter be added a little more quickly, but still carefully. Overheating the emulsion will split it.

How long will beurre blanc keep? ›

Stabilized in this way, the sauce will hold in the refrigerator as long as three days and in the freezer for at least a month. Beurre blanc is really very easy to make. The main points to remember are not to let the sauce get too hot and not to add the butter too quickly.

How do you keep beurre blanc stable? ›

A beurre blanc is an emulsification of butter with a liquid like wine or lemon-juice. The emulsification is unstable and can break down if over-heated. You can put additives in it - essentially, starches of some sort - which will keep the emulsification stable.

Can you fix a beurre blanc sauce? ›

To fix a broken beurre blanc, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in a few ice cubes. This will lower the temperature of the butter and help it solidify, enabling proper emulsification. Most creamy sauces use a 1:1 ratio of fat to liquid.

Can beurre blanc be made ahead of time? ›

If you're making the sauce ahead of time, it must be kept warm. If it cools and you try to reheat it, the emulsification of the sauce will break. Depending on your preferences, you can substitute white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, herb-infused white vinegar, etc., for the lemon juice.

What is the emulsifier in beurre blanc? ›

The lecithin contained within the eggs works as a perfect emulsifier in hollandaise, but what about the other sauces that don't contain egg? Beurre blanc and beurre monte are both butter sauces that have a water base. The only emulsifier is sheer elbow grease.

What is a substitute for wine in beurre blanc? ›

If you are looking to do a non-alcohol version simply replace the wine with water and lemon juice.

What is a substitute for white wine in beurre blanc? ›

Here are some ideas:
  1. Use red wine instead of white to make a sauce called beurre rouge.
  2. Use beer instead of wine to make "beer blanc."
  3. Use different vinegars in place of the white wine vinegar: cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc.
  4. Get rid of the vinegar complete and use lemon juice to make a sauce called beurre citron.
Aug 17, 2023

What is the best way to thicken a butter sauce? ›

As we mentioned, flour and cornstarch are the most popular ingredients used to thicken butter sauce for pasta. After you've heated your butter and water combo in your skillet, turn your heat down so nothing scorches as you work in the dry ingredients. Then slowly whisk in your flour or cornstarch.

How do you increase the thickness of a sauce? ›

Ways To Thicken Sauce
  1. Tomato Paste. If your soup or stew is watery, adding tomato paste may help! ...
  2. Arrowroot. You might prefer to avoid gluten in your recipes. ...
  3. Flour. ...
  4. Reduce Your Liquid. ...
  5. Puréed Vegetables. ...
  6. Egg Yolk. ...
  7. Yogurt. ...
  8. Rice.
Jul 15, 2022

What is the French technique to thicken sauce? ›

Beurre Manié (French for “kneaded butter”) is made by mixing equals parts of softened butter and flour. This dough or paste is used to thicken sauces, soups and stews.

References

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