How to Make Beurre Blanc

This is a decadent French white wine butter sauce but is easy to make and graces everything from fish to vegetables!

This is a rich buttery sauce great over veggies like asparagus, pasta, or even meat. You can add in your favorite flavors from truffle oil to lemon.

Creamy, and velvety smooth, this sauce up-levels any recipe from ordinary to extraordinary!

What is Beurre Blanc?

This is a sauce I learned to make while taking classes at our local culinary school (we served it over salmon). What I love about it is that it’s relatively easy to make but tastes fancy.

Beurre Blanc is a rich butter sauce with a bright flavor and a mildly sweet taste of shallots! The key to a perfect Beurre Blanc is the technique which is actually super simple!

What’s in Beurre Blanc?

BUTTER Of course the main ingredient in this butter sauce is butter! Use real unsalted butter for the best flavor.

WINE A dry white wine like a dry Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc is the best in cooking. Sweet wines do not work in this sauce, and in fact, will interfere with the flavor rather than enhance it. This is one of the very few sauces where I cannot recommend a suitable substitute for wine.

VINEGAR adds some tang to balance out the flavors. White wine vinegar is the best choice since the flavor will blend well with the other ingredients.

SHALLOTS are used for flavoring a Beurre Blanc sauce. They look like a little onion and are a bit pink/purple in color with a slightly milder onion flavor. If you don’t have a shallot you can substitute yellow onion but it’ll have a bit of a different flavor.

VARIATIONS Beurre Blanc also works beautifully with a variety of other ingredients like citrusy lemon, orange, or a splash of truffle oil (decadent on ravioli).

How to Make Beurre Blanc

The steps and technique to making this fancy and rich sauce are surprisingly easy:

1. Simmer shallots, wine and vinegar until reduced (per recipe below).
2. Strain out the shallots.
3. Slowly whisk in cold butter, one cube at a time, until the sauce is smooth.

The sauce will emulsify into a beautifully rich sauce. So good.

Tips for the Best Beurre Blanc

• Beurre Blanc is an emulsion—that means breaking down the fat cells in the butter (oil) so it can be blended with the wine and vinegar. Use real butter for a smooth sauce and the best rich taste.
• Make sure the butter is cold.
• Whisk in one cube at a time until incorporated, take your time!
• Be sure to keep the saucepan on low heat to avoid “breaking” the sauce. However, if this happens, simply remove the Beurre Blanc from the heat, let it cool a bit and add a very small amount of water. Whisk again and the sauce will bind again.
• Once thickened remove from the heat. Like a hollandaise sauce, you don’t want to overheat this sauce or it can separate.

How to Use Beurre Blanc

Beurre Blanc sauce has a buttery mild flavor that won’t overpower foods. Seasonings like mustard, garlic, and citrus flavors tailor a Beurre Blanc to main dishes like Broiled Salmon Fillets, Slow Cooker Rosemary Beef Roast, Mushroom Bacon Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, and any combination of Roasted Root Vegetables. Fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme also give Beurre Blanc new flavor profiles.

How to Store Beurre Blanc

Keep Beurre Blanc in a covered container (a mason jar will do) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Shake the jar, reheat on the stove over a very low heat.

Freeze Beurre Blanc in ice cubes and then store them in a zippered bag with the date labeled on the outside for about a month. Pop the cubes out, let them thaw, and then add to a soup, sauce, or even mix into any egg-based dish for an extra rich flavor!

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What’s your favorite way to serve Beurre Blanc? Leave us a comment and a rating below!