Beurre Blanc is a classic sauce that’s a staple of French cooking. This rich butter sauce is bright, lemony and velvety smooth. It’s the perfect sauce for broiled seafood, chicken, and vegetables. And the best part is, my easy recipe takes about 10 minutes to make and never fails.
Making a beurre blanc might seem daunting, but don’t let the fact that it’s a classic French sauce scare you off, because it couldn’t be easier to make.
Beurre blanc translates to white butter. The sauce can also be called beurre nantais, but whatever you call it, I know after one taste, you’ll call it delicious!
Capers are a nice addition to the beurre blanc as shown with my Pan Seared Rockfish. They go well with both fish and chicken dishes.
Ingredients to make Beurre Blanc
Start by gathering the ingredients needed to make our easy beurre blanc recipe. In culinary terms, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into “Everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also helps ensure you have all of the ingredients on hand to make the recipe.
Can I use other ingredients to make a Beurre Blanc?
Yes, you can. Instead of the garlic, you can use shallots, or use a combination of both. They are both aromatics and depending on what region of France the sauce originated, you’ll find one or the other used.
Some recipes call for the addition of heavy cream. The classic version of this French butter sauce is made with butter, dry white wine, shallots, and white wine vinegar. Due to the use of the vinegar, heavy cream is more of a necessity to stabilizes the sauce, while adding a rich and velvety texture. You can add a little heavy cream to my recipe, to get the same results.
You can add capers to the sauce, or sauteed mushrooms. Depending on the dish and your taste preference both will enhance the sauce.
I use chicken broth to add flavor to the sauce, vegetable broth can be used in its place.
You can use a dry red wine, in place of the white wine, to make a beurre rouge. You can also use rose, champagne, or prosecco to make the sauce.
Classic beurre blanc is made with lemon juice, but you can use other citrus juices to make the recipe.
How to Make Beurre Blanc
- Add two tablespoons of butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for one minute.
- Add the chicken broth, white wine, and lemon juice to the saucepot and bring to a light boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Add the beurre manie (the butter pieces rolled in flour) to the pan and whisk it to thicken the lemon butter sauce.
- Taste and reseason with salt and pepper if necessary and add the chopped Italian parsley to the sauce.
How to make a Beurre Manie
Using a beurre manie is an easy way to thicken pan sauces and is how we would finish saucy dishes in the restaurants I worked at.
Take pieces of slightly softened butter and roll them in flour, pushing the flour into the butter. When the sauce is heating, add the pieces of butter to the sauce. Not only will the flour help thicken the sauce, the butter will add richness to it.
Chef’s Secret
I did not use this method when making this sauce, but when making a lemon butter sauce, I will usually add one-half a teaspoon of brown sugar to the pan when sauteing the garlic. This cuts the acidity and adds more flavor to the sauce. It does not make it sweet.
Beurre blanc is the perfect sauce to serve with Chicken Francaise or Flounder Francaise. the lemony flavor of the butter wine sauce is the perfect complement to crispy exterior of the egg battered chicken.
This delicious easy to make sauce goes well with broiled or grilled chicken or seafood.
Recipe FAQ’s
Sauvignon Blanc is my first choice, it has acidity and brightness to complement the richness of the butter sauce. That being said, whatever white wine you enjoy drinking will work with the sauce. I was taught to use the wine we would be drinking with dinner to make the dish or sauce I was preparing.
Absolutely. You can use a non-alcoholic wine or sparkling water to make the lemon butter sauce, or you can simply leave the wine out.
Yes, you can. While the classic recipe is a simple one, you can can definitely add herbs or seasonings to your taste preference.
Fresh tarragon, rosemary, and dill can be added to enhance the flavor. Dried seasonings, like garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, white pepper, or dried versions of the fresh herbs can also be added for a more robust flavor. For a touch of heat add a little cayenne pepper or for a little sweetness add brown sugar.
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Easy Beurre Blanc Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon garlic -finely minced (or shallots)
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter -divided: 2 tablespoon to saute the garlic and 2 tablespoon to thicken the sauce.
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour -to roll butter in to make beurre manie.
- ½ teaspoon Italian parsley -finely chopped
Instructions
- Add two tablespoons of butter to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for one minute.
- Add the chicken broth, white wine, and lemon juice to the saucepot and bring to a light boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Add the beurre manie (the butter pieces rolled in flour) to the pan and whisk it to thicken the lemon butter sauce.
- Taste and reseason with salt and pepper if necessary and add the chopped Italian parsley to the sauce.
- Remove the chicken Francaise from the oven and serve with the lemon butter sauce.
Notes
Take pieces of butter and roll them in flour, pushing the flour into the butter. The butter should be just a little soft.
This method can be used to thicken any pan sauce or entree that is saucy. Chef’s Secret
I did not use this method when making this sauce, but when making a lemon butter sauce, I will usually add one-half a teaspoon of brown sugar to the pan when sauteing the garlic. This cuts the acidity and adds more flavor to the sauce. It does not make it sweet.
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