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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Rich, buttery, and deceptively simple, this classic beurre blanc sauce is the perfect way to elevate your dish. It’s the perfect accompaniment to poultry, fish, or vegetables like asparagus.
Think French sauces are too fancy for home cooking? Think again! Similar in concept to Hollandaise, beurre blanc (which means “white butter”) is a simple sauce made from a flavoured wine reduction, cream, and a generous amount of butter.
Why not try serving your beurre blanc sauce over Poached Salmon? Or drizzle a little of your sauce over Roasted Green Beans for the ultimate vegetable side dish!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: Beurre blanc is a simple, buttery French sauce that is surprisingly easy to make at home!
- Total Time: For something so elegant, this recipe only takes 20 minutes. Practically no time at all!
- Variations: Instead of using cayenne pepper, you can use white pepper, which is the classic choice for a traditional beurre blanc, especially when you want to maintain the sauce’s pale colour. White pepper is much milder and less intense in flavor than cayenne.
- Tools For This Recipe: All you need to make this is a medium saucepan and a whisk. The saucepan provides sufficient room for reducing the wine and whisking in the butter, while the whisk helps emulsify everything into a smooth, silky sauce.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Dry White Wine: I recommend using a Sauvignon Blanc, as it is a classic choice for a dry white wine. Alternatively, you could use a Pinot Grigio or an unoaked Chardonnay. Karlynn’s Tip: Avoid wines that are sweet or heavily oaked, like many California Chardonnays, as they can throw off the balance of the sauce.
Unsalted Butter: This is one of those recipes where the amount of butter might seem excessive, but don’t cut it back! Beurre blanc is, after all, a butter sauce, and reducing the butter will leave you with a thin sauce that lacks flavour. This is the time to embrace the butter and enjoy every bite!
Heavy Cream, Lemon Juice: Heavy cream adds a touch of richness and a smooth texture to this sauce while also helping prevent the butter from separating. The lemon juice helps to balance out the richness of the butter.
Shallots: This recipe uses finely minced shallots simmered in a mixture of white wine and lemon juice to develop their flavour. Karlynn’s Tip: If you don’t have shallots, you can use finely minced white onion, although it will have a stronger onion flavour and less sweetness. You can add a small pinch of sugar to help balance it out.
Cayenne Pepper: This adds a gentle warming heat. Even a small pinch can give a subtle kick that enhances the richness without overpowering the delicate butter and wine flavours. Just use sparingly.
How To Make Beurre Blanc
This is a quick overview of the recipe. Be sure to check the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and detailed instructions.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the wine, lemon juice, cream, and shallots over medium-high heat, then bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 4-5 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about 75%.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk in 2 cubes of butter until completely melted and combined. Continue to add remaining butter, a few cubes at a time, until the sauce has a thick and smooth texture—about 4-6 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and season with cayenne pepper and salt to taste.
- Serve over fish, poultry or vegetables. Enjoy!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Beurre Blanc
- Keep An Eye On It: When the liquid in the pot reduces and you’re left with mostly moist, softened shallots, it’s time to add the butter. Too little reduction makes the sauce watery and unstable, but dry everything out too far, and you won’t be able to make a proper emulsion!
- Avoid High Heat: This sauce is a little delicate, so avoid overheating it, as this can cause it to separate or break. If you finish making your sauce before you’re ready to plate everything up, keep it warm off the direct heat using a bath of hot water.
Storage Instructions
Ideally, beurre blanc is served fresh, right after it’s made. You can, however, store it as I outline below.
Refrigerator: Your burre blanc be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container such as a mason jar. It’s best to use it by spooning small amounts onto hot foods, where the heat will melt it, rather than attempting to reheat the entire sauce.
Freezer: Cool the sauce and store it for up to 6 months. For ease of thawing, freeze the sauce in ice cube trays, then transfer the frozen cubes to a freezer bag. Thaw as needed.
More Delicious Marinades, Sauces & Salad Dressings Recipes
- Why not try my Garlic Butter Sauce for a quick addition to just about anything?
- You’ll never have to feel intimidated by brunch at home again with my How to make Blender Hollandaise Sauce tutorial!
- Looking for something that goes great on corn, flatbreads, or just about anything? Give my tutorial for How to make Cilantro Butter a try!
There you have it! No need to go to a fancy restaurant when you can make this surprisingly easy sauce at home!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I always love hearing about your cooking adventures!
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Beurre Blanc
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry white wine, (like a Sauvignon Blanc)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons very finely minced shallots
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, (or white pepper)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add the wine, lemon juice, cream, and shallots over a medium high heat. Bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 4-5 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about 75%.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk in 2 cubes of butter. Keep stirring until the butter is completely melted and combined.
- Add a few more cubes, whisking continuously so the butter is combined well into the mixture. Continue to add remaining butter, a few cubes at a time, until the sauce has a thick, smooth texture, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat. Season with cayenne pepper and salt to taste.
- Serve over fish, poultry or vegetables!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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