Knowing how to make a roux is one of the most useful kitchen tips you will learn! A roux is used to create brilliant sauces, gravies, and thicken soups and other liquid dishes quickly.
A dark roux can add a nutty flavorful finish to your dish as the starches present in the thickening agents brown.
A roux is the perfect way to thickening your liquids (such as gravy) and keeps your sauces from becoming lumpy. Nobody likes getting a large bite of cornstarch or flour in their soup or mac and cheese!
What is a Roux?
A roux is a combination of equal parts flour and fat, the most common being butter (or meat drippings). When you make a roux, if you cook it long enough, the flour will brown adding great flavor to your sauce or dish.
The longer you brown your roux for, the more flavor it will have. If you are making a chowder or a white sauce for Scalloped Potatoes, you would not brown your roux like you would if you were making a pot of gumbo!
How to Make A Roux
Making a roux is not difficult, here are the quick steps you’ll take (with step by step photos below).
- Melt butter. Add flour and cook to desired color.
- Add cold liquid a little at a time while whisking until smooth after each addition.
- Add remaining liquid and seasonings, simmer a couple of minutes.
1. Melt Butter and Add Flour
Start your roux by melting butter (or fat such as drippings) in a saucepan and whisk in flour until smooth. Allow it to bubble for at least 1 minute while mixing. This will eliminate any floury flavors. For a blonde roux, allow it to cook a minute or so.
The true secret, as I learned from Chef Jerry in New Orleans, to the best gumbo recipe, is creating a dark roux. A dark roux would require cooking the flour/fat mixture longer while whisking until it reaches a golden dark caramel color.
2. Add Liquid
Once you have cooked the flour mixture to your liking (most white sauces or cheese sauces use a light or white roux) begin adding liquid while whisking a small amount at a time.
Reduce the heat to low and begin adding the liquid a little at a time. Stir until smooth after each addition.
You will get a paste like texture at first, add a bit more liquid and whisk until smooth and completely free of lumps. Continue this process until you’ve incorporated the liquid.
Now that you have a nice roux as a base, add the rest of the ingredients for your sauce sauce along with seasonings (or add your roux into your dish to help thicken it). Allow the mixture to bubble for at least one minute while whisking.
Keep in mind that cheese shouldn’t be boiled/simmered as it will separate and break. If you are adding cheese, remove the sauce/dish from the heat and add cheese while still hot. Stir to melt.
Dishes That Use a Roux
- Homemade Mac and Cheese Casserole – My personal favorite!
- Homemade Creamed Corn
- Chicken Stroganoff – So good!
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- New England Clam Chowder – Easy to make at home.
- Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch
How to Make a Roux
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter or fat such as drippings
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
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Melt butter (or fat) in a saucepan and whisk in flour until smooth. Allow it to bubble for at least 1 minute while mixing.
-
For a blonde roux, allow it to cook a minute or so. For a dark roux, cook the flour/fat mixture longer while whisking, until it reaches a golden dark caramel color.
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Add cold liquid a little at a time while whisking until smooth after each addition.
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Add remaining liquid and seasonings, simmer a couple of minutes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Sauce
Cuisine French
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It really helped thicken my cheese sauce for Mac and cheese, thank you.
You got almost everythin right…. about making a roux. You just happened to use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour.
The way my Mother taught me in 1960 was to always use equal parts of oil/butter/fat and flour. Sometimes 2 Tbs of each is enough but if you need lots of turkey gravy it might be 1/2 cup of each. Then do some experimenting. Use wesson oil or corn oil, or use softened butter and a bowl and mix flour with it making a roux paste…… long before it gets to hot hot pan.
SOmetimes I like to heat the chicken broth or milk…. (in the microwave) or whatever I’m adding tot the roux – it can simplify the clotting process when it first thickens. We use roux all the time for macNcheese, turkey gravy, roast beef gravy, alfredo sauce….. and make a standard white sauce using roux, add lemon juick and yellow food coloring and have a nice mock hollandaise that is delish (without the egg yolks).
I’ve lost all of my cook books and I don’t have the money to get more. I would really like it if I could get some quick recipes for some meals along with quick recipes for a few casseroles. Also some quick recipes for desserts.
Hi Kimberly, I’m sorry to hear that! To receive our newsletters, you can sign up here or scroll down to the bottom of the post and you will see a signup box.
You nailed it. This is one of cookings worst kept but most under used secrets.
I am confused on one thing. In the steps you state that you need to add some sort of cold liquid but there is no specification on what that liquid is (I assume milk since it’s also a fat?). And the only 2 ingredients listed are flour and butter
Hi John, In step 3 the cold liquid it is referring to will be depending on your recipe. If it is creamy dish milk would be a good option, or maybe a chicken or beef broth, or even water. Whatever your recipe calls for.
Turkey Pot Pie. Changes for next time. Add more salt or more more broth, very dry, put gravy on it, add more liquid next time, recipe says 1 C broth and 2/3 milk. When it was in oven, I saw note at bottom, 3 C liquid. Should put this in recipe above. Also missed cooked potato but picked them out and fried them. Fresh carrots also need to be cooked even though cut very small. It is very tasty and next one will be amazing.
Tried your Mac n cheese bread dong a roux. Like any other time I’ve used a roux it was awful. I make great gravy using the same method do I can’t figure out why it taste bland
Sharp cheddar
Parmesan
Cream cheese
Pepper Jack
Even added bacon
????????????
Above entry error. Remove bread dong. Add using your roux recipe
I can’t say why you’d find mac and cheese bland, as I find it creamy and tasty, especially when adding various types of cheese. Did you add seasonings such as dry mustard (or dijon) and onion powder? Salt? Pepper? Hope that helps.
I’m not sure if you will ever see this teri, but you don’t have salt on your list and even if you have bacon, you still need to add salt until it tastes good to you
Roux recipe – when you say add cold liquid – what do you mean? Water, broth???
I’d suggest milk or broth, depending on what you are using the sauce for.
Good recipe.
Lovely
What’s “cold liquid “? Water, cream, whiskey?
It could be any cold liquid. I most often use broth, milk or cream depending on what the final recipe is. If you are making gravy or soup you’ll most often use broth. If you are making a cream sauce you’ll use a little bit of milk.
Now you have me thinking up a way to incorporate whisky into a roux. :)
this totally worked. I used butter and flour, for the liquid I used beef broth, then I added some onions, meat, and seasonings. I cooked roux a little longer and browned it up. came out good! thanks!
That’s awesome Alysa!
What is the liquid the recipe is referring to. It’s not anywhere in the ingredients or instructions that I found.
Hi Terry, that will depend on the dish. For a creamy sauce like cheese sauce or scalloped potatoes, I would use milk. For a soup/stew or gravy I would use a broth.
Bingo! How much liquid??? It is nowhere in the recipe(s)!
Kevin, on the recipe card in the notes, it says “This roux recipe will mix well with about 3 cups of liquid and produce a medium consistency sauce. Start with less liquid and add more until you reach the desired consistency for your sauce.” Hope that helps.
Great recipe. Good discussion. Simple. Thanks
Thanks Sherry! Glad you liked it.
Do you have a recipe book I can acquire. Charles Layton tks.
I do not have a cookbook at this time Charles. You can enjoy my recipes at Spend With Pennies!
How much flour an milk do I put eggs
You can find the amounts above. This does not require eggs.
What ‘liquid’ do you use, milk or broth?
It depends on the dish, for a creamy sauce like cheese sauce or scalloped potatoes, I use milk. For a soup/stew or gravy I would use broth.
I love your recipes!
Thank you Tammy!
Is there anyway to do this without flour?? My husband is gluten free and I’ve yet to find a way to do this for him!!
As I don’t follow a GF lifestyle, I haven’t tried it without flour. Have you tried using a GF flour substitute or baking mixture before?
I do use a cornstarch slurry to thicken sauces and soups as well. Combine equal parts cornstarch and water. Pour into your boiling soup/broth/liquid a little at a time while mixing until you reach desired consistency.
Use Sorghum Flour as it is Gluten Free. It makes a great Roux. It lacks Gluten and therefore does not stick together as well as wheat flour when making things like pancakes or cookies, but for a Roux it is actually superior. I am a sustainable farmer and grow grain sorghum and we are in the process of opening up Bula Land Mills and offering these products online. We are still in the process but you can obtain Sorghum Flour at a few sites on the internet. Search for “sorghum flour”.
Holly- when you refer to adding cold liquid to the roux, what type of liquid are you adding?
Thanks!
You can add milk to make a cream sauce or broth to make a gravy or thicker soup.
When I make a roux, its thick and clumpy not smooth. I use same part flour and butter. What am I doing wrong?
Is the liquid cold? I turn the heat down and add the liquid a little bit at a time and whisk until smooth after each addition. At first it will seem a bit clumpy but as you continue to add a bit of liquid each time, whisk until smooth until you incorporate the liquid.
Hope that helps, let me know how it goes!
Yes once I start adding the milk and whisk it thins out. I just thought it was supposed to be smooth just adding the flour and butter. Thank you