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    Home » Cooking Tips

    Published: Feb 28, 2023 by Donna Poirier · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Beurre Manié

    Jump to Recipe
    A log of Beurre Manié cut into slices, with thyme sprigs in the foreground and a knife in the background.

    Beurre Manié (pronounced bur-man-yay). This simple recipe of butter and flour is used to thicken and enrich sauces, soups, stews and gravy like my recipe for All-Purpose Gravy, while having the bonus of imparting a velvety richness to your finished dishes.

    Sliced discs of beurre manié on a counter with thyme sprigs beside it. this recipe

    Manier is the French verb that means to handle, so the literal definition of Beurre Manié is handled butter. Sometimes it's called kneaded butter, whereby you use your hands to manipulate the butter and flour together to form a dough-like paste (though using a fork is perfectly fine too).

    Let me explain how to make this recipe and how you can use this simple thickening agent in your kitchen.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to make Beurre Manié
    • How to use Beurre Manié
    • Secret for Success
    • FAQ
    • Storage
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Ingredients

    Beurre Manié ingredients, butter and flour.

    See the recipe below for quantities.

    How to make Beurre Manié

    Beurre Manié mashing butter and flour together.

    Combine butter and flour: In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour. Using a fork or your hands, mash the two ingredients together to form a dough-like paste.

    Beurre Manié shaping the butter into a log.

    Form into a log: Empty the combined ingredients onto your work surface and shape the mixture into a log. Take the formed log and wrap it in a small piece of parchment paper, twisting the ends of the paper to seal the log on both ends.

    How to use Beurre Manié

    It's pretty foolproof to use Beurre Manié. To thicken gravy, ensure that the gravy has reached a boil. Next, reduce the heat and simmer it gently in a saucepan over the stove. Add a small piece of Beurre Manié to the hot gravy, whisking in a little more until the gravy has thickened to the consistency you like. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes before adding more Beurre Manié. It's that easy.

    The same method holds true if thickening a stew. Start by adding one tablespoon at a time, stir and let simmer for a few minutes, then check to see if your dish has thickened enough. If it hasn't, add more Beurre Manié and repeat the process.

    Adding the beurre manié to the gravy to thicken it.

    Secret for Success

    • Use room-temperature, unsalted butter.

    FAQ

    What is the difference between a roux and a beurre manié?

    A roux is a mixture of cooked butter and flour. Cooking the roux to various stages of darkness (from light to dark) imparts additional flavour to your dish. The longer you cook a roux, the darker it gets, and the less its thickening abilities are. Beurre manié is not cooked before use, and although it may not add more flavour to your dish, it is foolproof as a thickener, especially if you are a beginner in the kitchen.

    What does beurre manié mean in cooking?

    It translates to handled butter, or the more common meaning is kneaded butter, butter and flour that are kneaded together.

    Storage

    • Wrap the butter and flour paste tightly in parchment paper or cling wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
    • You may divide the Beurre Manié into small portions (as photographed below) and keep these smaller pieces in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
    Beurre Manié sliced into discs for future use.

    Recipe

    Sliced discs of beurre manié on a counter with thyme sprigs beside it.

    Beurre Manié

    Donna Poirier
    Beurre Manié (pronounced bur-man-yay). This simple recipe of butter and flour is used to thicken and enrich sauces, soups, stews and gravy, like my recipe for All-Purpose Gravy, while having the bonus of imparting a velvety richness to your finished dishes.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 0 mins
    Total Time 5 mins
    Course Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine Canadian, French
    Servings 6 tablespoons
    Calories 84 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 small bowl
    • 1 fork
    • measuring cups

    Ingredients
     

    • ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
    • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

    Instructions

    • Combine butter and flour: In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour. Using a fork or your hands, mash the two ingredients together to form a dough-like paste. 
      ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup all-purpose flour
    • Form into a log: Empty the combined ingredients onto your work surface and shape the mixture into a log. Take the formed log and wrap it in a small piece of parchment paper, twisting the ends of the paper to seal the log on both ends.

    Notes

    This recipe yields six heaping tablespoons of Beurre Manié, the exact quantity needed to make my recipe for All-Purpose Gravy.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Serving Size
     
    1 tablespoon
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    84
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    8
    g
    12
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    5
    g
    31
    %
    Trans Fat
     
    0.3
    g
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    0.3
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    2
    g
    Cholesterol
     
    20
    mg
    7
    %
    Sodium
     
    1
    mg
    0
    %
    Potassium
     
    2
    mg
    0
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    4
    g
    1
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    0.2
    g
    0
    %
    Protein
     
    1
    g
    2
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    236
    IU
    5
    %
    Calcium
     
    6
    mg
    1
    %
    Iron
     
    0.2
    mg
    1
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information is approximated using an online nutrition calculator. It is included as a courtesy and should not be substituted for the advice of a professional nutritionist.
    Keyword gravy, thickener, how to thicken beef stew, how to thicken gravy, soup, stew, sauce, beurre manié
    Did you make this recipe?Tag @ladypeartree or hashtag it #ladypeartree

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Maureen says

      March 07, 2023 at 1:32 pm

      5 stars
      This was easy, I wish I knew about this before now.

      Reply
      • Donna Poirier says

        March 09, 2023 at 10:04 am

        I’m glad you found this useful.

        Reply

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