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Creating a cheese sauce with a roux by adding cheese to roux

How to Make a Roux Sauce

Isabel Laessig
Learn how to make a roux to use as a base for so many other recipes, like cheese sauce, gravy, and gumbo! Ready in as little as 5 minutes!
5 from 4 votes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine French
Servings 1 half-cup or so
Calories 521 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup butter or fat drippings such as those from a beef roast or bacon
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter over medium-low heat in a pan on the stove. Once it melts, add in flour and whisk it through.
    Adding flour to butter to make a roux
  • Cook until the flour and butter combine completely. It will begin to thicken and bubble after about 3-5 minutes. If making a white roux, you can stop here and take it off the heat. For a blond roux, cook for 10 minutes while stirring as necessary to keep it from burning. If making a brown roux, cook it for up to 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
    Cooking a roux in a pan

Video

Notes

  • Always keep it on the heat long enough to "cook out" the flavor of the flour. This is usually achieved after 5 minutes, which is the base time for a white roux.
  • Always monitor the heat and the amount of time passing while cooking.
  • If it seems like it is browning too fast, turn down your heat.
  • If it seems lumpy, switch to a whisk.
  • The ratio for butter to flour is 1:1.

Nutrition

Calories: 521kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 4gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 29gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 7mgPotassium: 47mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1418IUCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
Keyword how to make a roux, how to make a roux sauce, roux recipe, roux sauce
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