Espagnole Sauce Recipe (2024)

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Rich and flavorful, Espagnole Sauce Recipe is a versatile sauce you can use to drizzle over beef, chicken, or pork, as a gravy for mashed potatoes, a base for soups and stews, and more! My recipe for espagnole sauce cooks low-and-slow for a flavor you’ll want to come back to again and again. Bookmark this page – trust me!

Espagnole Sauce

After years of feeling intimidated by the idea of cooking the perfect Beef Wellington, I finally did it: it was juicy on the inside, with crisp puff pastry and incredible flavor. What brought those flavors together, though, was the espagnole sauce recipe I served it with – the very same one I’m sharing with you here!

This gorgeous, velvety brown sauce is best known as one of the French mother sauces. It’s the sort of versatile sauce you can use all on its own or as a base for other sauces, like demi-glace.

But I love it just as it is for everything from gravy for a full rib roast to a base for my favorite beef stew – and more than beef! Try serving it with chicken, pork, turkey, and vegetables. It makes the most fantastic sauce with mushrooms!

Espagnole Sauce Ingredients

• unsalted butter
• all-purpose flour
• onion
• carrot
• celery
• garlic
• beef stock
• red wine
• tomato paste
• bay leaves
• fresh thyme
• salt
• pepper

How to Make Espagnole Sauce

1. Chop onion, carrot, celery, and garlic finely. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the chopped vegetables. Saute in butter until soft and lightly browned, approximately 5 minutes.
   
2. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir well until it forms a roux (thick paste-like consistency). Continue cooking the roux until it turns a golden-brown color – don’t let it get too dark!
   
3. Slowly pour in red wine while stirring continuously. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of your pan with a wooden spoon, and let the wine simmer for a few minutes.
   
4. Add beef stock, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme, and stir to combine.
   
5. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low. Let it simmer gently for about 1 hour, stirring now and then.
   
6. After cooking, remove the bay leaves and thyme, then pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer over a mixing bowl. Press down on the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible.
   
7. Rinse the saucepan, then return the espagnole sauce to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer an additional 5 minutes before serving! Enjoy!
   

Sauce Espagnole Recipe Tips

• Make sure not to overcook the roux. It should be a light golden brown color, not too browned. It should also not be too pale.
• Beef stock and veal stock both work as brown stock for this recipe. Broth may work for flavor, but it won’t create a sauce as rich or thick, so I recommend using stock.
• You can swap out the celery for fennel stocks and add a bit of rosemary if you like – other vegetables also work as a base for brown sauce.
• Let the sauce simmer for a full hour. I know it seems like a long time for a sauce – but you won’t believe the flavor you get out of it! It creates a silky smooth, incredibly rich espagnole.
• Keep stirring when you add the red wine to avoid lumps.
• Make sure not to bring the sauce to a boil. You want it to simmer, not boil gently.
• You can use a cheesecloth instead of a fine mesh strainer if it’s what you have to work with.

Espagnole Sauce Recipe FAQ

What to Serve with Espagnole Sauce

• Beef Wellington: The most classic pairing with espagnole! This gorgeous steak dinner is a show-stopper for any holiday table or special occasion.
• Beef Stew: You can use espagnole sauce as a basis for any beef stew.
• Mashed Potato Gravy: Try pouring espagnole over Creamy Mashed Potatoes.
• Sauce for Prime Rib: I love this sauce with my family’s favorite Slow Roasted Prime Rib.

Sauce Recipes

• Bechamel (another mother sauce!)
• Easy Béarnaise Sauce
• Red Wine Reduction
• Alfredo Sauce
• Garlic Butter Sauce

If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!

📋 Recipe