How to Make a Roux

Learning how to make a roux was one of the first things we did in culinary school—that’s how important it is. It’s an essential building block to many of my favorite recipes. It gives chowders, stews and homemade gravies their thick, silky textures. It makes New Orleans gumbo rich and nutty. And believe it or not, it’s made with just two ingredients.

What is roux?

Roux is a French culinary term (pronounced ROO) that refers to a combination of flour and fat that’s used to thicken sauces and soups. Once mixed, the roux is cooked until it reaches the desired color. The flavor develops the longer it’s cooked, making a dark roux significantly richer than a white roux.

Our basic recipe for roux uses equal parts flour and butter, but you can easily substitute cooking oil. A roux made with 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour is enough to thicken 1 cup of milk or broth.

How to Make a Roux: The Four Types of Roux

There are four types of roux: white, blond, brown and dark. They all contain the same ingredients, but the color and flavor of the roux differ depending on how long it is cooked.

• White roux: This is the most common roux with the most thickening power. It only cooks for about two minutes—just long enough to eliminate the flour’s raw taste. You’ll find it in recipes ranging from soups to basic white sauce (aka bechamel).
• Blond roux: This roux has an off-white color (my culinary instructors called it “eggshell”) and a buttery flavor. It cooks for 5 to 10 minutes. This roux is perfect for quick pan sauces and velouté (one of the classic mother sauces).
• Brown roux: This caramel-colored roux has a nutty, rich flavor. It cooks for 20 to 30 minutes. Use this roux in complex soups and stews, like shrimp étouffée.
• Dark roux: This roux is the darkest and most flavorful. It cooks for about 45 minutes until it’s maple-colored and incredibly complex. I like to use vegetable oil instead of butter when making a dark roux, as butter will burn more easily. Use a dark roux to make Cajun and Creole dishes like gumbo.

Ingredients for Making a Roux

• Butter: I usually make a roux with butter, especially when cooking dairy-based soups or sauces. Butter is naturally flavorful and adds depth to the finished dish. That said, butter is not the best choice for dark roux because it burns easily. For dark roux, it’s better to use frying oils with a high smoke point, like canola oil. Melted lard, bacon grease, ghee or shortening are also excellent choices for making a roux.
• Flour: A classic French roux is equal parts fat and flour. I use all-purpose flour because I always have it on hand in the pantry. You could use whole-wheat flour or a gluten-free flour blend, but the roux won’t have as much thickening power.

Directions

Step 1: Make a white roux

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

All roux starts with a white roux, which is only cooked long enough to eliminate the taste of raw flour. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

Add the flour, salt and pepper, and stir until combined. Cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and foamy. It should look like a thick paste.

Editor’s Tip: Most roux recipes instruct you to use a whisk, but I like using a rubber spatula. It helps you get into the corners of the saucepan, ensuring the mixture doesn’t collect there and burn.

Step 2: Keep it going for a blond roux

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

To deepen the nutty flavor of your roux, make a blond roux. Continue cooking the roux, stirring frequently, for as long as 10 minutes or until it reaches a caramel color.

Editor’s Tip: Additional cooking will weaken the flour’s thickening power, but it will also give the roux an appealing caramel color and add a huge amount of flavor to any dish.

Step 3: Cook even longer for a brown roux

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

For a brown roux, continue cooking for another 20 minutes (up to 30 minutes total), until the roux reaches a deep, rich brown color with a nutty aroma.

Editor’s Tip: Brown roux is reminiscent of brown butter and has an almost smoky quality.

Step 4: Cook just a little longer for a dark roux

Taste of Home

To make a dark roux, continue cooking it for another 20 to 25 minutes (up to 45 minutes total) over medium-low heat until it reaches a darker, almost black color.

Editor’s Tip: There are a few things to keep in mind when making a dark roux. First, the thickening power decreases as the color increases, so plan to make extra when making a darker roux. This type of roux also burns very easily. If you notice any dark flecks in your roux or an acrid aroma, toss it and start over. Otherwise, anything you use it in will taste burnt. Stir constantly to avoid ruining your dark roux, and keep that heat at medium-low.

How to Use Roux

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

Use your prepared roux as the foundation for any number of dishes, either immediately or over time. To use the roux immediately, whisk in 1 cup of cold milk or broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for two to three minutes or until the liquid is thick.

Ellie Crowley for Taste of Home

You can easily create a cheese sauce from here by adding shredded cheese.

What are the best recipes to make with a roux?

Most of the classic mother sauces use roux, and it’s impossible to make a great biscuits and sausage gravy without it. Roux is traditional when making creamy sauces for chicken potpie or cheese sauces for baked mac and cheese and nacho cheese sauce. It’s also essential to Cajun-inspired dishes like crawfish étouffée or savory seafood gumbo.

Roux can also help you make creamy soup without using cream. You can easily turn a soup like tomato bisque into a thick and creamy concoction by adding a little roux.

How to Store a Roux

To save your roux for later, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. A roux will be good for up to one week in the fridge.

Can you make a roux ahead of time?

Make-ahead roux is the secret to perfect homemade gravy! To make it ahead, prepare the roux and let it cool slightly. Keep it in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to use it, up to one week.

Can you freeze a roux?

To freeze a roux, place dollops of roux onto a sheet pan or hack an ice cube tray to freeze your roux. Once frozen, place the roux in a freezer bag and keep it for up to six months. You can use frozen roux straight out of the freezer or thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.

Tips for Making a Roux

How do you avoid lumps in recipes made with a roux?

To prevent lumps when adding liquids to a roux, always add cold liquid to a hot roux (or use a cold roux with hot liquids). If both the roux and the liquid are hot, the mixture will clump up quickly and become lumpy.

What is a dry roux?

Dry roux is simply toasted flour. You can make it in a skillet on the stovetop or bake it in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes. Either way, make sure to stir it occasionally to get an even color, and only cook until the flour just starts to brown.

What can you substitute for flour in a roux?

You can use gluten-free baking flour with xanthan gum instead of all-purpose flour, as we do in our gluten-free bechamel recipe. Or, if you want to keep the nutty flavor of a roux, try swapping in sweet rice flour for wheat flour. Sweet rice flour is ground from glutinous rice, giving the roux the same silky texture as regular flour.

For alternative thickening methods, try making a cornstarch or arrowroot slurry. Instead of adding the slurry at the beginning of the cooking time, add these thickeners to your recipe at the end.

How do you keep a roux from burning?

The best way to keep a roux from burning is to cook it over medium heat and stir the mixture continuously. That will stop clumps from forming and keep the flour from sticking to the bottom of the pan (and burning). If your roux accidentally burns, there’s no way to fix it. The burned flour will impart an acrid flavor and aroma to any finished dish, so it’s best to throw away the burned roux and start over.