Beurre Manié (The Best Way To Thicken Soup and Stew)

Beurre manié is a French butter and flour thickener that consists of equal parts softened butter and flour. This flour and butter mixture is the best way to thicken stew and soup and is very easy to make.

About this butter and flour thickener

I wish I had known of this soup and stew thickener a long time ago. My sister-in-law who is a chef, recently taught me about this and it is so helpful with so many recipes.

Beurre manié is a simple French way of thickening soups and stews. It requires equal parts room temperature butter and flour that are mixed together until completely smooth.

Beurre manié means "kneaded butter" in French and the traditional way of mixing the flour and butter was to knead them together by hand.

I find it easier to make the beurre manié by mixing the flour and butter together in a bowl which is a lot less messy and very easy to do.

How to make Beurre Manié

• Bring Butter To Room Temperature: To make beurre manié you first want to take out butter that you are going to use for this recipe and let it come to room temperature. You want the butter to become nice and soft so it mixes well with the flour.
• Add Flour: Once the butter is at room temperature, add the butter and flour to a small bowl and begin to fold the flour and butter together with a spoon. Do this for a few minutes until there is no more loose flour. Once you have done that, use the spoon to mix the flour and butter together a little more. You want to mix for a good minute until it is completely smooth.

Recipe Tip:

Now, if you are looking to make a larger batch of this flour and butter thickener, you can do what the chefs do in restaurants which is to knead a large amount of flour and butter together and keep it in the fridge.

When you are ready to use the thickener for your recipe, just slice a portion of the hardened flour and butter mixture off of the big batch and add it to your recipe.

How To Thicken Stew and Soup With This Flour And Butter Mixture

Once you have made the flour and butter mixture, you only need a very little bit to thicken your stew or soup. I like to use about 2-3 tablespoons of this mixture for a large pot of soup or stew.

You can add more if you feel the consistency of your soup or stew needs to be thicker. Just add one more tablespoon at a time until the dish reaches the consistency you want.

You add the beurre manie at the very end of cooking.

Faqs

Storing

This flour and butter thickener for soups and stews can be made ahead of time. Just mix it up and then you can store it in a container with a lid or roll it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to one week.

You can also freeze the mixture in a freezer-proof bag for up to 2 months.

Some Soup And Stew Ideas

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