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 soup and stew and very easy to make. This beurre manié recipe will show you how to make beurre manié so you can thicken your soups and stews perfectly each time.
About this butter and flour thickener
Beurre manie, pronounced bur-manay, in case you where a little tongue tied with this one, is my favorite way to thicken so many dishes.
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.
An easier way to make the beurre manié is to mix the flour and butter together in a bowl which is a lot less messy and very easy to do.
How to make Beurre Manié
Making a Small Batch of Beurre Manie
If you are looking to make just little beurre manie to thicken one dish or soup, this part is for you.
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.
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.
Making a Large Batch of Beurre Manie
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 you recipe, just slice a portion of the hardened flour and butter mixture off of the big batch and add it to your recipe. This may come in handy for someone who works in a restaurant, soup kitchen or someone who plans to do lots of entertaining at the holidays.
To make a large batch just double, triple (or more) the recipe below.
I would suggest storing the beurre manie in the fridge for only a week covered. After that and the flour will begin to age and turn grey.
Faqs about beurre manié
For a large soup or stew I generally will use 2 tablespoons of butter and flour to make this thickener.
A roux is also a flour and butter thickener but the difference between that and beurre manie is that a roux is lightly cooked and beurre manie is not.
Recipes that use this flour and butter thickener
- Beef Bourguignon in The Slow Cooker
- Provencal Beef Stew
- Texas Chili
- Dutch Oven Beef Stew
- Peach Cobbler with Pie Crust
More French Recipes
If you love this beurre manie, you may also like these:
Beurre Manié
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Room temperature unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon All purpose flour
Instructions
- Measure out 2 tablespoons of butter and place on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature.2 tablespoon Room temperature unsalted butter
- Once butter is room temperature (you should be able to press into the butter easily with your finger), add it to a small bowl.
- Now add the flour to the bowl with the butter.2 tablespoon All purpose flour
- Fold the flour and butter together with a spoon until all the flour is sticking to the butter.
- Now mix the flour and butter very well for about 1 minute until it forms a thick creamy paste.
- Add all of the beurre manié to soup or stew that you want to thicken a few minutes before serving. To do this just grab a small bowl, add the beurre manie and a few tablespoons of the hot liquid (from the soup, stew, or sauce you want thickened) and mix really well until combined. Pour this mixture into your soup or stew and mix well.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Lily says
Worked great! Thanks
Adrianna says
So helpful. I tried it in a soup over the weekend and it really is easy.
Melissa says
Very happy to hear that!
Danny says
Worked great! Why haven't I ever used this before 🙂
Melissa says
I felt that way too when I first learned about this 🙂
beth says
This was the exact recipe I needed for my stew! Thank you
Melissa says
You're welcome!