Seed Oil Free Herb Roux
Butter and flour — that's really all a great roux needs, and this one proves it. So many store-bought sauces and gravy mixes sneak in refined vegetable or seed oils, which makes building your own base from scratch the smartest move for anyone keeping those oils out of the kitchen. Here, unsalted butter does all the heavy lifting, giving you that rich, slightly nutty aroma as the paste cooks down to a pale straw color. The technique is straightforward: constant stirring, medium-low heat, and a little patience to cook out the raw flour taste before you ever add a drop of liquid. Optional fresh thyme and parsley lift the whole thing with a quiet herbal note that makes the finished sauce taste genuinely homemade. Once you have this in your back pocket, a silky béchamel or velouté is only a few whisks away — and you know exactly what went into every spoonful.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)
- 1 tsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat until fully melted and just beginning to foam, about 1 minute. Do not let it brown.
- 2
Add the flour all at once and stir immediately with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, working the mixture into a smooth paste. Continue stirring constantly for 2–3 minutes, until the roux smells faintly nutty and turns a pale straw color — it should pull away from the sides of the pan slightly and look dry on the surface.
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