Learn how to make Bordelaise sauce with this easy recipe. A classic French sauce that is tangy and flavorful. Perfect to drizzle on top of grilled steak or beef tenderloin.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Platings + Pairings.
Interested in more sauce recipes? Try out my Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe, Bearnaise Sauce Recipe or Butter Roasted Tomato Sauce.
Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce, much like Bearnaise sauce, usually made with red wine and shallots. Traditionally, this sauce uses dry red wine from the Bordeaux region in Southwest France. Bordeaux tend to be some of the most expensive wines in the world, however, and can be subbed with cabernet sauvignon or merlot.
This tangy and savory sauce is perfection drizzled on top of sous vide ribeye steak, Traeger smoked steak or filet mignon. (Just a small portion goes a long way!) It is also an excellent addition to roasted or crispy smashed potatoes.
This particular recipe does not go the traditional route with bordelaise sauce – using veal or marrow. Preferring to use beef bone broth or stock instead. This makes the recipe not only quicker to make but it also does not lose any flavor.
Ingredients needed
- Dry Red Wine – Here are my 13+ favorite red wines for cooking.
- Shallots – You’ll typically find shallots near the garlic in your grocery store. If you can’t find shallots, you can substitute a small amount of onion in its place.
- Thyme – I used dried thyme, but you can also use fresh thyme. Substitute 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme for the dried thyme.
- Bay Leaf – This is optional, but adds additional flavor to your sauce.
- Beef Bone Broth or Stock – See my notes below.
- Butter
- Flour
- Salt & Pepper
Note: This recipe is non-traditional, since we are not using veal or demi glace. Instead, I swapped in some beef bone broth or stock since it is more readily available. I like to make bone broth in the slow cooker or instant pot.
How to make bordelaise sauce
To a small saucepan, add wine, shallots, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the mixture reduces by half, about 10 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to a boil again. Continue cooking until this mixture reduces by half, 15-20 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Return the strained sauce to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and flour until smooth. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk until thickened. Enjoy immediately.
How to make ahead & store
- This sauce can be made up to three days ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, add to a saucepan and heat over medium-low until warmed through.
How to use bordelaise sauce
This sauce is delicious drizzled over any steak. Try one of these favorites:
- Sous Vide Ribeye Steak
- Air Fryer Filet Mignon
- Sous Vide Filet Mignon
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites Recipe
- Traeger Steak
Side dishes for steak
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze
- Glazed Carrots
- Roasted Miso Cauliflower
- Easy Arugula Salad
- MORE → 50+ of the best sides for steak
Wine pairings for steak
- Bordeaux
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Merlot
More homemade sauce recipes
- Mustard Sauce for Steak
- Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
- Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Steak Diane
- Red Wine Sauce
- Chimichurri Sauce
- Bearnaise Sauce Recipe
- MORE → 17+ steak sauces
Did you try this recipe for bordelaise sauce?
If you loved thought this was the best bordelaise sauce recipe, I would appreciate it so much if you would leave a ⭐️star review⭐️! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook.
Classic Bordelaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry red wine
- ½ cup minced shallots ((1 large or 2 medium shallots))
- ¼ tsp dried thyme ((or ½ teaspoon fresh thyme) )
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups beef bone broth or stock
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To a small saucepan, add wine, shallots, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the mixture reduces by half, about 10 minutes.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil again. Continue cooking until this mixture reduces by half, 15-20 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Return the strained sauce to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and flour until smooth. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk until thickened. Enjoy immediately.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2021. It was updated in 2024 to add new information. The easy bordelaise sauce recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Great colour and consistency! After the meal, we experimented with sugar and salt content. We concluded that the sauce needed more of both (likely dependent on the wine used in the recipe). Also prepped the sauce up to the point of adding the butter/flour mixture and then let it sit prior to thickening just prior to serving. This is the stage where I would add sugar/salt, if needed.
Loved it will now try the classic way with veal and demi glaze we live in england and love french recipes thank you for such a simple recipe but really tasty
Thank you Terry!
I used a can of consume and added enough water to make 2c. Didn’t add any salt and it came out delicious!
I pan seared my steak and removed the steak to slow cook in the oven and made the sauce in the same pan, you strain it anyway so I thought why not, fantastic
Using the fond from the meat makes it perfect, your salt situation is solved since all of the seasonings from the meat are in the pan.
I made a single portion of this to go with a piece of sirloin steak and it was perfect and delicious. It had a lovely gloss and consistency. Often reducing the quantity of a sauce does not work but this one beat the trend and was splendid. I will definitely repeat it.
Thank you so much Christine!
thank you for this reminder of a true classic, and I’ve been eating my steak sans sauce lately! This will be a nice change