;

How to Make a Gluten-Free Roux

* View or print the recipe only with the “Print Recipe” or “Jump to Recipe” links above.

But if you do, you’ll miss out on a lot of great info!

GfreeDeliciously is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read our affiliate policy to learn more.

Roux (pronounced “roo”) is a primary cooking method for thickening various gravies, soups, and sauces. An alternative to using cornstarch, it’s made by combining equal parts (by weight) of fat and flour, then adding the mixture to milk or stock. It’s also an easy culinary skill to master at home!

How to Thicken Gravies and Sauces Like a Chef

What exactly is a roux, and what is it used for?

As the silent x in its name implies, Roux is an essential core of the French cooking method. It’s the base thickening agent for three classic French mother sauces and the foundation for countless recipes. Many cooks and chefs agree that Roux is the alpha “the beginning” of many great sauces and gravy. It is also a staple of many Cajun and Creole recipes tied to Louisiana’s history and traditions, which are widely known as being rooted deep in French culinary influences.

A roux in making

ABOUT THIS RECIPE (per serving)

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Gluten FreeNut FreeEgg Free
Servings:  1 recipe
AVG. Maker RATING: 
5 from 1 vote
Write a Recipe Review
Prep Time :0 minutes
Cook Time :0 minutes
Prep time: 1 to 20+ minutes :0 minutes
Total Time :20 minutes
Course : Accompaniment, Ingredient, Sauce
Cuisine : American, Cajun, Creole, French, Southern
Diet : Gluten Free
Calories 507
Fat 47
Carbohydrates 22
Protein 4

Roux as An Alternative to Cornstarch

Many cooks may already know about thickening sauces and gravies with cornstarch – Mixing one tablespoon of the white powdery substance with one tablespoon of cold water to make a slurry for blending into each cup of liquid to make a medium-thick sauce.

If you have someone in the family with a gluten allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity, or for someone with celiac disease, cornstarch is an essential pantry staple to substitute for wheat-based flour as a thickening agent. But cornstarch isn’t your only option to use as a gluten-free thickener.

When it comes to thickening gravy,  soup, and other sauce-based recipes like casseroles and many Cajun and Creole dishes, making a gluten-free roux (a mixture of gluten-free flour and fat) as a base will add extra creaminess and density, which, in turn, helps to incorporate the other fatty ingredients into the finished product.

How to Thicken #HomemadeGravy and #RouxSauce Like a Chef - Make this #GlutenFree #BasicSauce #RouxRecipe #Food #Recipe

The Importance of a Roux…

Learning to make roux adds another technique to your cooking skills, which allows you to thicken various dishes as a chef would.

Many years ago, it was one of the first methods I learned to cook, adding it to milk or stock to make things like gravies and creamy bases for soups and casseroles. But after tasting the cooked butter and flour mixture straight from the pan, it only tasted like a nearly flavorless, greasy, thickened paste.

Initially, I didn’t understand the sophistication of the roux.

It wasn’t until the pasty mixture was added to the liquid that the experimentation of cooking with it made sense.

That fantastic discovery sparked my curiosity about what more I could do with it.

Through cooking trials, I learned that whisking this “paste” into a simple liquid like milk, mixing in some cheese, and a dash of fresh ground nutmeg could suddenly transform what began as an experiment into something wildly delicious, like super creamy and flavorful mac and cheese.

That’s when I fell in love with the puffy paste base made from butter and flour.

Finally, I got it – the toasty, buttery, nutty-tasting roux made everything noticeably better. It was about its magical powers to incorporate and bind ingredients into a heavenly homogeneous sauce, gravy, or soup.

For that incorporation to happen, everything depended upon the development of a roux.

Adding the magical roux to the milk or stock provided the concentration and consistency needed for elevating these mixtures of ingredients – transforming them, melding them, seamlessly so that the cheese, cream, drippings, fresh herbs, spices, vegetables, and other elements stirred or whisked together became drawn into the silky, velvety sauce or gravy as if they’d always belonged there – waiting, wanting to be devoured.

Thickening Sauces and Gravies with Roux

Making a roux pronounced “roo” – (Not to be confused with “Roo,” the baby of Kanga in the famous childhood story.) is a primary cooking base mixture for thickening sauces and soups. It’s made by combining equal parts of fat and flour by weight, then adding it to the milk, stock, or other liquid. It’s the base for making several classic sauces such as Bechamel or Velouté, Mornay, or Espagnole sauce. The plan is to eventually make all those sauces into recipes featured elsewhere on this blog.

But in the meantime, I want to talk about the fat and the flour…

Become a Free Basic Pass subscriber with a site membership to GfreeDeliciously to get access to the rest of this post and other subscriber-only content.

GET RECIPES • RESOURCES • + eNEWS UPDATES
& MORE STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX !

An artful gluten-free home, health, and cooking eNewsletter. Get recipes, resources, +eNews updates, and even more – for all food lovers gathered at the same table… Only from GfreeDeliciously!

[Content protected for GfreeDeliciously PASS MEMBERS only. Please sign up or log in to continue reading the protected post content.]

P.S. When you try this recipe, let us know how you like it! Leave a comment below, share it, and rate it – it’s super helpful for other readers and us. Just click the blue-green comment bubble on the bottom left of your screen to jump to the comment area below.

Be among the first to know whenever we post a new recipe by following us on PinterestFacebookInstagram, and Twitter. So follow along, and let’s make food GfreeDeliciously together!

PIN IT! Click the red icon in the upper left corner of this picture to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Ad

Learn how to adjust the serving size, CLICK HERE

How to Make a Gluten-Free Roux

Kymberley @GFreeDeliciously
Roux (pronounced “roo”) is a primary cooking method for thickening various gravies, soups, and sauces. An alternative to using cornstarch, it’s made by combining equal parts (by weight) of fat and flour, then adding the mixture to milk or stock. It’s also an easy culinary skill to master at home!
Please read the Recipe Notes footnote below before making a roux. [1]
5 from 1 vote
Gluten FreeNut FreeEgg Free
Prep Time 0 mins
Cook Time 0 mins
Prep time: 1 to 20+ minutes 0 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Accompaniment, Ingredient, Sauce
Cuisine American, Cajun, Creole, French, Southern
Servings 1 recipe
Calories 507 kcal

Equipment

  • Saucepan or Skillet
  • Utensils (Whisk, Measuring Cups & Spoons, Rubber Spatula or Large Spoon)
Add Ingredients to Shopping List or Order them Online

Ingredients
 
 

Light Sauce

Medium Sauce

Heavy Sauce

Instructions
 

The Stages of Cooking a Butter or Neutral Oil Roux

  • White Roux - Cook for 1 to 2 minutes: When done, a white roux mixture will be very light in color and look slightly puffy. Used white roux for making white sauces like sausage gravy or bechamel sauce, and it’s the perfect thickener for mac and cheese.
    Blond Roux – Cook for about 3 minutes: As the butter and flour fully incorporate, a blond roux mixture will smell almost nutty, and the appearance will also look puffy. This roux is an excellent base for lighter sauces like velouté, the sauce for Étouffée, or light gravies.
    Light Brown Roux – Cook for 5 to 8 minutes: At this stage, the roux becomes darker with a color close to the color of peanut butter after toasting and cooking. It is perfect for making savory sauces and thicker gravies.
    Dark Brown Roux – Cook for up to 20+ minutes of gentle cooking: The darkest roux. This deep dark brown thickener is excellent for making Cajun and Creole gumbos and stews. Because of its long cook time, you’ll want to use clarified butter, ghee, lard, or a high smoke point oil instead of fresh butter pats, so the oil is less likely to become bitter or burn.

How to Make the Roux

  • Melt butter (Neutral Oil, Lard, or Fat drippings) in a medium-sized saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat.
  • Whisk the flour into the butter or oil, allowing it to simmer to cook the flour.

To make Gravy or Sauce

  • Incorporate the cooked roux by whisking it into 4 cups (liquid measurement), such as hot milk or stock, to make gravy or sauce or stir it into soups or stews to thicken them. Once thickened, the last step is to season it according to your recipe or taste.

Video

Recipe Notes

Footnote(s)
[1] The most important thing to be aware of in making roux is the measurements because they are by weight. It’s best to weigh the fat and the flour to get the proper ratio. If you measure out equal parts of fat (i.e., ½ cup of butter and ½ cup of flour), the balance of fat to flour will be thrown off, and you will end up with a roux that won’t correctly thicken whatever you’re making.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 29gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 365mgPotassium: 14mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1418IUCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg
Keyword All-Purpose-Flour, avocado oil, Bacon Fat, Butter, canola oil, coconut oil, Dairy-Free Butter, Fat Drippings, flour, grapeseed oil, Lard, Neutral Oil, oil, olive oil, Vegan Butter, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening
Tried this recipe?Review it ! Or leave a comment. It’s super helpful for others and us!

Recipe Card with Nutrition powered by WP Recipe Maker

(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)

Copyright © 2017-2022 Kymberley Pekrul | GfreeDeliciously | gfreedeliciously.com | All content and photographs are copyright protected. The sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. However, copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please read my Photo Use Policy for detailed guidelines and further clarification.

RECIPE TAGS:

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

SIGN UP TO GET TASTY, TRIED & TESTED GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES
FROM GfreeDeliciously STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.

Ad

Did you fix this recipe? Share your mealtime LVE

If you have given it a try, let us know how you like it!

Leave a comment below, share it, and rate it – it’s super helpful for other readers and us. Just click the blue-green comment bubble on your screen’s bottom-right to jump to the comment area.

And as always, don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #CookingGfreeDeliciously on Instagram. We love seeing what you cook up!

WE WANNA SEE !

Where there's a whisk, there's always a way to enjoy it gluten-free...

Kymberley @gfreedeliciously

Kymberley @gfreedeliciously

Hi, I'm Kymberley, the creator of GfreeDeliciously and the Amazing, Glorious Journey Programs. I pray that my work will inspire you to honor your body through God and Good Food from the inside out, all while enjoying your Amazing, Glorious Journey!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Take a peek at the behind
G-Free Deliciously

Being creative, cooking, fresh veggies, the violin, decorating for holidays, sewing, hand-quilting, cowgirl boots, country music, fresh herbs in pots, blowing dandelions to the wind, walking barefoot in the grass, hanging out with eclectic interesting people, reading, writing, warm lazy summer days, and yoga!

Gluten, cilantro, mixed vegetables (the frozen kind I grew up with), negativism, rudeness, narcissism, overstaying a welcome,
not helping out, liars, promiscuity, cockiness, know-it-alls, being overly-dramatic, goal-less-ness, poor hygiene, chauvinism, lacking a sense of humor, excessive competitiveness, Laziness, horrifying spellers, people-bashing, criticism and mockery of others and their beliefs, flakiness (because flaky people are really unappealing), more swagger than substance, people who constantly manage others (those folks who think they have all the answers…)

Lambrusco, my iPad, popcorn suppers, dark chocolate, cookbooks, Almond-Rocca, historical romances, sun-bathing, weekend coffee with a good book in bed, PBS cooking shows, romantic comedies, cozy sweaters, fuzzy socks, and fragrant bubble baths with soft music and wine…

Say please and thank you, LAUGH, Pray often, ENCOURAGE others, Be KIND, HONEST, HAPPY, Keep your PROMISES, Be GRATEFUL, Wash your hands, FORGIVE yourself and others, LISTEN, Have FAITH, Be CONFIDENT, Honor your parents, CHERISH your children and grandchildren, TREASURE your family, ABIDE in GOD’s love, Be POLITE, Guard your HEART, SEEK your purpose, FEED your mind, body and soul, Be HOPEFUL, Resist temptation, Lay your burdens down, TRUST your gut, CONNECT with nature, Know that GOD made you perfect just the way you are, SERVE others, LIVE to love, Be COURAGEOUS, Shine bright, OPEN your mind, RESPECT differences, HONOR your inner hunger, SING loud, Be PROUD of who you are, Practice PATIENCE, Never give up, WEATHER the storms of life, Say I love you, LOVE one another

  • I’ve traveled to 32 states in the USA where I’ve enjoyed the food, history, people and the local culture while visiting.
  • Among the states, I’ve lived in are Arizona, California, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
  • My favorite island is Maui.
  • I’ve also been to Canada and Mexico.
  • I rode horses as a kid, and barrel-raced.
  • I broke my neck when I was 18 and went to senior prom in a neck brace.
  • As a little girl, I grew up living next door to my grandma and grandpa on a small lake in rural southern Michigan.
  • The first thing I learned to cook was pancakes.
  • The craziest thing I ever made was mint-flavored green cupcakes when I was 13. My family didn’t like them much…
  •  

Share the L♥VE

Thanks for stopping by

Kymberley @gfreedeliciously
Coach | Cook | Creator | Publisher

I'm so happy you're here,

I’ve always loved food. I’ve loved to think about it, write about it, and talk about it. Then suddenly, one day, everything I thought I knew about nourishing my body changed when I discovered I was celiac. So, I re-learned how to eat, cook, and navigate through life gluten-free – trusting God and His plan for me.

Gfree cooking, health, and wellness ARE now my life. And this little corner of the internet is where I share what I’ve learned – Where my passion IS to nourish everyday GfreeDeliciously!

FOLLOW US

Signup for a FREE Basic Pass +eNEWS UPDATES

GfreeDeliciously's Playing with Food

An artful gluten-free home, health, and cooking eNewsletter with recipes and more – for all food lovers gathered at the same table…

Learn more about our SUBSCRIPTION PLANS!

FEATURED

- Most Popular Right Now -

VIDEO

Follow Me

When You Support

Our Advertisers

You Support Us

Thank You!

Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I use all of the products listed and recommend them because they are companies that I have found helpful and trustworthy. Please let me know if you have any questions! More about affiliate links HERE…

Bringing you an Alway Gluten-Free
Better Food Experience!

– ADVERTISEMENT –

– ADVERTISEMENT –

– ADVERTISEMENT –

.

– ADVERTISEMENT –

– ADVERTISEMENT –

– ADVERTISEMENT –

– ADVERTISEMENT –

300 x 250 logo

– ADVERTISEMENT –

ARCHIVES

– BY MONTH & YEAR –
– CATEGORIES –

Clean Eating
(for real life)

Get the ULTIMATE Guide to
Shopping for CLEAN FOOD & Buying Organic Food in the Market!

On G-Free Deliciously

More to explore...

Come back for new recipes weekly...

Powered by WishList Member - Membership Software

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

GET A FREE BASIC PASS
TO UNLOCK A WHOLE BUNCH
OF FREE STUFF

GET RECIPES • RESOURCES • + eNEWS UPDATES
& MORE STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX !

FREE when you sign up!

For our Playing with Food eNewsletter on GfreeDeliciously

READ IT FIRST >>

GfreeDeliciously's Playing with Food

An artful gluten-free home, health, and cooking eNewsletter with recipes and more – for all food lovers gathered at the same table…

NO Need to Look for Your Calculator:

Adjusting the serving size of recipes is easier than you may think.

To change the number of portions that a recipe makes go to the “Servings” quantity in the recipe section below. Hover over the servings amount and a slider box will appear above the amount. Slide the toggle to adjust the desired number of portions you want to make. Please note that when adjusting the serving amount the ingredient measures will change to decimal equivalents. Need help with cooking and recipe conversions? Head over to Good Cooking’s Cooking & Recipe Conversions Guide for their online collection of helpful links!

Get a FREE Basic Pass

To unlock a whole lot of free stuff...

GET RECIPES • RESOURCES • + eNEWS UPDATES
& MORE STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX !

FREE when you sign up!

For our Playing with Food eNewsletter on GfreeDeliciously

READ IT FIRST >>

GfreeDeliciously's Playing with Food

An artful gluten-free home, health, and cooking eNewsletter with recipes and more – for all food lovers gathered at the same table…

Click to Print Recipe

The “Print Recipe” link above will ONLY WORK on a recipe page.