Beef Consommé Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 17, 2026 
This homemade beef consommé recipe is one of my favorite secret ingredients for creating restaurant-quality soups, sauces, and gravies. I love how the clarification process creates a beautifully clear broth with incredibly rich, savory flavor. It may look fancy, but it’s easier to make than most people think, and delicious enough to enjoy straight from a mug.
Raise your hand if you’re ready to upgrade your cooking game with a bowl of beautifully clear and seriously flavorful beef consommé! This timeless classic isn’t just for fancy French restaurants; it’s a game-changer for homemade soups, sauces, and so much more. And the best part? You can make it right at home with just a handful of ingredients and a little patience. Trust me, the effort is worth it when you taste that first spoonful of silky, aromatic broth. Like my homemade beef gravy recipe, this dish is all about simplicity and versatility. While we’re sticking to a traditional beef consommé, you can easily adapt it to suit your needs. Swap the beef for veal, adjust the seasonings to your taste, or use it as a base for everything from ramen to French onion soup. Plus, making your own means no preservatives, just pure, clean flavors.
Richard – First time making this with my home made beef stock. Amazing flavors. The science on this is spot on! Thank you for sharing❤️
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Bold Beef Flavors – This clear and savory beef consommé delivers seriously bold beefy flavors. Using just a handful of simple and staple ingredients, you can make a restaurant-worthy broth right at home that takes any dish to the next level.
Great Snack – Most of us don’t think of broth as a snack, but this beef consommé is the perfect pick me up hot drink. I always warm it up and pour it into my favorite mug, especially on cooler days when I’m craving something savory, light, and packed with nutrients.
Versatile for Everyday Recipes – From a classic beef stew recipe to a more decadent smothered steak recipe, this broth is a great base for building a ton of everyday recipes. Whether you’re making soups, stews or gravies, this yummy liquid will transform any dish.
Ingredients You Need
- Beef stock – A good-quality cold beef stock is the key to making any good beef consommé. It enhances the savory and beefy flavors of the other ingredients.
- Lean ground beef – You can use either a lean ground beef or veal. Both help to enrich the broth and seriously intensify all of the flavors. The leaner the better!
- Egg – To make this recipe, you will just use the egg whites. They help to catch debris and create that crystal-clear quality as the broth cooks.
- Onion – I love to use white onion because it adds the perfect amount of subtle sweetness to every slurp.
- Tomato – Fresh tomatoes add color and acidity. I recommend staying away from the pre-pureed versions because they’re heavy on preservatives.
- Celery – For a little earthiness and that classic stock flavor, celery is a must!
- Seasonings – Bay leaves and dried thyme add a beautiful aromatic finish to this broth that help bind together all the flavors.
How to Make
Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Dice and chop – To start off this beef consommé, I chop up the onions, tomatoes, celery sticks and carrots. I like to finely dice them, and while I’m doing that, I also pop the beef stock into the fridge so that it gets nice and cool.
Fill up the pot – Then, I grab a pot and I add in the ground meat, veggies, egg whites and seasoning. Make sure to keep the heat off during this step!
Mix – I mix everything up until it’s combined, and last I pour in the chilled beef stock. It looks weird, but trust me, this is how you get amazing depth of flavor.
Heat and stir – Then, I turn up the heat to medium-low and I keep mixing until the liquid is ABOUT to boil. Once it reaches that point, I stop stirring. Then I let the mixture simmer on low for 90-100 minutes. What happens now is amazing… The egg and meat parts rise to the top like a strangely appealing flavor-raft, and what’s left underneath is that crystal clear consommé.
Sift – Once the consommé is done cooking, I pour it carefully through cheese cloth strainer to separate any meat and veggie particals from the liquid. If the “raft” is intact, you can lift it off before doing this.
Cool – Let the consommé cool and then pour it into jars. I always leave about an inch of space at the top of the jar in case I freeze it.
Recipe Variations
- Beef bones – You can also add in beef bones to enhance the meaty flavors of this broth.
- Spices – Mix in some peppercorns and garlic into the mixture for added flavors.
- Mushrooms – For some more earthy flavors, add in dried mushrooms or the porcini variety.
- Red wine – A splash of red wine adds more robust and deeper flavors to this consommé.
Suggestions for How to Use Beef Consommé
Homemade consommé is terrific to use in any recipe that calls for beef broth! For deliciously deep flavor, I suggest adding it to any of these dishes below.
- Best Beef Stew Recipe
- Smoked Prime Rib with Au Jus
- French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Italian Beef
- Beef Lentil Stew
Storing
Store the room-temperature liquid in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 7 days. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Beef broth is a savory liquid made with a combination of red meat and veggies. The ingredients are cooked together so that the liquid is infused with flavor; the remaining large pieces of meat and veg are removed before serving or preserving.
The beginning process for broth and consommé are similar. However, consommé also includes egg whites to create a “raft” to which the debris clings. Everything is poured through both cheesecloth and a metal strainer, so (ideally) there isn’t a single bit of debris remaining and all that remains is a completely clear liquid. Another difference in beef consommé vs beef broth is that beef consommé has a more concentrated flavor!
Yes, you can. It is common to serve as a light and flavorful soup course for elegant multi-course meals.
No. We only use cold beef stock in this classic recipe. You can mix in water to the concentrated liquid before adding it to recipes in place of regular beef broth, but it isn’t necessary to do so and this will greatly dilute the flavor. Beef consommé vs beef broth is not even a competition, beef consommé will always have more flavor!
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More Classic Sauce Recipes
Beef Consommé Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 quarts beef stock cold
- 1 pound lean ground beef of veal or finely chopped beef or veal
- ¾ cup egg whites about 5 eggs
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced fresh tomato
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Place the beef stock in the refrigerator while you are prepping the vegetables. Finely diced the onions, tomatoes, celery, and carrots.
- Set a 6 to 8-quart tall soup pot on the stovetop. (Leave the heat off.) Add in the ground meat, mirepoix (diced vegetables), egg whites, bay leaves, dried thyme, and salt.
- Stir to combine until the egg whites are mixed throughout all the meat and vegetables. Then gently pour the beef stock into the pot. Stir well.
- Turn the heat on medium-low. Continue to stir the mixture for several minutes until the liquid is hot and the consommé is about to boil. Then STOP stirring, and do not stir the pot again. Keep the consommé at a low simmer and continue to simmer for 90-100 minutes. The egg and meat mixture will rise to the top and create a “raft” that collects debris and helps to clarify the consommé. Try not to disturb the raft. Sometimes it will stay in one whole circular piece, but sometimes it will break into several larger pieces. Just leave it alone and allow it to flavor and filter the consommé as it simmers.
- Once the consommé has simmered for at least 90 minutes, place a piece of cheese cloth in a large mesh strainer. Carefully pour the consommé into the strainer to remove the raft and any other pieces that have loosened as it simmered.
- Once the consommé has cooled, pour into jars and store. If you plan to freeze the consommé for later use, make sure to leave 1-inch of air space at the top of the jar to allow for expansion in the freezer.
I haven’t made this recipe yet, as I’m wondering if you can use the “raft” for anything after the consomme is done? I also make my own beef bone broth, but it gels up to the consistency of Jell-O when it’s chilled, would I be able to use my own home-made bone broth?
Hi Heidi,
Yes, you can absolutely use the raft for another dish if you’d like… Maybe throw it in a tomato-based pasta sauce or chili? And your homemade bone broth should work well too, as long as it’s nice and cold before you start.
First time making this with my home made beef stock. Amazing flavors. The science on this is spot on! Thank you for sharing❤️
Is there any purposeful use for the “raft” after making the consomme?
Hi Clyda,
Well, technically the raft is made up of beef, fat, and veggies, so it could be repurposed for sure. It would be great to throw in chili or meat sauce!
Great easy recipe that delivers quality consommé.
Thank you, it was the first time making it. It’s very tasty 😋, will make it again but double the amount.
I’m new to this beef consommé and I’m very satisfied with the outcome! So yummy and flavorful.
If i had known how easy this is to make I would never buy from the store. The flavor is amazing! Thank you so much.
I am SO glad that I found this recipe! It has come in so handy and I’ve used it a ton now!