Espagnole Sauce
by Sommer Collier — on May 12, 2025 
This Espagnole Sauce is a rich and velvety French mother sauce that can be turned into a beef Demi Glacé gravy, and pairs beautifully with beef, potatoes and more.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Sauce is an important culinary skill for any home chef, and I absolutely love to make this slow-simmered Espagnole Sauce. It’s made with a blend of hearty vegetables, beef or veal stock, and tomato purée, cooked down into your choice of a thin sauce, or slightly thicker gravy consistency. It’s a rich and classic French sauce that is the backbone to so many delicious recipes!
Why You’ll Love This Espagnole Sauce
- Versatile – You can use this sauce as a base for Demi Glacé, stews and braises.
- Make ahead-friendly – Make big batches of this Espagnole Sauce and store it in the fridge or freezer.
- Bold flavors – This savory sauce is packed with bold and hearty flavors from the sautéed veggies, beef stock and tangy tomato purée.
You can serve it over all sorts of fabulous beef and pork dishes as-is, or you can use this Mother Sauce to create other popular sauces such as Sauce Chasseur (Hunter Sauce) and Demi Glacé, a darker and richer brown sauce.
Ingredients and Tips
- Butter – You will need softened, unsalted butter.
- Vegetables – Use roughly chopped carrots, onions, celery and garlic.
- All-purpose flour – The flour will help bind the sauce and give it that thick consistency.
- Beef stock – Use a good quality beef stock or bullion with water.
- Bay leaves – Dried bay leaves will give a delightfully earthy flavor.
- Whole black peppercorns – Leave these whole.
- Tomato puree – Again, use a high quality tomato purée or crushed tomatoes.
- For the Demi Glacé – Use red wine or sherry, fresh thyme leaves and more beef stock.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- Veal stock – Replace the beef stock with veal stock for a more traditional version of this sauce.
- Mushrooms – Add chopped mushrooms for a boost of umami flavor.
- Gluten-free – Use a GF flour to make the roux.
- Vegetarian – Swap the beef stock with a tasty vegetable stock.
How To Make Espagnole Sauce
To make this rich and luxurious Espagnole Sauce you need a few simple fresh ingredients and some time!
Find the full Espagnole Sauce recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Place Espagnole Sauce in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Leftovers – Store the cooled sauce in a freezer-safe container or in an ice cube tray, and store for 6 months.
- Reheating Leftovers – Reheat the sauce over low heat in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk occasionally until all lumps are removed.
Serving Suggestions
In addition to being fantastic on steaks and chops, both Espagnole sauce and Demi Glace are delicious with your favorite side dishes.
Pair this Espagnole sauce recipe with protein and gravy with mashed potatoes and hearty veggies for a complete meal. We love to bring some green goodness to the table and serve with simple vegetable sides, like:
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Roasted Broccoli
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
- Roasted Butternut Squash
- Garlic Butter Roasted Parsnips
Frequently Asked Questions
This Espagnole sauce recipe makes 4 cups of Espagnole Sauce and about 1 1/2 cups of Demi Glace. That way, you have some Espagnole Sauce left and some Demi Glace to use for different purposes. However, you can use all 4 cups of Espagnole Sauce to make 3 cups of Demi Glace if desired, by doubling the Demi Glace recipe.
Set a clean pot over medium heat. Add 2 cups of Espagnole sauce to the pot, followed by one cup of beef broth, one cup of wine or dry sherry, and a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat a little and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mixture has reduced by half. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the Demi Glace sauce through the strainer to remove any debris, so that the gravy is very smooth.
Spoon the demi-glace warm over cooked main dishes or serve as gravy on the side.
Demi Glace is a darker, richer brown sauce. It is made with Espagnole Sauce mixed with more beef/veal stock, and either red wine or sherry. It is cooked down again to create a dark color and stronger beefy flavor.
The big differences between the two sauces are the color variation and taste: The Espagnole sauce has more of a vegetable-forward flavor, whereas Demi Glace has a beefier flavor. Both are excellent gourmet toppings to serve with holiday beef and pork dishes, over roasted vegetables, or with mashed potatoes as “fancy gravy”.
Sure you Can! Here’s what you will need:
4 cups Espagnole or Demi Glace
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons butter
If you want to make Hunter Sauce, simply sauté sliced mushrooms in butter, about 5 minutes. Then pour in dry white wine, Espagnole Sauce, and tomato paste. Simmer to reduce and thicken for 15 minutes.
Pro Tip: Sauce Chasseur made with Espagnole will be lighter in color with a stronger vegetable flavor. Chasseur made with Demi Glace will be darker and beefier.
Similar Recipes You Might Like
Espagnole Sauce (Demi Glace Recipe)
Video
Ingredients
For Espagnole Sauce –
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups carrots roughly chopped
- 2 cups onion roughly chopped
- 2 cups celery roughly chopped
- 8-10 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 64 ounces beef stock
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ cup tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons salt
For Demi-Glace Sauce –
- 2 cups Espagnole Sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 cup red wine or sherry
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set a large 6 to 8 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Add the butter, chopped carrots, onions, celery, and garlic to the pot. Stir and sauté for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables. Then sprinkle the flour into the pot. Continue to stir and sauté the vegetables, creating a roux, until the roux is golden and smells toasty, about five more minutes. At this point the vegetables should be very soft.
- Pour in the beef stock, followed by the bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, tomato purée, and salt. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat if needed and continue to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to 1/3 of its original size. (You can leave the Espagnole sauce thinner, or cook it down to a gravy consistency. This is just a matter of personal preference or planned usage.)
- Set a mesh strainer over a large bowl. Ladle the sauce base into the strainer to remove all vegetable chunks and spices. The sauce should be smooth and fine. Taste, then salt as needed.
- To Make Demi Glace: Set a clean pot over medium heat. Add 2 cups of Espagnole Sauce to the pot, followed by one cup of beef broth, one cup of wine or dry sherry, and a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat a little and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mixture has reduced by half. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the demi-glace through the strainer to remove any debris, so that the demi-glace is very smooth.
Amazing! I served this with steak and we loved it. Loaded with so much flavor! Next time I will make it with pork chops!
Creamy & adds so much flavor!! I can’t imagine not having it on my meat!! Will definitely make again!!
what a great way to level up your dinner! thank you so much for sharing this amazingly easy recipe! it was fantastic!
One of my new go-to sauce recipes! I thought I will be having a hard time making this, thanks to you Sommer, I made it with this easy recipe. It turned out to be so delicious and satisfying. Highly recommended!