---
title: "Velouté: what it means in cooking — Tiny Plates"
description: "Velouté is a French mother sauce of light stock thickened with a blond roux. It is silky and pale, and it is the base of cream sauces for chicken and fish."
url: "https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/veloute"
---

# Velouté

Velouté is a French mother sauce of light stock thickened with a blond roux. It is silky and pale, and it is the base of cream sauces for chicken and fish.

Also called Veloute, Sauce velouté.

Velouté, French for "velvety", is a smooth, pale sauce made from a light [stock](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/stock) thickened with a blond [roux](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/roux). It is one of the five French [mother sauces](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/mother-sauces). Chicken velouté is the most common, but veal and fish versions are also made. On menus, a "velouté" can also be a smooth, creamy soup.

## How to do it

For about 500 ml (2 cups):

1. Warm 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) of light chicken, veal or fish stock.
2. In another pan, melt 30 g (2 tablespoons) of butter. Stir in 30 g (1/4 cup) of flour.
3. Cook over medium-low heat for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring, until the roux is pale gold and smells like popcorn.
4. Whisk in the warm stock a little at a time until smooth.
5. Simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, skimming off any skin, until it is reduced and coats a spoon.
6. Strain and season with salt and white pepper.

## How to tell it is done

The sauce is smooth, glossy and ivory colored, coats the back of a spoon, and tastes of the stock rather than flour.

## How to use it

Velouté is mostly a base. Common small sauces:

* **Suprême**: chicken velouté with cream and a squeeze of lemon, for poached chicken.
* **Allemande**: veal velouté thickened with an egg yolk and cream [liaison](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/liaison).
* **White wine sauce**: fish velouté made with [fumet](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/fumet), wine and butter, for fish.

It also thickens chicken pot pie filling and cream of mushroom soup.

## How to store it

Cool it, press plastic wrap on the surface, and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. Whisk well while reheating.

## Common mistakes

* Using a weak or salty stock. The stock is most of the flavor.
* Browning the roux too far, which gives a beige sauce and a nutty taste.
* Cutting the simmering short, which leaves a floury, gluey sauce.

## In recipes

It differs from [béchamel](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/bechamel) only in the liquid. Béchamel uses milk, velouté uses stock.

## Related terms

* [Mother saucesThe five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, sauce tomate and hollandaise. Learning them lets you make hundreds of other sauces.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/mother-sauces)
* [RouxA roux is equal weights of flour and fat cooked together to thicken sauces, soups and gravies. Cook it white, blond or brown depending on the dish.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/roux)
* [StockStock is an unsalted liquid made by simmering bones, vegetables and aromatics in water for hours. It is the base of soups, sauces, gravy and risotto.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/stock)
* [FumetFumet is a quick, concentrated fish stock made from white fish bones, wine and aromatics. It cooks in 30 minutes and is the base of fish sauces and soups.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/fumet)
* [BéchamelBéchamel is a smooth white sauce of milk thickened with a butter and flour roux. It is the base for lasagna, mac and cheese, gratins and croque monsieur.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/bechamel)
* [LiaisonA liaison is a mix of egg yolks and cream stirred into a hot sauce or soup at the end to thicken and enrich it. Temper it first so the yolks do not curdle.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/liaison)

[More in sauces and stocks](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/category/sauces-and-stocks)[Every term from A to Z](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary)