What can I make with flour and butter?
Flour and Butter is what makes a sauce feel finished, as long as it does not split. Recipes using flour and butter are below, followed by the temperature rules that keep it smooth.
12 recipes with flour and butter
Breakfast Quesadilla
Scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa folded into a toasted flour tortilla.
Mexican-American15m2
Croque Monsieur
French ham and cheese sandwich with bechamel and broiled gruyere.
French20m2Chicken Quesadilla
Cheesy chicken tucked in a griddled flour tortilla.
Mexican-American20m4Stovetop Mac & Cheese
Ultra-creamy macaroni with sharp cheddar and gruyère.
American25m6Dutch Baby Pancake
Puffed oven pancake with lemon and powdered sugar.
German-American25m3
Chocolate Lava Cake
Individual cakes with molten chocolate centers.
French-American27m4
Churros
Crisp fried dough sticks rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Spanish30m6Crepes
Paper-thin French pancakes for sweet or savory fillings.
French35m4
Brownies
Fudgy chocolate squares with a shiny crackly top.
American38m16Vanilla Cupcakes
Moist and delicious vanilla cupcakes topped with creamy buttercream frosting
American38m12
Buffalo Cauliflower
Oven-crisped cauliflower tossed in tangy buffalo sauce.
American40m4
New England Clam Chowder
Creamy potato and clam soup studded with bacon.
American45m6
Cooking with flour and butter without splitting or clumping
- 1Bring flour and butter closer to room temperature before it meets heat; cold dairy in a hot pan is what curdles.
- 2Add it off the heat or on the lowest setting, stirring constantly.
- 3A teaspoon of flour or cornstarch stabilises a sauce and keeps it glossy.
- 4Salt and acid go in at the end - both encourage splitting when added early.
What goes well with flour and butter
Flour and Butter is at its best with garlic, herbs, lemon, flour, black pepper and nutmeg. Any two or three of those, plus flour and butter, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing flour and butter
Keep flour and butter in the main body of the fridge, not the door, where the temperature swings most. Wrap cheese in paper rather than plastic so it can breathe. Hard cheeses freeze acceptably for cooking; fresh dairy does not freeze well.
Substituting flour and butter
If you are out of flour and butter, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Flour and Butter recipes: common questions
- What can I make with flour and butter and not much else?
- Plenty. With flour and butter plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest flour and butter recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute flour and butter?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover flour and butter?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover flour and butter without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.