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Learn How to Make Au Jus easily using beef drippings! This is the most delicious au jus recipe for prime rib recipes, roast chicken, noodles, French Dip sandwiches, and so much more. Ready in 5 minutes using 3 ingredients! You will never want to use an au jus gravy mix again.
Jump to:
- Best Au Jus Recipe
- What is au jus?
- What is the difference between au jus and gravy?
- Equipment
- Au Jus Ingredients
- Au Jus from Prime Rib
- Au Jus from Beef Chuck Roast
- Red Wine Substitute
- How to Make Au Jus
- FAQs
- Au Jus Recipe Ideas
- How to Make a French Dip Sandwich
- Easy Sauce Recipes
- 📌 Pin it for later!
- 📋 Recipe
- 💬 Reviews
Best Au Jus Recipe
Every year for Fall and Winter, I look forward to making my favorite roast beef recipes for my family. Instant pot pot roasts, slow cooker dutch oven roasts, or an entire standing rib roast… you name it!
No matter what cut of roast beef I’m preparing, one thing I always do is save the pan drippings to make au jus. There is nothing like this light and flavorful sauce for dipping your beef, reheating leftovers, and pairing with sandwiches.
This is my favorite au jus recipe. It’s simple to make in just 5 minutes, and adds so much flavor to the dish you’re pairing it with. Next time you have pan drippings from a roast or even from cooking chicken or turkey, trust me: make this au jus!
What is au jus?
Au jus is a French cooking term that literally means “with juice”. It refers to a light gravy made using fat drippings from meat like roast beef.
In French cooking, making au jus is a way to bring out more flavor in a dish, especially with beef, chicken, or lamb.
For American dishes, however, it generally refers to a light sauce made with roast beef drippings, and is a popular dipping sauce for recipes like a French Dip sandwich.
Au jus is sold as a gravy mix in a packet, but nothing beats making it from scratch with drippings, especially from prime rib.
What is the difference between au jus and gravy?
Although both are made using beef drippings, au jus is lighter than gravy, which is typically thickened with flour or cornstarch.
See our Slow Cooker Beef Gravy for an example of a thick gravy you can make using roast beef drippings.
Equipment
All you will need to make au jus is a pan and a whisk or wooden spoon to stir. A wooden spoon works best for scraping the brown bits up from the pan, if you’re using your roasting pan.
We make our au jus entirely in the roasting pan; however, as long as you have beef drippings, you can cook it over the stove using any dish.
The secret to making the most delicious au jus sauce is to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of a roasting pan after making roast beef!
Au Jus Ingredients
The #1 ingredient you need to learn how to make au jus is beef drippings. It isn’t au jus without the drippings!
We have plenty of chuck roast and prime rib recipes to choose from that are perfect for making au jus.
Aside from beef drippings, you will also need Worcestershire Sauce, Red Wine, and Beef Broth or extra juice from the roast beef.
Au Jus from Prime Rib
Our prime rib recipes make beautiful holiday meals and special occasion dinners. Save the drippings from any of these recipes to make a perfect sauce to serve on the side or with leftovers.
- Instant Pot Prime Rib
- Boneless Prime Rib Roast
- Standing Rib Roast
- Slow Roasted Prime Rib
- Sous Vide Prime Rib
- Smoked Prime Rib
- Grilled Prime Rib
Au Jus from Beef Chuck Roast
Chuck roast recipes make great, inexpensive weeknight dinners but are wonderful for the holidays, too! You can save the drippings from any one of these roast beef recipes to make this sauce recipe or beef gravy.
Red Wine Substitute
As a substitute for red wine, you can also use the following to make your au jus sauce:
- Red wine vinegar
- Extra beef broth or beef stock
How to Make Au Jus
- Place the roasting pan from cooking roast beef (ex. boneless prime rib) on the stove-top over low heat after removing the roast from the pan. Or, use another dish appropriate for cooking on the stove.
- Whisk Worcestershire Sauce and Red Wine into the dish, along with drippings from the beef. If using the roasting pan, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add Beef Broth or Juices from the roast beef. Bring to a simmer.
- Serve hot with sliced roast beef or as a dipping sauce for a French Dip sandwich, and enjoy!
FAQs
Au jus gravy keeps for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
You can freeze au jus by first allowing it to cool, then adding it to an airtight freezer-safe container with at least half an inch of space at the top. A freezer-safe bag also works for freezing au jus. If you would like easier portions, freeze in an ice cube tray first, then move to a freezer-safe bag. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months and reheat on the stove over low heat.
My recipe for au jus gravy is completely gluten-free. Double-check the Worcestershire sauce to make sure it does not contain gluten.
Au jus uses beef broth or stock, but is not the same as broth. It uses more ingredients, including drippings from the roasting pan, to make it into a light sauce.
Au jus and brown gravy are similar, but not quite alike. Both au jus and brown gravy may use pan drippings from the roast, but au jus is a light sauce, while gravy is thickened using a roux.
You will not get anywhere near the same taste out of your roast beef using beef broth rather than a complete au jus sauce like this one. However, you can use beef broth or au jus to keep your roast moist when reheating it in the oven.
You can make au jus using more than just beef! Try making au jus with pan drippings from chicken and even turkey. Use chicken broth instead of beef broth and white wine instead of red wine. Leave out the Worcestershire sauce.
Au Jus Recipe Ideas
You can serve this recipe as a sauce on the side with any roast beef dish, and it will be delicious. However, there are so many more options, too!
Serve it with…
How to Make a French Dip Sandwich
- Buy or bake your own French Bread (it’s easy with an Instant Pot!) to use as sandwich bread. Split the roll in half.
- Stuff the roll with leftover beef chuck roast and sauteed onions and mushrooms. Top with slices of Provolone or Swiss cheese.
- If the beef needs to be reheated, bake in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes or so, until the cheese melts and the sandwich is heated through.
- Serve with sauce on the side as a dip, and enjoy!
Want exact measurements? Follow our instructions to make a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich.
You can also make mini French Dip sandwiches using Hawaiian rolls.
- Assemble the sandwiches using a pack of Hawaiian rolls for the bread, with a slice of cheese on each sandwich.
- Brush the top of each slider with garlic butter sauce.
- Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and heated through.
Easy Sauce Recipes
Love homemade sauce recipes? So do we! Try more of our favorite easy sauce recipes to make at home:
Take a look at all of our Best Sauce Recipes for even more ideas!
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Planning on making au jus for roast beef? Let us know in the comments below and with a rating what you think of this easy recipe! We love to hear from you.
📋 Recipe
How to Make Au Jus
Equipment
- Whisk or wooden spoon
- Roasting pan or sauce pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Beef Broth or juices from roast beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 cup Red Wine
- drippings from roast beef
Instructions
- Place the roasting pan from cooking roast beef (ex. boneless prime rib) on the stove-top over low heat after removing the roast from the pan. Alternatively, use another dish appropriate for cooking on the stove-top.
- Whisk 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce and 1 cup Red Wine into the dish, along with drippings from the beef. If using the roasting pan, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, drippings from roast beef, 1 cup Red Wine
- Add 1 cup Beef Broth or Juices from the roast beef and bring to a simmer.1 cup Beef Broth
- Serve hot with sliced roast beef. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Serve with prime rib, chuck roast, or as a side dipping sauce for dishes like a French Dip sandwich.
- Check the post content for a guide on how to make French Dip sandwiches!
- You can make au jus using more than just beef! Try making au jus with pan drippings from chicken and even turkey. Use chicken broth instead of beef broth and white wine instead of red wine. Leave out the Worcestershire sauce.
Jen Sabbato says
Can you make this WITHOUT the red wine???
Em Beitel says
Hi Jen! Absolutely. I would recommend using either red wine vinegar, beef broth, or beef stock.