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This easy au jus sauce is perfect for prime rib, roast beef, and French dip. It’s a simple, flavorful sauce that can be made with or without drippings! All you need are basic ingredients like beef broth, butter, and Worcestershire sauce for a light sauce or gravy that pairs perfectly with any beef, lamb, or chicken recipe.
This au jus recipe is easy to make and ready in just five minutes with simple ingredients that don’t require any drippings! It’s our go-to sauce for prime rib, French dip, and roast beef or chicken, and steak!
What is au jus?
Au jus is a thin sauce or gravy that typically accompanies beef, lamb, or chicken dishes. It’s typically made from the natural drippings or juices that come from cooking meat, hence its origin from the French term “with juice”.
This homemade au jus produces a light, thin, and clear sauce that is made primarily from beef broth, butter and/or drippings, and Worcestershire sauce.
If you’d prefer a slightly thicker sauce, we added an option to the recipe to add flour for a consistency similar to thin gravy. For a thicker, traditional gravy, try our Brown Gravy recipe!
Ingredients
- Beef broth – Use a good quality beef broth. I find beef bone broth to have the best flavor.
- Butter – This gives the au jus a rich, fatty flavor that replaces the drippings. If you happen to have drippings, you can use that as well and supplement it with butter if needed.
- Worcestershire sauce – This adds a salty, slightly tangy, umami flavor to the au jus, adding the perfect balance of flavors.
- Flour – Flour is optional if you’d prefer a thicker consistency, similar to that of a thin gravy. Use all-purpose flour and add it along with the butter or drippings.
- Garlic powder – A pinch of garlic or onion powder adds the flavor you’d get from pan drippings.
How to Make Prime Rib Au Jus
- Add the butter and/or drippings to a pan. If using flour and garlic powder, add that now and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, add the beef broth and whisk everything together.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste until well seasoned.
- Bring it to a boil and serve immediately. It should thicken slightly if you added flour.
Au Jus Serving Suggestions
Our favorite way to serve au jus is with prime rib. You can serve it piping hot on a side to dip or pour it over a slice or prime rib to let the meat soak up that delicious sauce.
Other ways to serve this light gravy include ladling over roast beef or chicken, with any cut of steak, or in a small bowl for dipping French dip sandwiches.
Tips
- Use high-quality beef broth or beef bone broth for the best flavor.
- Use drippings if available; otherwise use butter with a pinch of garlic and onion powder to add more flavor.
- Add a tablespoon of flour for a slightly thicker version.
More recipes:
Easy Au Jus (No Drippings Needed)
Ingredients
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons butter, and/or beef drippings
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce
- salt & pepper, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic & onion powder, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon flour, (optional) for a thicker au jus
Instructions
- Add butter or drippings: Over medium heat, melt the butter and/or drippings in a saucepan. If using, add the flour and garlic & onion powder and stir together for 1 to 2 minutes.2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon flour, ⅛ teaspoon garlic & onion powder
- Add beef broth: Add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, and whisk to combine. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Note: It should thicken slightly if using flour.2 cups beef broth, ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Season and serve: Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with prime rib, roast beef, or French dip.salt & pepper
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Most people don’t realize how easy it is to make au jus and your recipe was spot on! Everyone loved the hot roast beef sandwiches I made with the au jus as dipping sauce.
Thank you for this recipe. I am not good at making gravy with drippings, etc., but with your detailed instructions, I managed to pull this easy sauce off! It tastes amazing. We had steaks yesterday and made this au jus, and it was a big hit!
Best au jus I’ve ever had and simple! I added 1/4 tsp of garlic and onion powder. I’ll never go back to the powder packets again. Thank you!
I am in love with this recipe! It made my pot roast so moist and flavorful! I am going to be making this over and over from now on, thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
My au jus sauce was awesome with the prime rib. I’m planning to make this every Christmas. Thanks for sharing!
This was such a hearty and easy sauce for prime rib, my kind of comfort food, indeed! So delicious and flavorful!
I used homemade beef sauce which make this a great sauce without drippings. It’s not prime rib without a delicious au jus!
Great recipe! I love how easy to make it was to make. I use it for different meat cuts and it was perfect!
Hi again Jamie!
I commented recently about making the Au Jus with flour and promised to try it without next time. I made it last night to serve alongside your Standing Rib Roast – it was delicious without the flour also, and the consistency was perfect with the roast. We served with your garlic mashed potato also, and that was a winner too.
Happy holidays!
This sauce was the perfect accompaniment to our steak. So full of flavor and easy to prepare. On this occasion, I did add the flour, but I am not sure it needed it, so will try without next time. We are making roast beef next weekend, and I will be making this again to serve alongside. Thanks for the great, simple and tasty recipe!
Thank you Alex! It’s great with roast beef and prime rib. Let me know how you like it without the flour next time. 🙂
Perfect!
This recipe is a keeper! I’ve actually tried to make this before using another recipe and it didn’t come out well. Turns out that butter is the secret ingredient. I can’t wait to make this again!
Thank you Stephanie! The butter helps give the au jus richness that you’d normally get from drippings. Glad you enjoyed it!
I love this gravy. It’s perfect for making french dip sandwiches with leftover meat!
I love a good beef with au jus sandwich! I have yet to try making the au jus homemade, but your recipe seems so simple! Will have to give it a try!
I love this recipe for making au just without the drippings. Perfect for using for sandwiches for dipping.
Thanks Sharon! So glad you enjoyed it!
To be fair, I haven’t made it yet but I LOVE that you list the ingredients under each step!! Thank you!!!
Thank you Alison! Let me know how it goes!
This sauce was so delicious and flavorful! We ended up adding the flour to make it slightly thicker and loved it.
I’m glad to hear that. Thanks for trying the recipe!
This was so simple to make and tasted incredibly good.
I served this as a side to my steak and it was divine! I always like to dip my steak in au jus and this was perfect!
I love making home made au jus. It’s so easy and flavorful. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Easy and so tasty. Just what my steak needed.
This is a perfect au jus! I will definitely be making this recipe often.
This was perfect with our roast chicken! I’m definitely trying it with beef next time! Easy, straightforward recipe with delicious result!