Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood

This traditional French beurre blanc sauce with orange juice and zest makes the flavors of seafood come alive.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated February 11, 2025
Elise Bauer
Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Elise Bauer

This orange butter sauce is a French beurre blanc ("white butter") sauce based on a reduction of shallots and an acid such as vinegar, citrus juice, or wine, mixed in with cold butter.

Its creamy tanginess works well with mild fish such as trout, shad, or haddock.

It may also be served with any shellfish including lobster, crab, and scallops.

Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Elise Bauer

This recipe comes from a cooking class I took at Scott's Seafood in Folsom, California, presented by Chef David Lamonica.

Leftovers

You can refrigerate leftover beurre blanc for about a week. Reheat it gently in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly. It may still separate when you reheat it, but the flavors of the sauce will still be lovely.

More Sauces for Seafood

A ladle of orange beurre blanc sauce over a saucepan
Elise Bauer

Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 8 servings
Yield 1 cup

You'll need one large orange or two smallish oranges to have enough juice for this recipe.

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Ingredients

  • 2 oranges

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) white wine

  • 2 teaspoons minced shallots

  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks, 225g) cold, unsalted butter

  • Salt and white pepper

Method

  1. Make a syrup with orange zest, orange juice, wine, and shallots:

    Zest half of one orange (about 2 teaspoons) and juice the two oranges (about 3/4 cup).

    Put the juice, zest, wine and shallots in a sauce pan on medium high heat.

    Elise Bauer
    reduce liquid until it is almost gone and what you have is a syrup, this is your base for the orange beurre blanc sauce for seafood
    Elise Bauer

    Cook until it is syrupy and almost gone.

  2. Slowly whisk in butter:

    On low heat, whisk in the butter continuously and vigorously, 1 tablespoon at a time.

    add cold butter a tablespoon at a time for orange beurre blanc sauce
    Elise Bauer

    Butter is the only emulsifier for this sauce, and if you slowly add it, continuously stirring, the sauce will achieve a silky smooth texture. Do not let the sauce boil!

  3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
307 Calories
23g Fat
24g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 307
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 30%
Saturated Fat 14g 71%
Cholesterol 60mg 20%
Sodium 43mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 24g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 101mg 504%
Calcium 75mg 6%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 343mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.