Traditional Creamy Parsley Sauce is one of the easiest Sauces to make. Pour it over cod or salmon, toss pasta into it or use it as an ingredient for fisherman’s pie. Or, be like the Irish and pour it over a bacon and cabbage meal!
Creamy Béchamel Sauce envelops freshly chopped Parsley to create a luscious, satisfying Irish style Parsley Sauce that stands up to any food it is served with.
Where did Parsley Sauce come from? Parsley dates back to Great Britain around the Middle Ages. With the island of Ireland only 13 miles (21 km) across the Irish Sea from Britain (Torr Head, Northern Ireland and the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland), it’s no wonder Parsley made its way over to the Emerald Isle.
Why Make This Sauce?
- Easy recipe with easily sourced ingredients.
- Step by step instructions how to make this basic recipe and there’s even a video to watch!
- Parsley Sauce mixes, such as Bisto Parsley Sauce are loaded with artificial chemicals and additives. This recipe is all natural.
- Substitutions for this recipe include – dried Parsley instead of fresh, cream or half and half instead of milk and cornflour instead of flour for a GF version.
- Overall, it is an easy, yet impressive Sauce to master, with the end result being – you’ll have the best Parsley Sauce Recipe in your back pocket!
Variations
With a Béchamel Base
This recipe is for a Creamy Parsley Sauce. Make a few tweaks here and there to this existing recipe, to create a different kind of Parsley Sauce:
- Parsley pesto sauce, add 1 tbsp of pesto (store bought or homemade).
- Use Parsley paste instead fresh Parsley. 1 tbsp of Parsley paste is the same as 1 tbsp of fresh Parsley.
- Mint Parsley Sauce is a wonderful accompaniment to lamb dishes especially this Roasted Lamb Sirloin. Add 1 tbsp of freshly chopped mint along with the parsley to the sauce.
- Lemon Parsley Sauce uses this base recipe and adds 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp of lemon zest to make a creamy, citrus variation.
With a Beurre Blanc Base
Beurre Blanc is the French term given for a buttery sauce made from minced shallots sautéed in butter with white wine added. This sauce is heavy on the butter. In addition to the basic Butter and Parsley Sauce, various ingredients can be added to alter the taste such as:
- Parsley cilantro sauce has the addition of freshly chopped cilantro.
- Chimichurri with Parsley Sauce is a full bodied uncooked condiment hailing from Argentina, popularly served with cold meats. Mix it with a Beurre Blanc based Parsley Sauce and spoon it over roast meats like Flank Steak.
- Lemon butter Parsley Sauce, similar to the creamy version, but with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest added to a Beurre Blanc.
Persillade Sauce
Persillade, a simple French sauce made from combining chopped Parsley, and garlic in a vinaigrette. This sauce is wonderful on roasted potatoes like these Crispy Red Potatoes.
Parsley Sauce Liquor
Don’t be fooled by the title, there is no alcohol in this Sauce! This Sauce originated in the east end of London. England. A velouté is made with butter, flour, stock and parsley. (A velouté is just like a béchamel sauce but instead it uses stock instead of milk / cream). So follow this recipe for Traditional Creamy Parsley Sauce and add fish or chicken stock instead of milk.
A true London Liquor sauce is made with eel stock and served with some sort of meat pie and mashed potatoes. Liquor is the name given to the eel stock.
How Versatile is it?
As well as being easy to make, Creamy Parsley Sauce is so versatile. So, what does it go with?
It is a delicious accompaniment to pasta, steak, chicken, ham, and pork. Simple additions of fresh lemon and garlic can enhance Parsley Sauce. However, left in its simplest form, it is most widely known as the sauce for fish, particularly salmon, and cod. In Ireland we pour it over Irish boiling bacon, potatoes and cabbage.
In my part of the world (Northern Ireland), Parsley Sauce is a natural accompaniment to ‘brown’ fish – that is fish (usually cod) that turns a brownish shade when smoked.
Parsley Sauce is also a notable ingredient in Fisherman’s Pie, a traditional pie made with assorted pieces of seafood (usually cod and prawns) in a creamy Parsley sauce with mashed potatoes on top.
For something a little different, use it in lasagna or even as a base for Mac and Cheese with lots of cheese added to it!
Which Parsley is Best?
The two most common types of Parsley are French Parsley (also known as curly Parsley) and Italian Parsley (known as flat leaf Parsley.) Both types are easy to grow in vegetable patches as well as kitchen window sills. They are typically sold at local supermarkets and farmers’ markets.
Curly Parsley is sturdy, it is a marvelous garnish and won’t wilt quickly. It has a more vegetative, grassy flavor which imparts well into sauces, soups and stocks.
On the other hand, flat leaf Parsley carries more of a punch – flavor wise than its European cousin. It is slightly peppery (similar to arugula / rocket) and with citrus notes in the mix too. It is a better choice for flavor but when it comes to garnishing, curly Parsley has the upper hand!
Ingredients
- Flour: plain / all purpose. Use half the quantity of cornflour to flour if preferred (so 1oz cornstarch instead of 2oz flour). This will make a gluten free version.
- Fresh Parsley: scroll up for more info on Parsley. Substitute 2 tbsp of dried Parsley if fresh Parsley is not available.
- Milk: fresh, preferably whole milk (full fat.)
- Butter: got to be Irish grass fed (just joking – or am I?)
- Mustard: entirely optional, just added for a bit of flavor. I use Colman’s hot mustard.
- Seasoning: (not pictured) Celtic salt and cracked black pepper.
Recipe
This Sauce is simply made from a roux (butter and flour combined and cooked), then milk is added to complete this Béchamel (white sauce made from a dairy based liquid) type of sauce.
Scroll down to the recipe card to see the video how it is made.
Finely chop all of the parsley.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan / pot.
Add the flour.
Stir quickly together, to combine the melted butter and flour and cook the roux for 1 minute.
Add the milk a little at a time. Blend well and ensure there are no lumps.
Add more milk and continue to blend well.
Season with cracked pepper and salt.
Add the mustard. This is optional, mustard just gives the Sauce a little more flavor.
Add the chopped parsley to the Béchamel.
Stir in the parsley and blend well.
Add more milk, a little at a time if the sauce appears to be too thick.
A Tip From Me
Use a whisk when making this Parsley Sauce. A whisk will add speed to the mixing process and prevent lumps from forming. If using a non stick pot like I did, use a silicone wrapped whisk.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
Feel free to freeze it. Store in a freezer approved container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat slowly and stir consistently.
In my opinion the best way to thicken a Sauce is by reducing it. This means allowing the liquid to evaporate. Unfortunately because this is a dairy based Sauce, prolonged reduction will cause the dairy to split and curdle. Instead thicken it with a cornflour (corn starch) slurry by blending 1 tbsp of corn starch with milk. Add this slurry to the Sauce, allow the sauce to gently boil and analyze the Sauce after 1 minute. Repeat this process as many times as needed to thicken the Sauce to your liking.
How to Make Traditional Creamy Parsley Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 oz all purpose flour (plain flour)
- 3 oz butter
- 12 oz milk
- ½ tsp mustard (optional, added only for taste)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Finely chop all of the parsley.
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan / pot.
- Add the flour. Stir quickly together, to combine the melted butter and flour and cook the roux for 1 minute.
- Add the milk a little at a time. Blend well and ensure there are no lumps.
- Add more milk and continue to blend well.
- Season with cracked pepper and salt.
- Add the mustard. This is optional, mustard just adds a little more flavor.
- Then add the chopped parsley to the Béchamel (white sauce) and stir.
- Add more milk, a little at a time if the sauce appears to be too thick.
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