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Creamy Peppercorn Sauce (Perfect For Steak)
An insanely delicious peppercorn sauce recipe infused with stock and creme fraiche for the best steak sauce ever. Let’s get cooking…
Who doesn’t love steak with homemade peppercorn sauce? It’s my go-to dinner recipe that turns home cooking into restaurant standard, and yes, it impresses everyone!
Not only is it perfect for pouring over steak, but I also like to pour it over chips, chicken and pretty much everything in my sight. Unlike most peppercorn sauce recipes, my one has a little twist, I make it using creme fraiche instead of cream, and I think it tastes way better!
I bought all the ingredients to make this creamy sauce from HelloFresh (including the peppercorns)! That’s why it’s been so easy to make from start to end (you can find out more in my HelloFresh review).
Crème Fraîche Steak Sauce
This sauce does look a little fancy, but trust me, it’s actually very easy to make and put together (I promise). The ingredients I’ve used are quite basic and the recipe is super easy too. I’m not joking when I say this sauce will change your life.
I chose not to include alcohol (like brandy) in my sauce, which means there’s no need to burn it off by igniting it into a flame. This makes the recipe even simpler to make and using creme fraiche instead of creme makes the sauce even creamier.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the 5 ingredients I used to make this recipe (FYI, all my ingredients came from my HelloFresh box):
- Onion: I used a red onion, but you can also use shallots or white onions. I diced the onions into small square chunks.
- Black Peppercorns: To make the peppercorn sauce, whole black peppercorns are crushed. You can buy cracked black pepper or crush whole peppercorns yourself using a pestle and mortar.
- Stock: I used chicken stock paste, but you can use any stock like beef stock. The stock paste is mixed with water and left to reduce until thickened. You could also buy stock in liquid form rather than dissolving the paste in water.
- Creme Fraiche: If you don’t have creme fraiche you could also make the peppercorn sauce with double cream.
- Salt: I added salt for flavour.
How To Make Creamy Peppercorn Sauce (With Creme Fraiche)
Here’s a summary of how I make this peppercorn sauce. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:
Step One:
I start by crushing the peppercorns into small pieces. As I’m also making steak, I season it with salt and black pepper before frying it.
To crush the peppercorns, I either place it in a sandwich bag and gently bash it with a rolling pin or achieve the same result in a pestle and mortar.
Step Two:
Oil is added to my frying pan that’s heated on a medium heat. Then I add diced onions, salt and black pepper to the frying pan and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Step Three:
I add water and stock paste to the onions and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. This takes me an average of 8 minutes. Whilst the sauce is simmering, I gently stir it every now and then.
Step Four:
Last but not least, I stir in the creme fraiche, turn the heat off and serve.
How To Store & Freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to two days.
To freeze, I store the sauce in an airtight container and place it in the freezer until I’m ready to use it. Once defrosted, as the sauce is heated it will thicken again (you may need to add a little cream or water to thin it out).
My Top Tips
For the perfect timing, start making the peppercorn sauce whilst your steak is resting. It will take you around 12 minutes to make the sauce just in time for serving the steak.
I like to make the peppercorn sauce in the same pan with all the meaty juices and flavours left from frying steaks. If you’re starting from a clean pan, then you can add oil or butter.
Once the sauce has reduced, give it a try. If you want to add more heat to this sauce, add extra crushed peppercorns or chilli flakes to taste. I occasionally add a sprinkling of garlic granules.
What To Serve Peppercorn Sauce With?
Of course, peppercorn sauce goes so well with steak, a side of parmentier potatoes and a portion of roasted tenderstem broccoli. But I find that it also goes well with lamb shish kebabs (don’t judge me) or with crispy chicken goujons.
You could also serve this dish with a side of salt and pepper chips or Chinese salt and chilli chicken. But I think we will all agree that roasted meats are the best accompaniment to this sauce.
More Sauce Recipes
I’ve listed a few more of my popular sauce recipes below:
Peppercorn Sauce With Creme Fraiche
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Oil or Butter
- ½ Red Onion Or Shallots
- 75 g Creme Fraiche
- 2 tbsp Crushed Black Peppercorns
- 10 g Stock Paste
- 100 ml Water
- Salt To Taste
Instructions
- Roughly crush the peppercorns into small pieces.You can do this by placing the peppercorns in a sandwich bag and gently bash it with a rolling pin. You could also do this in a pestle and mortar.
- Add oil (or butter) to the frying pan and heat on a medium heat.1 tsp Oil or Butter
- Add diced onions, salt and crushed peppercorns to the frying pan and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions have softened.½ Red Onion, Salt, 2 tbsp Crushed Black Peppercorns
- Add water and stock paste to the onions and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. This will take an average of 8 minutes, gently stir the sauce and it will thicken eventually.100 ml Water, 10 g Stock Paste
- Stir in the creme fraiche, turn the heat off and serve.75 g Creme Fraiche
Video
Notes
Try Different Peppercorns!!
I usually freshly crush black peppercorns just before making this sauce as this gives me a rich peppercorn flavour. Alternatively, you can use pre-crushed black pepper or black pepper powder to save you some time. You can of course use white peppercorns, pink peppercorns or even a combination of all three for an intense flavour. When I want to do this, I get a pack of mixed peppercorns with all three types in one pack.Nutrition
Music in video from Uppbeat, License code: 08VBCZFHCZBZDBBY
Mandy
Great sauce. I didn’t have cream but creme fraiche was good. Added 1 garlic clove and a drop of Worcester sauce. Could use on Swedish meatballs, my son likes these.
Michelle
Thanks Mandy, glad you liked it.
Haydn Bottrill
Great recipe but the instructions miss out adding the actual peppercorns.
Michelle
Hi Haydn, you add the peppercorns in step three. I’ve updated the recipe instructions to make it clearer.