Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

A Creamy Peppercorn Sauce couldn’t be more simple and delicious to make! This Peppercorn Sauce without brandy is about to be your go-to sauce for steak, chicken, portobello mushrooms, potatoes and everything between!  

A quick peppercorn sauce is the perfect addition to any meal. I’m serious, I pour this stuff over everything. I like to call it ‘dressing up your dinner’. That or just pouring calories over your dinner, because that’s also quite fun. Delicious calories nevertheless!

I’ve been obsessed with peppercorn sauce for as long as I can remember. It mainly started around the time became obsessed with steak, because steak with peppercorn sauce is juuuuuust the best.

And don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some pretty decent restaurant peppercorn sauce in my time, but honestly, finding a good peppercorn sauce is sometimes pretty tricky. For me the best peppercorn sauce is creamy, yet beefy with a kick of spice. Most of the stuff you get served these days is almost like gravy with a few whole peppercorns floating in it. Not for me.

So, after realising I was turning into a food snob (that or a just cream addict) I made it my mission to create the best homemade creamy peppercorn sauce! Guys, I can’t express to you how easy it is make and how much more delicious it is than any pepper sauce you’ve tasted before.

I know, what a claim! But it’s true. Let’s take a closer look at just how easy it is.

How to make a Peppercorn Sauce

1. I’ll always take over from where I left off. So if I’m cooking steak, I’m starting in the same pan, using the leftover juices to get things started.
2. From there it’s as simple as sautéing some shallots and garlic, chucking in some Worcestershire sauce, crushed peppercorns and beef stock, then pouring in some cream.
3. Then it’s just a matter of simmering until thickened! No flour or cornstarch needed, it’ll thicken just beautifully by itself.

Easy right?

Just one more thing to cover.

Peppercorn Sauce without Brandy or Alcohol

There are a lot of peppercorn sauce recipes that use brandy and honestly when I first developed this recipe way back when, I did include brandy.

Brandy adds a nice little kick to the sauce. It’s nice. But to use it effectively you need to burn it off by igniting it into a flame, which turns it into a syrupy, glossy kind of texture. For some people that can be a scary process, which I totally get.

Also, all of these creamy peppercorn sauce ingredients are cheap and convenient. If you haven’t got brandy lying about the house it’s slightly annoying buying a bottle for the use of about 1/4 cup of it!

So weighing things up, the small benefit of using it isn’t worth the hassle, in my opinion.

Anywho, steak anyone?

Because realistically, pepper sauce for steak is literally the most heavenly thing on earth.

But things just got real intense and the potatoes came out.

If you thought pouring a creamy peppercorn sauce over a thick juicy steak was good, try pouring it over a hasselback potato and watch it side between the cracks.

Oh me oh my.

Anywho, I think that’s just about enough from me and my intense creamy peppercorn sauce addiction. It’s over to you.

How to make Creamy Peppercorn Sauce without Brandy (Full Recipe & Video)

4.92 from 35 votes

Creamy Peppercorn Sauce

By: Chris Collins

A Creamy Peppercorn Sauce couldn't be more simple and delicious to make! This Peppercorn Sauce without brandy is about to be your go-to sauce for steak, chicken, portobello mushrooms, potatoes and everything between! Please check out the recipe notes before diving in.

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Equipment

• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for shallots/garlic)
• Pestle & Mortar or Zip Lock Bag & Rolling Pin (for peppercorns)
• Medium-Large Frying Pan
• Wooden Spoon
• Jug (for stock & serving)

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns, crushed (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tbsp  Butter (see notes)
• ▢ 2 small Shallots, very finely diced
• ▢ 1 clove Garlic, very finely diced
• ▢ 3/4 cup / 180ml Beef Stock
• ▢ 3/4 cup / 180ml Double Cream, at room temp (Heavy Cream in US)
• ▢ 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ Salt, to taste

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Instructions 

• If you're frying steak leave the juices in the pan. This will add a huge amount of flavour to the sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat and fry the shallots until soft and golden (careful they don't burn).
• Add in the garlic and peppercorns and fry for a further 30 seconds or so until the garlic just begins to colour (again, be careful it doesn't burn). Add the beef stock, then stir in the cream and Worcestershire sauce.
• Simmer and stir somewhat frequently until the sauce thickens (approx 8-12mins). It will thicken, just keep simmering and gently stirring away. If you've cooked steak or any other meat you can stir in any resting juices just before you finish, just for extra flavour! Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
• Remove from heat and pour into a jug. Just be aware it'll thicken the longer you leave it. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Pan/Steak Juices - If you're not frying anything in the pan prior to the sauce, just start from melting the butter. If you've basted a steak in butter and/or there's a lot of fat left in the pan, you can omit the 1 tbsp butter in the recipe and just fry shallots in the leftover butter/fat.

b) Spice - 1 tbsp of peppercorns will result in a definite kick in terms of spice. If you're at all weary please start off with less as it's easier to add more at the end - much harder to take it out! On the contrary, if you want more pepper then add some more at the end (preferably cracked black pepper, but whatever you have on hand).

c) Crushing the peppercorns -  To crush the peppercorns, either use a pestle and mortar or pop them in a zip lock bag and whack with a rolling pin (or something to that effect). Don't crush the peppercorns into a fine dust - you want some texture. It's 1 tbsp measured of whole peppercorns, then crushed. Not 1 tbsp crushed pepper.

d) Using Brandy - If you have brandy on hand and want to use it, I recommend adding in around 1/4cup/60ml after you've fried the garlic/shallots/pepper. Just simmer and reduce it right down until mostly evaporated and the pungent smell mellows out. This is important to burn off the alcohol. Then just continue with the recipe. If you still want more of a strong brandy flavour once finished, you can add in more 1 tsp at a time. Just be careful as it will be much more pungent because you won't have burnt off the alcohol!

e) Storage/Reheating - Allow to completely cool then store in the fridge for 2-3days (longer at your discretion). Reheat on the stove over LOW heat, stirring as you go to ensure the sauce doesn't split. Only heat until it's warmed through again, don't rapid simmer or you risk the sauce splitting. You can also do this in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each stint.

f) Video - The video filmed for this was actually one of the first videos I ever filmed! As such, the sauce looks a little thin. It's also made without frying a steak, so it's also lighter in colour than you can expect. 

g) UPDATE - I have made this recipe many, many times and over the years have slightly reduced the amount of cream and slightly increased the amount of stock, which is now reflected in the recipe. The original measurement was 1 cup / 240ml cream and 1/2 cup / 120ml beef stock.

h) Calories - based on a division of 4. The whole peppercorn sauce recipe = 570 calories.

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition

Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 2.2g | Protein: 1.7g | Fat: 14.5g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 74mg | Sugar: 2.2g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 580mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

For the perfect accompaniment to your peppercorn sauce, check out my Easy Homemade Skinless Sausages!

If you loved this Peppercorn Sauce recipe be sure to pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!