Creamy Diane sauce, spiked with cognac and a touch of mustard, is one of my favourite sauces for steak.
It’s ready in less than 10 minutes, so you can easily make it while your steak is resting.
If you love this, you’ll love my Steak Diane Casserole too.
A classic, retro sauce for steak – this Diane Sauce takes me back to my childhood, not that I ever had it then, but it was always something my mum and dad would order at a restaurant after the prawn cocktail and marie rose sauce starter of course, followed by black forest gateaux!
And now it’s totally something I would order at a restaurant – but it’s also great being able to make at home for steak night.
Ok, flambéing brandy doesn’t come naturally to all of us, but you don’t have to set it alight like on tv, the alcohol in the cognac will naturally cook off after a minute or so and leave you with all of the flavour and minimal alcohol.
The cream and pan juices turn it into a luscious, serious steak lovers sauce. It’s easy to see why this Diane sauce has stood the test of time.
📋 What do we need?
- Dijon Mustard, with its beautiful tangy flavour, is the best for this sauce.
- Cream Use double (heavy) cream instead of single or light cream for this sauce to ensure a luscious sauce that won’t split.
- Stock Beef stock is the best for this sauce but any good stock will work too.
- Cognac if you don’t use alcohol, you can add an extra tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
- Cornflour (Corn starch) – this is optional, but you can use it if you prefer your sauce a little thicker.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Sauté the shallots, garlic, salt and pepper in the butter and oil for two to three minutes
- Add the Cognac and bubble for one minute, then add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and stock a cook until thickened slightly
- Stir in the cream and any pan juices and heat through, then serve
👩🍳PRO TIP * If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, stir in a corn starch slurry (1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 3 tbsp cold water). Pour into the bubbling sauce, slowly, whilst stirring, until thickened to your liking.
We like to have a little jug of extra Diane Sauce on the side, so we don’t run out, and because we can, the more sauce the better for us.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Juicy steak – check out my post on how to cook the perfect steak.
- Roast Chicken if you fancy some thing different for grown ups, this sauce will hit the spot
How do you like yours?
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my Steak Diane Casserole too!
🍲 More fantastic Sauces for Steak
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Diane Sauce for Steak
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter
- ½ tbsp sunflower oil if you’ve just cooked steak to go with this sauce, use the oils/meat-drippings that are left in the pan, instead of the sunflower oil and butter.
- 2 shallots peeled and chopped finely
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 garlic clove peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp cognac
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) beef stock water plus 2 stock cubes is fine
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
Instructions
- Add the butter and oil to a frying pan and heat over a medium heat.1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter, ½ tbsp sunflower oil
- When the butter has melted, add the shallots, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the shallots are just starting to soften.2 shallots, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 1 garlic clove
- Add the cognac to the pan, bubble for 1 minute, then add in the stock, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.2 tbsp cognac, 180 ml (3/4 cup) beef stock, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Stir in the cream (if you have any juices from resting your steak, add them to the pan now too). Bring back to a simmer, then turn off the heat.120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
- Serve over steak.
Video
Notes
- Want it without the alcohol? Leave out the cognac and add an extra teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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A must-have sauce, my partner said, “It is like eating at a 5* restaurant” a very high compliment for both you and me.
Delicious Nic, Thank you. I have been searching for an authentic Diane Sauce for ages. I add a little tomato puree at the first stage and also thinly sliced mushrooms but your base sauce is perfect, thanks again
I can’t wait to try this. Could a wine or cooking sherry be used in place of the cognac?
A very tasty sauce, but it was far too salty. Next time I would leave out the salt & taste at the end, as the stock cubes could have been too salty.
Same, way to salty
We absolutely LOVED this sauce. I made the whole recipe but we only had 2 steaks so I refrigerated the leftover sauce and we purchased 2 portabellas and prepared them and put the sauce over them the next day. We loved it both ways – steak and portabellas.
This recipe is definitely a keeper.