Easy White Sauce (Béchamel)

Flour

Use all-purpose flour for a perfectly smooth and velvety white sauce. If you want a more wholesome version, you can use whole-wheat flour.

Fat

Butter: unsalted butter is used in the original French and Italian bechamel recipes.

Dairy-free or vegan butter: you can substitute dairy-free butter for regular butter. It works wonderfully.

Olive oil: another great alternative is to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. Since oil is fatter than butter, use one less tablespoon of oil than butter.

Milk

Regular milk: classic white sauce calls for regular cow's milk. You can use full fat for a richer sauce, all the way down to fat-free milk for a lighter sauce.

Dairy-free milk: we generally use unsweetened soy milk for our white sauce. You can use pretty much any plant milk as long as it's unsweetened.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg is optional. However, it's a key ingredient in the original Italian and French béchamel recipe. So if you don't like nutmeg, you can leave it out.

Salt and Pepper

We recommend using sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter (or warm the oil) in a saucepan with a heavy bottom on medium heat.

Add the flour and whisk fast and continuously for 1 to 2 minutes until the flour-fat mixture (called a roux) starts to bubble and turn golden brown.

Add milk to the pot all at once, add salt, nutmeg, and black pepper, then on low heat, whisk the sauce until it thickens.

Tip: to speed up this step, you can warm the milk (up to 180°F or 80°C and never boiling) in a separate pot, then add the hot milk to the saucepan with the roux. This way, you'll need to whisk a lot less time.

Taste and adjust for salt and keep in mind that the white sauce will keep thickening as it cools down.

If you don't use it immediately, remember to stir it from time to time as it cools down to avoid lumps.

Use this white sauce recipe with pasta, lasagna, and baked vegetables, for example, with:

• Baked ziti pasta for an extra creamy pasta bake.
• Savory chickpea crepes or in a piadina with vegetable filling.
• Artichoke pasta bake: white sauce pairs well with most roasted vegetables.
• Mushroom bolognese: use our mushrooms ragù and white sauce in a vegetarian lasagna.

Thick or thin?

Different recipes call for different types of white sauce. For instance, if you make lasagne or pasta bake, we recommend a medium bechamel sauce.

If you make croquettes or veggie meatballs make a thick one, and if you mix it with cheese like parmesan or ricotta, then we'd recommend a thinner one.

To change consistency, adjust the ratio of flour to liquids.

• Thick white sauce: add 2 more tablespoons of flour, and keep butter and milk constant.
• Medium or basic white sauce: 4 tablespoon flour - 4 tablespoon butter - 2 cups milk.
• Thin white sauce: add 1 to 2 less tablespoon of flour.

Cheese sauce

Make the white sauce, turn the heat off, and add about 1 cup of shredded cheese and stir until the cheese melts. You can also use shredded dairy-free cheese or grated parmesan cheese.

For mac and cheese, add shredded cheddar cheese, then toss with macaroni.

You can cut the milk with half cream or dairy-free cream for an even richer flavor.

Mushroom sauce

Add 1 cup of sautéed mushrooms and ½ cup of parmesan cheese, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Black-truffle béchamel

Make a classic white sauce, then add a tablespoon of truffle oil. This one is my personal favorite for cauliflower gratin and pasta bakes.

How to cool white sauce?

Cooling is the trickiest part because the sauce will create a patina on the surface that will break into lumps.

To avoid this, you have two options.

First, let the sauce cool down slightly while whisking it, then cover it with a piece of plastic wrap touching the sauce to avoid air getting in contact with it.

Or you can transfer the sauce from the hot pot into a cold bowl, then stir while it cools down. The sauce will not lump if you cool it down like this.

To speed up this process, you can even cool it bain-marie, submerging half of the saucepan into a bigger pot full of ice-cold water while stirring the sauce.

Questions

Refrigerator: store your white sauce in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. You can also prepare your white sauce in advance. But if you do so, make sure to read our tips on how to cool it down correctly to avoid lumps.

During the cooling process, your béchamel will become thicker. To make it thinner again, add some milk and warm it up. If it gets lumpy, use an immersion blender to make it smooth again.

Freezer: cool down the white sauce as described above, then portion it into freezer-friendly containers. It keeps well for 2 to 3 months.

Thaw it in the fridge until soft, then transfer it into a saucepan and warm it with some milk while stirring until you reach your desired consistency.

If it gets lumpy, blend it with an immersion blender.

More easy sauces

If you enjoy this white sauce, take a peek at our other creamy sauces - they pair well with veggies, pasta, and salads:

• Homemade vegan mayo: the perfect match with veggie sides and roasted potatoes
• Marinara sauce: an Italian classic, our version is served with vegan meatballs
• Tahini sauce: this Middle-Eastern sauce is quick and easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser
• Tomato basil sauce: ready in 12 mins, aromatic and Italian - an easy dinner favorite
• Chipotle sauce: a chilled sauce and delightful as a dressing on flatbread pizza

For more condiment ideas, check out our dressing and sauces category page.

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