What is Béchamel sauce?
Béchamel sauce is a simple sauce made with a roux (butter and flour) and milk. Often flavored with mustard or nutmeg, it’s popular in many cuisines and is an excellent sauce to have in your repertoire. It is considered one of the mother sauces as it’s the base of many other sauces and is essential in many recipes.
Ingredients
Butter. Flour. All purpose flour works best. Milk. Full fat/Whole milk. Half and half can also be used. Cayenne pepper. Mustard. Mustard powder or Dijon mustard. Nutmeg. Salt and pepper. Optional: Cheese, if you want to turn the basic white sauce into a Mornay sauce. I like using a combination of sharp cheddar and Parmesan cheese but gruyere, gouda, etc will all work.
How to make Béchamel sauce
Is Velouté sauce the same as bechamel sauce?
Velouté is made with roux and stock or broth. The sauce is lighter, both in color and richness, than Béchamel.
Tips for making the best Béchamel
Can I make white sauce ahead?
You cam make this sauce then transfer to an airtight container or bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap or cling wrap right onto the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. Place the sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days then reheat gently in a pot or saucepan before using. I wouldn’t recommend freezing the sauce as it might split once thawed.
How to serve white sauce
The best way, in my opinion, to serve a white sauce recipe is by using it for Mac and cheese. Stir cooked macaroni (or other pasta of your choice) through the sauce (add cheese) and bake until golden and bubbling. Other options include using the thick, creamy sauce in Welsh rarebit, lasagna or use it in a chicken pot pie recipe.
Easy sauce recipes
