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Creamy, dreamy, buttery, nutty béchamel sauce that can be used as the base for a range of comforting meals.

Béchamel (also known simply as white sauce) is a versatile and essential sauce that is one of the five mother sauces of classic French cuisine. It is a milk-based sauce that comes together in about 12 minutes and adds richness and complexity to your dishes. It can also be used as a base for many other sauces.

An overhead shot of a saucepan filled with bechamel sauce.

How to make béchamel?

Béchamel is actually pretty easy to make and comes together in about 12 minutes. You start off by making a roux -- a mixture created by cooking butter and flour together for about two minutes. The roux is used as a thickener and to add buttery flavour.

Then you add the milk and cream. If you don't have cream, don't worry; this sauce can still be made with only milk. Whisk well. Now, some cooks simply season with salt. I like to follow the method my chef father taught me, which is to season the sauce with a studded onion and nutmeg.

A studded onion is created when you literally stud an onion with cloves. This allows you to remove the onion and the cloves together in one go when the sauce is done cooking and saves you the labour of fishing out the cloves from the thick sauce.

Add freshly-grated nutmeg, salt and whisk. I strongly recommend buying whole nutmeg and grating it yourself using a mini cheese grater. The flavour is so much more intense than using ground nutmeg.

And that's it!

A closeup of whole nutmeg on a wooden chopping board.

How to adjust the consistency of the sauce

This recipe will give you a sauce of medium thick consistency. For a thinner sauce that you can drizzle over fish or roasted veggies, simply add ⅓ cup more milk. For a thicker sauce, you can add a paste made of equal parts butter and flour called buerre manié. Buerre manié (literally translated to kneaded butter) is used to thicken many different sauces. It melts into the sauce easily while whisking.

FAQ

Is béchamel sauce the same as Alfredo?

While both are dairy-based sauces, they are a bit different. Bechamel sauce is a French sauce that is thickened with a roux made of butter and flour. Alfredo is an Italian sauce that is m de with heavy cream and has Parmesan cheese.

I don't want to use this sauce right away. Can I store or freeze it?

You can store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can freeze it for up to three months. To reheat, simply place the block of bechamel in a pot, cover and gently reheat, stirring once the sauce has liquified.

Béchamel/White Sauce

Safana Zahili

Creamy, dreamy, buttery, nutty béchamel sauce that can be used in many dishes.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French

Servings

Calories 135 kcal

Ingredients

5 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
2 cups milk
½ cup cream
½ white or yellow onion
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and continue stirring for about 2 minutes.
Add milk and cream and whisk until roux (butter and flour mixture) dissolves.
Stick cloves into the onion. This process is called studding an onion. It adds aroma to the sauce. Place studded onion into the sauce and stir sauce gently with a wooden spoon.
Add nutmeg and salt and keep stirring until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
If using immediately, remove onion and discard it along with the cloves. If not using immediately, keep the onion in the sauce for an additional 20 minutes to add more flavour.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

Nutrition

Sodium: 443mgCalcium: 120mgVitamin C: 1mgVitamin A: 444IUSugar: 5gFiber: 1gPotassium: 143mgCholesterol: 37mgCalories: 135kcalMonounsaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 6gFat: 10gProtein: 4gCarbohydrates: 7gIron: 1mg

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