A classic sauce that is creamy, smooth, and extremely versatile, this béchamel sauce is made with a simple roux of butter and flour, then whisked with milk until perfectly thickened. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor that complements pretty much everything...like au gratin potatoes to chicken, salmon, and roasted veggies!
Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is a rich and creamy versatile sauce. It's made with just 3 simple ingredients—butter, flour, and milk. The key to a perfect Béchamel is cooking the flour and butter together first (this is called a "roux"). This will eliminate any raw flour taste before you whisk in warm milk. This sauce is my "go-to" for thickening soups and making some casseroles even more rich in flavor. And I absolutely love drizzling it on shrimp and grits!
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Béchamel Sauce Recipe: What To Know & Recipe Highlights
- Origin: It’s one of the five "mother sauces" in French cuisine, serving as the base for a lot of other sauces and dishes.
- How To Serve It: When I’m craving a creamy pasta sauce that’s lighter than Alfredo, this is my go-to. It's also really good mixed in with a homemade white sauce lasagna, any creamy casserole dish, or even drizzled on top of grilled veggies.
- Ingredient Tips: I add fresh garlic cloves and sauté them in the salted butter. This adds a hint of garlic to the sauce. You can also add nutmeg.
- Make It Ahead Of Time: If you are strapped for time, you can make this sauce ahead of time 1 day ahead of time!
- Storage & Reheating: To store it, let the sauce cool slightly, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. To prevent a skin from forming on top, press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce. When you are ready to use it, reheat it in a saucepan over low heat, making sure you are whisking it frequently. If the sauce thickens too much, add 1-2 Tablespoons of warm milk and then whisk it until smooth. Do not freeze.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Milk - use whole milk.
- Flour - use all purpose flour
- Garlic - skip the jarred version and mince fresh cloves.
- Butter - salted butter works best because it helps cut some of the sweet from the whole milk. Make sure you use a good quality butter, like Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter or Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter.
- Salt & Pepper - a flavor enhancer. While you can use black pepper, I love using white pepper. It gives the sauce more of a subtle and creamy kick.
👩🏼🍳 See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements!
🥣 Here's How You Make It
Step 1: Pour 3 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium-heat until warm, ensuring it does not get hot. While the milk is warming, melt ¼ cup of butter in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add in the minced fresh garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Step 2: Pour in the ¼ cup of flour, and whisk it into the meted butter and garlic until a rouge forms, about 1-2 minutes.
Step 3: Pour the warm milk into the saucepan with the rouge and whisk to combine. Add the salt and white pepper and continue to whisk.
Step 4: Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking continuously for 1-2 until the sauce begins to thicken.
As soon as the sauce reaches the desired thickness, remove the saucepan from the heat and continue to whisk until the sauce stops bubbling and slightly cools. Serve immediately.
🙋🏼♀️ Recipe FAQs
Béchamel sauce and Alfredo sauce look similar, but they a lot of differences in ingredients, texture, and flavor.
Béchamel sauce is a classic French "mother sauce" made with butter, flour, and warm milk, which makes a smooth, creamy texture with a mild, and slightly buttery taste. Unlike Alfredo Sauce, it's often used as a base for other sauces or in dishes.
Alfredo sauce is an Italian sauce made with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. It has a much richer, cheesier flavor with a more indulgent texture. Alfredo relies on dairy fat and cheese for thickness, rather than a roux.
While both sauces are creamy and versatile, Béchamel is more neutral and adaptable, whereas Alfredo has a distinct cheesy, garlicky flavor commonly used in pasta dishes like Fettuccine Alfredo.
Using warm milk creates a smooth, lump-free consistency by letting it to blend more easily with the roux (the butter and flour mixture I mentioned above). If the milk is too cold, it can cause the roux to get lumpy and have a grainy texture. But, if the milk is too hot, it can actually start to cook the roux too quickly, and it won't thicken like it's supposed to. It can also get clumpy. Warm milk ensures a gradual thickening and a velvety texture.
Nutmeg is often added because it enhances the sauce’s creamy, buttery flavor with a subtle warmth and depth. It also brings out the richness of the milk and butter without overpowering the sauce.
I like to use freshly grated nutmeg rather than pre-ground nutmeg from a tin. Fresh nutmeg has a stronger, more aromatic taste, while pre-ground nutmeg can lose its potency over time. Just a small pinch goes a long way in elevating the sauce!
You can also add a bay leaf, ground mustard, rosemary, or thyme. If you want to add a bit of heat, add a small pinch of ground cayenne pepper!
🍲 Try Serving This Sauce With...
Béchamel Sauce does a REALLY good job of adding even more creaminess to a lot of recipes. If I have any leftover sauce in the fridge, I add about ¼ cup to these recipes here below to enhance the texture and flavor!
If you tried this Béchamel Sauce, please leave me a comment and a 5 star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
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Béchamel Sauce
Equipment
- whisk
- 2 saucepans, heavy bottom
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Pour 3 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium-heat until warm, ensuring it does not get hot.
- While the milk is warming, melt ¼ cup of butter in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
- Add in the minced fresh garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the ¼ cup of flour, and whisk it into the meted butter and garlic until a rouge forms, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the warm milk into the saucepan with the rouge and whisk to combine.
- Add the salt and white pepper and continue to whisk.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking continuously for 1-2 until the sauce begins to thicken.
- As soon as the sauce reaches the desired thickness, remove the saucepan from the heat and continue to whisk until the sauce stops bubbling and slightly cools.
- Serve immediately.
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