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Béchamel sauce

Vegetarian

Sauce béchamel

Milk thickened with a butter-and-flour roux and lightly seasoned with nutmeg — the smooth white sauce behind lasagne, gratins, croque monsieur and moussaka.

Béchamel sauce is a French sauce from France, ready in about 25 minutes and made with milk, butter and all-purpose flour. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
5 min
Cook
20 min
Total
25 min
Serves
8
Level
Easy
Calories
115

Ingredients

8 servings (about 75 ml each)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the milk (opens in a new tab) with the bay leaf (opens in a new tab) and onion (opens in a new tab) until steaming, then take off the heat (infuse for 10 minutes if you have time) and remove the aromatics.

  2. Step 2

    In a second saucepan (opens in a new tab) melt the butter (opens in a new tab) over medium-low heat, add the flour and whisk (opens in a new tab) constantly for 2 minutes to cook out the raw taste. The roux should bubble and smell biscuity but stay pale.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Pour in about a quarter of the warm milk (opens in a new tab) and whisk (opens in a new tab) hard until smooth and thick, then add the rest in three or four additions, whisking each in fully before the next.

  4. Step 4

    Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often and getting into the corners, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and no longer tastes floury.

    • 8 min
    • low heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Season with salt, white pepper (opens in a new tab) and nutmeg (opens in a new tab). Use at once, or press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
France · Commonly attributedCodified in classical French cookery as one of the 'mother sauces'; Italy has a long tradition of the same sauce (balsamella), and the popular stories naming its inventor are not reliable.Also popular in Italy, GreeceMore food from France
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
creamy, mild, buttery
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Milk · Butter · All-purpose flour · White pepper · Nutmeg
Techniques
Simmering · Roux thickening

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom milk, butter
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

115 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 78 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 11%
  • Carbohydrate 29%
  • Fat 60%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy115 kcal148 kcal
Protein3.1 g4 g
Carbohydrate8.5 g11 g
Net carbohydrate8.3 g10.8 g
Sugars3.9 g5.1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.2 g0.2 g
Fat7.7 g9.9 g
Saturated fat4.7 g6 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol21 mg27 mg
Sodium219 mg283 mg
Salt equivalent0.5 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
110 mg
Calcium
90 mg
Iron
0.3 mg
Magnesium
9 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
78 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
22 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: bay leaves, onion.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Ratios: 30 g each butter and flour per 500 ml milk gives a pouring sauce; 50 g per 600 ml is right for lasagne; 60 g per 500 ml makes a thick binding sauce for croquetas or soufflés.

Common mistakes

  • Adding cold milk all at once to a hot roux gives lumps — if it happens, whisk hard or pass through a sieve.

Serve with

  • Lasagne and cannelloni
  • Cauliflower or leek gratin
  • Croque monsieur

Storage

  • Refrigerate, surface covered, up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently while whisking, with a splash of milk to loosen.

Variations

  • Sauce Soubise: Stir in soft, sweated puréed onion.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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