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British

Bread sauce

Vegetarian

A soft, comforting British sauce of milk infused with clove-studded onion, bay and pepper, thickened with fresh breadcrumbs — a Christmas staple with roast turkey and chicken.

Bread sauce is a British sauce from United Kingdom, ready in about 55 minutes and made with milk and white bread. It serves 8 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Rest
30 min
Total
55 min
Serves
8
Level
Beginner
Calories
108

Ingredients

8 servings (about 80 g each)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the milk (opens in a new tab), clove (opens in a new tab)-studded onion (opens in a new tab), bay leaf (opens in a new tab) and peppercorns (opens in a new tab) in a saucepan (opens in a new tab) and bring slowly to just below the boil.

  2. Step 2

    Take off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes (or up to several hours in the fridge), until the milk (opens in a new tab) tastes clearly of clove (opens in a new tab) and bay.

    • Step 3

      Lift out the onion (opens in a new tab), bay and peppercorns (opens in a new tab). Reheat the milk (opens in a new tab) gently, stir in the breadcrumbs and simmer, stirring, until thick and soft but still spoonable.

    • Step 4

      Beat in the butter (opens in a new tab), cream (if using), nutmeg (opens in a new tab) and salt. Loosen with a little extra milk (opens in a new tab) if too thick.

      • 2 min

    About this dish

    Origin
    England, United Kingdom · Well documentedMore food from United Kingdom
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Sauces
    Cooking method
    Simmered
    Taste
    mild, creamy, aromatic / warmly spiced
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · 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 · Low-carb
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Festive & celebration · Budget-friendly · Make-ahead
    Cook more with
    Milk · White bread · Onion · Cloves · Bay leaves · Black peppercorns
    Techniques
    Simmering

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom milk, white bread, butter, heavy cream
    • May contain: Eggsfrom white bread
    • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom white bread
    • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom white bread
    • May contain: Soyfrom white bread
    • May contain: Sesamefrom white bread

    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

    108 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 81 g · recipe makes 8

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 13%
    • Carbohydrate 44%
    • Fat 43%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
    Energy108 kcal133 kcal
    Protein3.6 g4.4 g
    Carbohydrate12 g14.8 g
    Net carbohydrate11.3 g13.9 g
    Sugars4.7 g5.8 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre0.7 g0.9 g
    Fat5.2 g6.4 g
    Saturated fat2.9 g3.6 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol13 mg16 mg
    Sodium268 mg330 mg
    Salt equivalent0.7 g0.8 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    128 mg
    Calcium
    100 mg
    Iron
    0.6 mg
    Magnesium
    12 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    51 µg
    Vitamin C
    1 mg
    Vitamin D
    0.8 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0.3 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    32 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: heavy cream.
    • “—” 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

    • Leave the bread sauce slightly looser than you want — it thickens as it stands.

    Common mistakes

    • Using dried, packet breadcrumbs, which give a gritty, stodgy sauce — use fresh crumbs from a day-old loaf.

    Serve with

    • Roast turkey, chicken or pheasant with stuffing and gravy

    Storage

    • Refrigerate up to 3 days; freezes for 1 month.

    Reheating

    • Warm gently with a splash of milk, stirring.

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

    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

    • Milk500 ml · 515 g
    • White bread, crusts removed, made into fresh crumbs120 g
    Used in steps 1, 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

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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