Bechamel Sauce Recipe
Published January 8, 2025. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious classic French Bechamel is a creamy thick sauce with savory flavors perfect for sauces and pasta dishes. If you want to get into cooking, this is a must-know-how for making sauce.
This is one of the most foundational sauce recipes of all time. It’s essential for cooking and has incredible flavor when made correctly. Whether using it in a classic lasagna bolognese recipe or a Kentucky hot brown sandwich, you will love it.
Bechamel
Bechamel is a simple French white sauce consisting of milk thickened with roux. In addition, it is commonly seasoned with bay leaves, nutmeg, onion, cloves, salt, and ground white pepper. It is one of the five mother sauces, along with tomate, hollandaise, veloute, and espagnole.
The thickness of the sauce will ultimately depend on how much roux is used and how thick or thin you would like it. You can serve it as it is in sandwiches like the croque madame. Bechamel is also the base for other sauces like mornay, soubise, Nantua, and the cheese sauce in mac and cheese, among many others. However, this is not used in a classic Alfredo sauce, which only has butter and Parmigiano.
History of Bechamel
The sauce was created in the 1600s and formally named after Louis de Béchamel, the steward for Luis XIV in France. However, there is some discrepancy with that story as Tuscany Italy claims it was founded by Caterina di Medici’s chefs in the early 16th century when it was called salsa colla.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour – All-purpose or bread flour can be used in the sauce. This is used to make the roux.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in my cooking and baking to control the sodium content. You could also use ghee or clarified butter as a substitute.
- Milk – Whole milk is best to use for maximum flavor. However, 1%, 2%, or skim milk may also be used. If you want this to be over the top, then half-and-half or heavy whipping cream can be substituted.
- Onion – A fresh white, yellow, or sweet onion can be used.
- Bay Leaf – A fresh or dry bay leaf will work in this sauce.
- Clove – The whole clove is best, but the ground is a suitable substitute.
- Nutmeg – I prefer to grate the whole nutmeg finely, but pre-ground works just as well.
- Seasoning – Coarse salt and ground white pepper is best. I go with ground white pepper to help keep the bechamel a consistent color without any large black or other colored peppercorn chunks.
How to Make Bechamel
Start by scalding the milk over low heat in a medium pot. This usually takes around 6 to 8 minutes. Next, add the roux to the scalded milk.
Whisk in the roux until it is completely smooth and mixed in, and bring to a boil to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon easily, and if you run your finger through the sauce, the top part of the sauce should not creep through the part where you ran your finger. This consistency is called nappe. Turn the heat down to low.
Next, cut a small slit into ¼ of an onion about 1 inch wide and a 1/2 inch deep and jam a bay leaf into it. Then, press a clove into the onion.
Place the onion into the sauce and cook for 15 minutes to infuse the flavor. This cooking time will also help to remove any floury-starchy flavors. Next, add in some freshly grated nutmeg or already pre-ground.
Season with coarse salt and ground white pepper to taste. Remove the bechamel and then strain through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Use or store the bechamel sauce.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this sauce up to 2 days before.
How to Store: Keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cover and freeze the bechamel for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge for one day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Place your desired amount into a small saucepan and whisk over low heat until thick. If the sauce separates, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of roux or slurry to rethicken it. Adjust the seasonings and serve.
Chef notes + tips
- You’ll know the milk is scalded if you tilt the pan back to yourself and see bubbles clinging to the bottom of the pan but not sticking to it.
- If the sauce gets too thick when making it or reheating it, add a 1/4 cup of hot milk until it is to a thinner consistency.
- You must wait for the sauce to boil after mixing it in the roux to thicken. Otherwise, it will remain on the thinner side. Boiling activates the roux thickening agent.
- It’s essential to watch this sauce closely as it can stick and burn very quickly.
Recipes to Use It In
Bechamel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups of whole milk
- 1 roux recipe
- ¼ peeled onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- coarse salt and ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the milk to a medium-size saucepot over low heat until it scalds. See notes.
- Whisk in the roux until it is completely mixed in and smooth and bring just to a boil over hight heat to thicken, and then turn the heat back down to low.
- Next, make a 1” slit into the top of the onion and push the bay leaf into the slice and press the clove into the onion as well, then place the entire thing right into the bechamel sauce, and cook for 15 minutes to infuse the flavor.
- Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix with a spoon.
- Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer like a chinois or some cheesecloth in a regular strainer. The sauce should be silky smooth.
- Serve or store the sauce.
I made this sauce for my lasagna at Christmas, it really made it very moist and delicious. Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes!! Monique
My pleasure! Thank you for giving it a try!
Nutrition has calories and carbs etc. But it does not hearing size. Please include serving size with nutrition.
It does. It makes 4 total cups
This is out of this world!
Is it a fresh or dry bay leaf that is stuffed into the onion?
Wide should be wise. FYI
You must wait for the sauce to boil after mixing in the roux for it to thicken other wide, it will remain on the thinner side.
This bechamel sauce recipe is perfect!
The clove, is it a clove of garlic?
no. Spice Clove
I made your bechemel sauce and your instructions were spot on! It can be tricky to make, but you made it possible to make this! It went on the stuffed shells recipe. Your recipes are always a hit with my family! ❤️ Thank you for sharing your talent!
Excellent!
Made this for a midnight dinner for my family in our Egyptian Macaroona Bechemal . Combined with ground beef with a hint of cinnamon, the flavors just exploded! Creamy, delicious and it became a family favorite!
That herb sack trick made me look like a legend!!
That’s awesome!
Hi
What is the roux quantity for this recipe? I know it’s the 2 to 1 ratio of flour to butter but what quantity is used in this recipe?
Thanks
click the roux in the recipe card.