Smooth, Cheesy Béchamel Sauce

Cheesy bechamel sauce in a pot with a wooden spoon.

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Smooth, Cheesy Béchamel Sauce

This smooth, creamy, cheesy béchamel is a brilliant back-pocket sauce to use for mac and cheese, lasagna, pie fillings, vegetable bakes, and so much more. It's simple, flexible, and a lot easier than you might think.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bechamel, cheese sauce, white sauce

Servings: cups

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Kate Phillips

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons butter ideally unsalted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup freshly grated cheese (about 3.5oz/100g), I like sharp cheddar, gruyere, parmesan, or a mix
2 teaspoons white miso paste optional
½ teaspoon of salt only if not using miso paste
Black pepper to taste

Instructions

Warm the milk.
Add 1 ½ cups of milk to a small saucepan or a microwave-safe jug, and warm gently until moderately hot, but not boiling.

This step isn't essential, but you'll find warm milk helps the sauce come together more quickly, and helps prevent lumps.

Make the roux.
A roux is a French term for the base of this sauce. Basically, it's equal parts fat and flour cooked into a paste. Here we're using butter and flour, as is traditional for a béchamel.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the white miso paste if you're using it, and whisk it into the butter until smooth.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour, whisking to combine into a paste (roux), and keep whisking to cook the raw flour for a couple of minutes.
Add the milk and thicken the sauce.
Turn the heat to low and slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go.
At first, it'll thicken quite quickly, then thin out as you keep adding milk. Keep whisking as it thickens up and starts to bubble. Continue whisking as you keep adding the milk.
Increase the heat slightly, then continue whisking, until the sauce thickens. This will take around 5 to 8 minutes. It should be smooth, creamy, and about the consistency of thick gravy.

To check the sauce is thick enough, I like to do the spoon test. Dip a small spoon in the sauce, then make a line through the sauce on the back of your spoon with your finger (be careful as it's hot!)

If the sauce holds the line without dripping off the spoon, it's good to go and at the right consistency.

Add the cheese and season to taste.
At this point, turn the heat off.
Sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, and the cup of grated cheese, whisking as it melts into the sauce. Taste, then season with any extra salt if needed (start sloiw if you've used the miso paste), and a very good grind of black pepper.
It's now either ready to use or ready to store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Notes

I like to use a whisk, rather than a spoon to make this because it reduces the chance of any lumps in the sauce.

There are so many ways you can use this sauce, other than for lasagne. I love using it as a base for white pizza, use it in a classic mac and cheese, as the cheese layer in mince and cheese party pies or as a base for croquettes.

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