How to Make Classic Bechamel Sauce
A step-by-step guide for making Bechamel from scratch. This easy French mother sauce is the foundation for lasagna, mac and cheese, and much more!
or read on for step-by-step instructions with photos
Master the Basics: Bechamel for Authentic Lasagna, Pasta, and Beyond
Bechamel sauce is one of the five French mother sauces, the cornerstone of classical French cooking. The other 4 sauces are:
Velouté: A light, velvety sauce made with a white stock and a blond roux.
Espagnole: A rich, brown sauce made with brown stock and a brown roux.
Hollandaise: A buttery, tangy sauce made by emulsifying egg yolks with an acid and warm butter.
Tomato: A French take on tomato sauce, often flavored with pork and aromatics and sometimes thickened with a roux.
What is Bechamel Sauce?
Also known as "white sauce" or "besciamella," this versatile sauce is the creamy foundation for dishes like authentic Italian lasagna, mac and cheese, moussaka, scalloped potatoes, and more.
It’s made by combining warm milk (sometimes flavored with aromatics) with a white roux to create a thick, creamy sauce. Bechamel’s silky texture and mild flavor make it an ideal base for countless dishes. Its thickness can be adjusted to suit everything from lasagna to creamy soups.
What is Roux?
A roux is a thickening agent made by combining equal parts butter and flour. For bechamel, you’ll use a white roux, which is cooked just until it loses its raw flour taste without browning. Depending on the dish, roux can also be cooked to blonde or brown to add deeper flavor to sauces like velouté or espagnole.
What Makes This Recipe Special
The foundation for authentic lasagna: Skip the ricotta and layer bechamel with bolognese, mozzarella, and parmesan between lasagne sheets for a deliciously rich Italian-American-style lasagna. Check out my authentic meat lasagna to get the recipe—my family always raves about this one!
Added flavor: Rather than using plain milk for the bechamel, we’ll infuse it with bay leaf, nutmeg, and garlic to create a savory, complex flavor profile that elevates dishes even further.
What’s Ahead in This Recipe
My Tips: Avoid lumps, learn how to prevent a skin from forming on the sauce, and customize the thickness to suit your dish.
Serving Suggestions: Discover creative ways to use bechamel in lasagna, pasta bakes, as a sauce for meats and vegetables, or in other comforting meals.
Substitutions: Learn how to adapt bechamel to fit your ingredients or dietary needs, and explore derivatives like Mornay sauce.
Storage: Get tips for storing, reheating, making ahead, and freezing this sauce.
FAQs: Find answers to common questions like why add nutmeg to bechamel and the differences between bechamel vs. alfredo.
Now, let’s dive in and I’ll show you how to make this classic sauce step by step with photos.
What you’ll need
Ingredients
1 quart (1 liter) whole milk
¼ cup butter, salted or unsalted
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic, smashed
salt, to taste
Equipment
2 saucepans
Strainer
Spatula, whisk, and ladle
Parchment paper or plastic wrap
Makes: 1 quart (1 liter)
Prep: 5 min Cook: 30 min
How to make it
Step 1
Steep milk.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, nutmeg, bay leaves, and garlic clove. Place it over medium heat and warm gently, stirring occasionally with a spatula to prevent sticking or burning.
Heat until the milk begins to foam on top, about 10 minutes. Once foamy, remove it from heat, cover it with a lid, and let it steep while you prepare the roux.
Step 2
Make the roux.
In another medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and stir with a spatula to form a smooth paste.
The roux will start to foam as it cooks. Continue stirring constantly and cook until it smells slightly nutty but hasn’t browned, about 2–3 minutes. The roux should stay pale to keep the bechamel sauce light in flavor and color.
Step 3
Incorporate the milk.
Strain the steeped milk to remove the bay leaves and garlic.
Place the saucepan with the roux over medium-high heat. Gradually add the milk, one ladle at a time, whisking constantly. The mixture will thicken quickly at first—this is normal.
Continue adding the milk in batches, whisking well to break up any lumps, and wait until the mixture smooths out, thickens, and comes to a gentle boil before adding more milk. Use a spatula periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan to prevent sticking or burning.
Adding the milk gradually is key to achieving a smooth, silky sauce. If lumps do form, don’t worry—you can strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve at the end.
Once all the milk is incorporated, bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and when you draw a line through it with your finger, the line should hold.
If the sauce is too thick, whisk in a splash of milk or water. If it’s too thin, let it simmer a bit longer, stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick or burn.
💡Pro Tip: Start incorporating the milk with a spatula at first while the mixture is still thick—it’s easier to stir. Just make sure to press out any lumps with the spatula before adding more milk. Once the sauce thins out, switch to a whisk. See pics below to get an idea of what this looks like.
Step 4
Season and cover.
Season the sauce with salt, tasting as you go, and adjusting the seasoning. Classically, white pepper can be added as well, though I usually skip it. Avoid black pepper if you want to keep your sauce looking white and creamy.
Your sauce is now ready to incorporate into recipes like Italian-American meat lasagna or to serve as a sauce on meat, vegetables, pasta, and more.
If you’re not using the sauce immediately, press a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly onto its surface to prevent a skin from forming.
This sauce stores and freezes exceptionally well. If you’re saving it for later, let it cool completely before transferring it to airtight containers. For details on storing, reheating, freezing, and thawing, see the storage instructions below.
My Tips
Steep milk longer for more flavor: For an extra flavorful bechamel sauce, let the milk steep with aromatics for hours or even a day ahead. Once it gets foamy, turn off the heat and let it cool completely with the aromatics still in (refrigerate if using the next day). Then strain and reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave before adding it to your roux.
Add milk gradually and whisk constantly: Gradually adding the milk while whisking prevents lumps and ensures a smooth and silky sauce. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan with a spatula to avoid burning, which can happen very easily with milk-based sauces.
Make it extra creamy: Use cream instead of milk to make a rich, indulgent bechamel sauce for recipes like baked mac and cheese or white sauce for ziti.
Prevent skin from forming: Directly cover the surface of your bechamel sauce with parchment paper or plastic wrap while it cools to prevent a skin from forming. This is particularly helpful when making bechamel sauce in advance.
Adjust bechamel sauce ratios for different dishes:
Lasagna or pasta: Use 1–2 tablespoons of flour per cup of milk for a thinner, pourable consistency.
Moussaka or croque monsieur: Opt for 3 tablespoons of flour per cup of milk to create a thicker, structured sauce.
General use: My standard ratio of 1 tablespoon of flour per cup of milk works for most bechamel sauce recipes, from scalloped potatoes to ravioli and casseroles.
Just make sure to add an equivalent amount of butter to the flour when making the roux, the butter-to-flour ratio is always 1:1. You can always easily adjust the thickness after the fact if it’s too thick or thin as well, see below.
Fixing common problems:
Bechamel sauce is lumpy: Strain through a fine mesh sieve to achieve a smooth, creamy texture.
Bechamel sauce is too thick: Whisk in a splash of milk or water to loosen it.
Bechamel sauce is too thin: Simmer the sauce longer to reduce and thicken, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
Alternatively, you can cook a small amount of additional roux in a separate pan and whisk the thin sauce into it.
💡Pro Tip: For a quicker fix, whisk in a cornstarch slurry—combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the sauce, repeating as needed until it reaches the desired thickness. I use this hack often in my professional cooking experience for sauces, soups, stews, and just about anything that needs quick thickening.
Serving Suggestions
Casseroles: Bechamel makes creamy dishes such as chicken pot pie, baked ziti, chicken & broccoli and tuna noodle casseroles even better.
For something more unique, try it in moussaka—this Greek casserole features spiced ground meat and eggplant, topped with a thick, layer of bechamel sauce. Plan on using 3 tablespoons each of flour and butter per cup of milk for the perfect consistency.
Classic Lasagna: Replace ricotta with bechamel—or "besciamella" in Italian—for a truly authentic Italian-style lasagna.
Bechamel binds lasagna layers more evenly than ricotta, giving it a smoother and more cohesive texture. Layer it with bolognese sauce, parmesan, mozzarella, and lasagna sheets for a dish that’s irresistibly rich and creamy—just like in my classic meat lasagna with bechamel recipe!
Gratins: Use bechamel as the base for scalloped potatoes, cauliflower gratin, or other vegetable gratins. It binds the layers together beautifully.
Pasta: Toss bechamel with cooked pasta for creamy dishes like chicken pesto fettuccine, mushroom ravioli, or shrimp alfredo. Add sautéed garlic and parmesan for even more flavor.
Baked Mac and Cheese: Turn your bechamel into a Mornay sauce by melting in cheese. Combine with boiled elbow pasta, pour into a casserole, and top with breadcrumbs and more cheese before baking until golden and bubbly.
As a Sauce: Spoon bechamel over roasted or steamed vegetables like broccoli, green beans, or Brussels sprouts.
Serve it alongside poultry dishes like roasted chicken or turkey or as a topping for baked seafood like cod, scallops, shrimp, or salmon.
Croque Monsieur: This French café classic layers ham and cheese between slices of bread, then top with bechamel and broil until brown and bubbly.
Soups and Stews: Use bechamel as a creamy base in soups and stews like broccoli cheddar, clam chowder, leek and potato, or cream of mushroom.
White Pizza: Use bechamel instead of tomato sauce for a white pizza base. Pair with toppings like spinach, burrata, mushrooms, or prosciutto.
Nachos: Melt in sharp cheddar and add a pinch of cayenne and a splash of vinegar to bechamel for a zesty nacho cheese sauce—perfect for dipping or topping loaded nacho platters.
Substitutions
Milk: For a richer sauce, use heavy cream instead of milk. For a dairy-free alternative, substitute with unsweetened oat milk or soy milk. Be aware that plant-based milk may alter the flavor slightly.
Butter: Replace butter with olive oil or vegan butter to make the roux dairy-free.
Flour: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour to make a gluten-free roux.
Nutmeg: If you don’t have nutmeg, try a pinch of allspice or add 1 clove for a warm note. Or simply omit it if making a neutral white sauce.
Infused Milk: Experiment with other aromatics like thyme, shallots, or rosemary instead of garlic and bay leaves for a different flavor profile.
Derivative Sauces
Mornay Sauce: Add grated cheese, such as Gruyère, parmesan, sharp cheddar, or mozzarella, to create a cheesy sauce perfect for mac and cheese, gratins, or pasta bakes.
Soubise Sauce: Mix in softened, puréed onions for a sweet and savory onion-flavored sauce, often served with poultry or vegetables.
Nantua Sauce: Add crayfish butter and cream for a seafood-inspired sauce, traditionally paired with fish or shellfish.
Raifort Sauce: Stir in white wine and grated horseradish for a sharp and tangy sauce that pairs wonderfully with roast beef or other hearty meats.
Storage
Fridge: Allow the bechamel sauce to cool completely before transferring it to airtight containers. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. To prevent a skin from forming, press a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper directly onto the surface of the sauce while it cools.
To Reheat: Gently reheat the bechamel over low heat in a saucepan, whisking constantly to restore its smooth texture. Alternatively, microwave in 30-second bursts, whisking in between to maintain its consistency. If the sauce has thickened in the fridge, whisk in a small amount of milk to thin it back to its original texture.
Freezer: Bechamel sauce freezes well! Transfer the cooled sauce to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Use plastic deli containers or freezer bags for easy storage, leaving a little space at the top for expansion.
To Thaw: Transfer the frozen bechamel to the fridge overnight. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. It may appear split or grainy at first but don’t worry—whisk it vigorously as it heats, and it will come back together to a smooth consistency.
Dietary Notes: Egg-free, Vegetarian, Low-carb
FAQs
How to get rid of lumps in bechamel sauce?
Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. To avoid lumps next time, whisk constantly while gradually adding milk to the roux.
What is the flour-to-butter ratio for bechamel sauce?
The classic ratio is 1 tablespoon of butter to 1 tablespoon of flour per cup of milk. This creates a medium-thickness sauce, ideal for most dishes. Adjust the ratio for thicker sauces (like for moussaka or croque monsieur).
Bechamel vs Alfredo sauce: what’s the difference?
Bechamel is a French mother sauce made from milk, butter, and flour, while Alfredo sauce is Italian and combines butter, cheese, and pasta water (sometimes cream). Bechamel is more versatile as a base for various dishes, while Alfredo is typically only used for pasta.
What are the 5 mother sauces?
The five mother sauces of classical French cuisine are:
Béchamel: A creamy white sauce made with milk and white roux.
Velouté: A light velvety sauce made with light stock (chicken, veal, or fish) and thickened with blond roux.
Espagnole: A rich brown sauce made with brown stock and brown roux.
Hollandaise: A warm emulsified sauce made with egg yolks, clarified butter, and an acid like lemon juice or vinegar.
Tomato: A French tomato sauce made from tomatoes, aromatics, salted pork, and sometimes thickened with roux.
Is bechamel just white gravy?
While they share similarities, bechamel is a French mother sauce made from milk and roux, typically seasoned with nutmeg. White gravy is an American variation made with pan drippings, roux, and milk, often served with biscuits.
Why add nutmeg to bechamel?
Nutmeg enhances the flavor of bechamel by adding a warm, subtle spice that complements the natural flavors of milk. It’s a traditional seasoning in both French and Italian variations.
What is bechamel with cheese called?
Bechamel with cheese is called Mornay sauce. Commonly made with Gruyère or parmesan, it’s perfect for gratins, croque monsieur, or mac n’ cheese.
Can you make bechamel sauce in advance?
Yes, bechamel sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. To prevent a skin from forming, press parchment paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface while it cools. Reheat gently and whisk to restore its smooth texture.
Can bechamel sauce be frozen?
Yes, bechamel sauce freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Please see storage for tips on reheating and restoring its smooth texture.
That’s it, enjoy!
Recently, I made a double batch of bechamel—some went into my classic Italian-American beef lasagna, and the rest became a chicken, broccoli, and pasta bake. Both dishes were a hit with my family, who kept asking for the secret—but it was just a really good, basic bechamel sauce!
As a chef, I will tell you that mastering these foundational sauces is one of the easiest ways to elevate your cooking. In my 15 years of professional experience, we made countless batches of Mornay sauce for mac and cheese, and it was always a guest favorite. It’s simple to make from scratch, yet many people don’t realize quite how easy it can be.
No matter what you use your bechamel for, you’ll love having this versatile sauce in your repertoire. Be sure to check out my other French mother sauce recipes for chicken veloute and quick hollandaise—they’re just as foundational, easy, and delicious!
Summary
Easy Bechamel Sauce Recipe
Master this creamy, versatile sauce that’s the foundation for lasagna, pasta bakes, and more. It’s easier to make than you think!
Makes: 1 quart (1 liter)
Prep: 5 min Cook: 30 min
Ingredients
1 quart (1 liter) whole milk
¼ cup butter, salted or unsalted
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic, smashed
salt, to taste
Instructions
Steep milk. Combine milk, nutmeg, bay leaves, and garlic in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until foamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep while you make the roux.
Make roux. In another saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux smells slightly nutty but remains pale, about 2–3 minutes.
Incorporate milk. Strain the steeped milk to remove aromatics. Gradually add the milk to the roux, one ladle at a time, whisking constantly and letting it thicken before adding more. Occasionally, scrape the sides and bottom of the pan with a spatula to avoid sticking. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is smooth and coats the back of a spoon.
Season and use. Season with salt to taste. For a perfectly white sauce, avoid black pepper and use white pepper instead (optional). Use immediately or let it cool. Press plastic wrap or parchment paper onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Once cool, store in airtight containers in the fridge or freezer.
Top Tips
Storage: Bechamel keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days and freezes well for up to 3 months. See storage for full details on cooling, reheating, freezing, and thawing.
Gradually add milk: Always add warm milk a little at a time, whisking constantly. This prevents lumps and creates a silky-smooth texture.
Strain if lumpy: If your sauce isn’t perfectly smooth, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve for a flawless finish.
Adjust consistency:
If it’s too thick, whisk in a little milk or water to thin it out.
If it’s too thin, simmer longer, stirring frequently. Alternatively, make a small amount of new roux in a separate pan and whisk the thin sauce into it.
For a quick fix, whisk in a cornstarch slurry—mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the simmering sauce. Repeat as needed until it thickens.
Serving suggestions: Perfect for classic Italian-style lasagna bolognese, mac and cheese, potato gratin, chicken pot pie, or as a sauce for steamed broccoli and baked cod.
Further reading: For more, see my tips, serving suggestions, substitutions, storage, and FAQs.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know how you used your bechamel sauce in the comments! If you share your dish, tag @onecreativecook on Instagram—I’d love to see your creations.
Enjoy!
