Easy Vegan Bechamel Sauce Recipe | Vegan Lasagna Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What is the formula in making a bechamel sauce? ›

The basic ratio for a classic béchamel is 3 ounces of fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil) to 3 ounces of all-purpose flour for the roux. This ratio of roux will thicken up to a quart of milk, but you can use less milk for a thicker sauce, as we do below.

Once you've finished adding the milk, the sauce will start to thicken fairly quickly, but it's not ready until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If you're not sure, dip a spoon into the sauce. If the béchamel is properly thickened, it should stay on the back of the spoon.

Flour: All-purpose flour is the thickening agent in bechamel sauce. Combined with the melted butter, it forms a roux, which helps thicken the sauce and gives it that velvety consistency. Milk: Milk adds to the creaminess and helps bind the ingredients together.

A classic French sauce, a béchamel is made with flour, butter, and milk. It is used in many dishes from lasagna to macaroni and cheese to gratins and casseroles to croque monsieur. The butter and flour are cooked together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to form a thick paste (the roux) before milk is added.

The term “white sauce” is a more general term that is sometimes used to refer to any white-coloured sauce, while “béchamel sauce” specifically refers to the white sauce made from a roux and milk. However, the two terms are often used interchangeably. In most cases, they refer to the same sauce.

Although you can technically make a béchamel by adding cold milk to the pan with the roux, warming the milk in a separate pot on the stovetop or even in a glass measuring cup in the microwave will make for a less-messy experience since cold milk will spatter when it hits the hot pan.

Cause: Ratios are wrong (too much liquid or not enough flour) or roux is cooked too long or too short. Solution: First try and cook it for a bit longer and see if it thickens up. If not, make a little more roux in a separate saucepan (using equal parts butter and flour).

THE BOTTOM LINE: There's no reason to scald the milk for white sauce unless you're trying to infuse it with other flavors (onion or herbs, for instance). Not only does the scalding process take extra time, but using cold or room-temperature milk actually gives you a smoother sauce—and one less pot to wash.

Cook a little more roux in a separate saucepan by cooking equal parts butter and flour over medium-high heat until straw coloured. Whisk the into the thin sauce. Bring to the boil and stir for 5 minutes until your sauce has reached the desired consistency.

If the sauce is still in the pan - add extra liquid and cook some more. If it's already on the pasta - I would try adding extra liquid on top, cover with foil and cook some more.

Why is my bechamel sauce watery? ›

Remember, though, that béchamel is so easy and forgiving, even if you get the ratio wrong, it's incredibly easy to fix: If yours comes out too thick, just whisk in more milk until the desired consistency is reached; if it's too thin, either simmer it down, allowing evaporation to thicken the sauce up, or cook a little ...

Mornay sauce is made from béchamel, one of the mother sauces in classic French cooking. You can use many different semi-firm cheeses for this, including cheddar, though Swiss or Gruyère is most traditional.

Béchamel is made by thickening hot milk with a simple white roux. The sauce is then flavored with onion, cloves, and nutmeg and simmered until it is creamy and velvety smooth. Béchamel can be used as an ingredient in baked pasta recipes like lasagna, and also in casseroles.

For quick recipes, gratins or a helping hand, you can count on the ready-made béchamel, with flour, butter and French milk! You can already smell the smell of a good gratin or a gourmet croque-monsieur.

Melt 1 part butter or fat in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Then sprinkle in 1 part flour. Stir the butter and flour constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion for even cooking. In 3 to 5 minutes, you'll have a light roux that should puff slightly.

Roux takes just a few minutes to make. Whether you are making just enough for a single dish, or a batch to divide and freeze for later, the proportions of ingredients are the same: 1 part oil or fat and 1 part all-purpose flour, by weight. If you have a kitchen scale, this is easy to measure.

For a medium thickness, you'd use 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour to 1 cup milk. For a really thick sauce, you'd use 3 tablespoons each of butter and flour. The roux is actually the base of starch and fat that is cooked for a short time before the liquid is stirred in.