White Sauce Recipe | Bechamel Sauce

White Sauce recipe is a classic french sauce recipe, which is also known as Bechamel Sauce. It is one of the most basic sauce (mother sauce) in the French cuisine.

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I had my first, authentic, white sauce pasta, or Bechamel Pasta (now as I know what it is called) in a restaurant. The beautiful penne pasta with a few colourful veggies, coated perfectly with the creamy, hot white sauce….ummm, it was indeed delectable!

After a few years, I tasted a few other dishes of white sauce, like Vegetable Au Gratin (Baked veggies in white sauce) and White Sauce Lasagna, and experienced the wonders of this rich and creamy sauce.

Considering the awesome taste it lends to its dishes, I always thought that white sauce recipe would be very difficult and hence never thought of tying it at home. It was only after my kids wanted to eat the white sauce pasta, that I thought of trying it out at home and to my amazement, it came out so good and yeah…It is easy!!! I have added a little twist in this white sauce recipe…read on to know what it is and why I did that!!

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What is White Sauce?

White Sauce, also known as Bechamel Sauce in French cuisine, is a simple basic sauce made with butter, flour and milk. Yes, that easy. It is popularly known by the name of white sauce due to its colour.

The mixing of butter and flour is called a roux. Basically roux is used to thicken the sauces. Hence, in white sauce, roux is mixed with milk to get a thick sauce.

White Sauce recipe, normally doesn’t call for any spice or any other ingredient besides roux and milk but in this recipe, I have used a few other ingredients and I will tell you why. So keep on reading.

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Important points of White Sauce Recipe

Roux – In white sauce recipe, first we make roux. It is simply a mix of equal parts of butter and flour. We normally use refined flour but it can be substituted with other flours too, although I have yet to try it that way.

Milk – The other main ingredient is milk. It is added to roux, it gets thickened and we get white sauce.

Seasoning and spices – In this white sauce recipe, I have added salt and spices too. This is because we can use this sauce not only as a base but in various other ways too which I have discussed below. You can definitely get creative here and add your choice of spices. But if you are making it for pasta or baked veggies then it is best left with less spices. However, I always feel that the food we eat should be what we like, so tweaking it a little bit to suit our taste won’t harm anyway.

Garlic and Onion – This is what I add in my white sauce always. First I like garlic and onion taste in my white sauce. Second they help a lot in roasting the flour without it getting brown, which is very important for this sauce. Why?? Because it is white sauce and hence should be white…right?? The flour gets coated to the fine pieces of garlic and onion and hence do not form lumps while roasting or even after adding milk.

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White, not brown – When we heat butter or roast flour, we have to keep this in mind that we do not burn them or make them brown. It is very important for the good white color of this white sauce. Also before adding the milk, is the only time when you will roast the flour to remove its rawness without it getting brown. It is important, becuase if the flour is not cooked right at this stage, then your white sauce is a waste and you can not fix it later.

Consistency – In this white sauce recipe, the consistency of the sauce is important. When you make it with pasta or veggies or you simply use it in other ways too, you don’t want it slipping away or in a very watery consistency. The right way to check is, if it’s coating the ladle or spoon or not. If it does, you must stop cooking, as it will thicken further upon cooling. Do keep that in mind too.

Some other interesting recipes from my YouTube Channel and blog;

• Red Sauce Pasta
• White Bread
• 100% Whole wheat Bread
• Ladi Pav (dinner bread)
• Kadai Paneer
• Samosa (crunchy, market style)
• Chiffon Cake (best sponge cake)

Uses of White Sauce

White Sauce Pasta – The most commonly known use of white sauce is with pasta. Also known as Bechamel sauce Pasta, it is widely loved by young and adult, both.

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Vegetable Au Gratin – Also known as Veg Au Gratin, this dish is made with lot of vegetables in white sauce. It is then topped with cheese and baked to get a brown crust. It is a continental side dish generally enjoyed with the choice of breads.

White Sauce Lasagna – White sauce is popularly used in between the layers of Lasagna to get a creamy and richer taste.

Base for other sauces – Simply add cheese to white sauce and you get Alfredo Sauce. Adding cheese also make it a great dip option too. White sauce is generally a good mother sauce for other sauces.

Pizza – Yes, you read that right. White sauce is very commonly used in between the layers of Pizza in pizza burst. So in this white sauce recipe just add some cheese (its good without that also) and then use it in between the pizza layers to get creamy and cheesy effect.

Sandwiches – You can use white sauce in the filling of the sandwiches. Use it as a spread in your sandwich or burger. Or you can even add some grated veggies to it like carrots, cucumber etc. and then use it in sandwich. It tastes great and this is why I add seasoning and spices to my white sauce recipe. I mostly use it for sandwiches. It gives a delectable creamy and cheesy flavour to my sandwiches.

White Sauce Recipe Video

Here is a recipe video of white sauce to get a better understanding of how to roast the flour and sauté other ingredients. Do check out my YouTube channel “flavourhome by Sutiksha” for interesting videos of all other recipes. Also kindly Like, Share and Subscribe it to show your support, if you like these recipes.

Ingredients

• Butter – 1 tbsp
• Refined Flour – 1 tbsp
• Milk – 1 cup
• Garlic – 2 tsp, finely chopped (optional)
• Onion – 1 small, finely chopped (optional)
• Salt as per taste
• Red chilli flakes as per taste

NOTE : You can use black pepper or any other spice too, as per your taste. It is totally optional.

Method

1.For this white sauce recipe, heat butter in a pan over a low flame. Add chopped garlic and chopped onion. Sauté and remove their raw smell. Do not increase the flame or else it will change the colour of garlic and onion. Once the raw smell is gone, add the refined flour. Roast it over low flame only. Again, do not brown the flour. Just remove its rawness.

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2. Once the flour is roasted, keep the flame low and add milk in small batches. Mix the milk well and make a smooth paste. Once done, add a little more milk. This way add the milk completely in 3-4 batches. Make sure no lumps are formed in the sauce or else they will be difficult to remove later. Add salt and red chilli flakes.

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3. Cook the sauce over little high flame or medium flame once all the milk has been added. Cook it until it thickens and starts to coat the spoon. Do keep stirring or else it might stick to the bottom of the pan or even burn. Check out the video for better understanding of all the steps. Cool it down and use it as required. You can store it in the fridge, for a few days.

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I would love to hear from you if you try this White Sauce recipe. Do mention it in my comments section how you liked it or if you made any changes in it. Also if you make this and share on social networking sites, remember to add #flavourhomebysutiksha and tag me there, so that even I can appreciate your efforts.

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