Back to basics: white sauce

If there is one cooking technique that’s worth learning, it’s how to make a basic white sauce. One of the ‘mother sauces’ of French cuisine, white sauce or ‘béchamel’ as it’s traditionally known uses simple store cupboard ingredients and is incredibly versatile, forming the base of many popular dishes. A classic béchamel uses milk that has been infused with onion, herbs and spices, but for our basic version we are just using the 3 main ingredients of butter, flour and milk. 

What you’ll need to make a white sauce

Once made, white sauce can be flavoured with cheese, parsley, mushrooms or white wine for 4 simple sauces. Dishes that use white sauce as a base include macaroni cheese, vegetable bake, fish pie, chicken in white wine sauce and lasagne to name but a few. The sauce can be used thick or thin depending on what you are making and how you like to eat it. 

Ingredients

• 25g plain flour 
• 25g butter 
• 1 pint/570ml milk, warmed slightly 
• Salt and pepper 

Method

• Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat and mix in the flour until it forms a paste (also known as a roux). 
• Cook the roux over a low to medium heat for a few minutes, stirring as you go, until it leaves the sides of the pan easily. 
• Slowly add the milk to the roux bit by bit, whisking as you go.  
• When all the milk has been added simmer gently for up to 20 mins stirring regularly until you can no longer taste any flour. 
• When your sauce forms a smooth, shiny and thick consistency it’s ready to be seasoned and either flavoured or cooled for storing. 

Top tip: You can use cold milk but warm is better to avoid lumps, so this can be done in a milk pan or microwaveable jug just before you start. 

Printable recipe