How to Make Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel sauce is one of the four basic sauces of French cooking. It is a milk-based sauce that can be served on its own, or used as the base for a more complicated sauce. It contains just three ingredients, but can be flavored in a variety of ways if desired.

Ingredients

Servings: 4

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup of milk

Steps

1
This is the basic recipe for Béchamel sauce. This sauce can be flavored in a number of other ways if desired.
2
Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan.

Advertisement
3
Heat the butter over medium heat until it's melted.
4
Mix in 2 tablespoons of flour to make a roux, or the beginning stage of the sauce. Always keep the ratio of butter to flour equal, regardless of whether you are producing a thinner or thicker sauce.
5
Cook the roux gently, stirring well until it pales and takes on the color of straw.
6
Lower the heat and slowly incorporate 2 or 3 tablespoons of milk.
7
Mix the milk in well, stirring until it is completely incorporated into the roux.
8
Mix in an additional 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk and stir them in until they're completely incorporated.
9
Continue adding milk, 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time, until 1 cup of milk is completed incorporated. Do this slowly; only add as much milk as will be easily incorporated into the sauce. Adding the milk too quickly may make the sauce lumpy.
10
Remove the sauce from the heat and add salt and pepper if desired.

Advertisement

Warnings

Do not over brown or burn the roux. This will add too deep a flavor to the sauce. If the roux burns, throw it out and start over.

Thanks!
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 2