Do you know how to make béchamel sauce at home?
AS YOU KNOW, EVERY RECIPE HAS A STORY.
Béchamel is a smooth, velvety white sauce, fundamental in gastronomy. It is a staple of classic cooking, particularly French (where it is one of the five mother sauces) and Italian.
Composition and Role.
It is usually flavored with salt, pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg, giving it its unmistakable aroma.
Versatility in Cooking
Its consistency varies according to the proportions of roux and milk, from a fluid sauce to a thick cream. It is the queen of dishes like:
Lasagna and Cannelloni
Vegetable Gratin (cauliflower, potatoes, broccoli)
Soufflé and Croque Monsieur
Base for other sauces (like Mornay Sauce, by adding cheese)
It is the element that binds, softens, and makes every preparation incredibly creamy and comforting.
Like many good things, the history of Béchamel is shrouded in mystery and a gentle (but firm!) dispute between Italy and France.
The French Thesis (and the Nomen Omen)
The name “Béchamel” is universally associated with the marquis Louis de Béchameil, a financier who was the steward (maître d’hôtel) of King Louis XIV in the 17th century.
It is said that Béchameil was not the inventor but merely “perfected” a pre-existing sauce, or more likely, it was dedicated to him by the court cook François Pierre La Varenne as a tribute. La Varenne published the recipe in his famous 1651 book, Le Cuisinier François, making it popular and attributing it to the marquis.
Here is the basic recipe, the one on the stovetop to make it thick or less thick depending on your taste and use, but also the microwave version, really fast and straightforward.
A method I use when in a hurry and don’t have time to stir the béchamel and wait for it to thicken on the stove, here comes the microwave to the rescue, the basic one that many of you have at home and surely use to heat dishes or milk for breakfast.
Then, the béchamel can be made very thick or less thick; it depends if you want to gratin vegetables or fill crepes, for example. I leave the right explanations for you. Are you curious? Find out how to prepare it right after the photo as always!!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 600 g of béchamel
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
how to make béchamel sauce at home, ingredients
- 1.75 oz butter
- 0.35 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches nutmeg
Tools
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Saucepan
How to make béchamel sauce at home
How to make béchamel sauce simply? In a saucepan, heat the milk until it almost boils.
In another, melt the butter on the stove then add the flour all at once off the heat.
Using the whisk, incorporate the flour into the butter and put it back on the heat.
After a couple of minutes, you’ll see the flour start to darken (roux) and separate from the sides of the saucepan, now add the milk all at once and stir vigorously with the whisk to prevent lumps.
Continue stirring on the heat until you see after 5 minutes or so that the béchamel starts to thicken, keep cooking it until you get the desired consistency.
Season with salt and nutmeg, stir and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
To make the béchamel more fluid or less thick, just reduce the amount of flour, use 1.2 oz or increase the milk by 0.5 cup.
To make béchamel in the microwave, just melt the butter in the microwave at maximum power for 1 minute in 30-second intervals.
Once melted, add the flour, stir to absorb into the butter, and incorporate half the milk at room temperature.
Mix well and return to the microwave.
Maximum power again for 2 minutes in 1-minute intervals (800 Watts).
Incorporate the remaining milk, stir with the whisk, and continue cooking for 1 minute at a time, checking the consistency.
Remember to stir every minute the microwave beeps so you can check the thickness of the béchamel itself.
Homemade Béchamel Storage
Homemade béchamel sauce can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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