BÉCHAMEL SAUCE FOR LASAGNA: CLASSIC RECIPE – THERMOMIX RECIPE – GLUTEN-FREE AND BUTTER-FREE VERSION
It’s time for baked pasta and Lasagna, and therefore Béchamel!
A simple and quick recipe for homemade Béchamel Sauce for Lasagna that will allow you to prepare a creamy and enveloping sauce perfect for any of your dishes.
Like all traditional recipes, there are small tricks, let’s call them rules, that must be followed to achieve a perfect result and a Béchamel Sauce made to perfection.
Nothing complicated, don’t worry, you’ll see that with a few simple ingredients like butter, flour, and milk, you’ll prepare a white, creamy, and delicate Béchamel Sauce that will add a boost to any baked pasta dish, Cannelloni, Crepes, or Lasagna you prepare.
I’m sure that from now on, you won’t buy ready-made Béchamel Sauce anymore, but you’ll make it at home because it will take you less than 10 minutes.
At the end of the recipe, you’ll also find the homemade BUTTER-FREE Béchamel Sauce, and for those with gluten intolerance, the homemade GLUTEN-FREE Béchamel Sauce.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 2 Minutes
- Portions: 2 cups
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 65.25 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 4.72 (g) of which sugars 2.42 (g)
- Proteins 1.97 (g)
- Fat 4.43 (g) of which saturated 2.83 (g)of which unsaturated 1.59 (g)
- Fibers 0.43 (g)
- Sodium 77.85 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 2 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsps butter
- 2 tbsps flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Tools
- Small saucepan
- Hand whisk
Steps
Put a small saucepan on the stove and melt the butter, then add the flour and mix well, trying not to form lumps. Meanwhile, heat the milk in another saucepan. Pour the hot milk into the butter and flour mixture and stir quickly over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for another 1 minute, then turn off the stove, adjust the salt, season with nutmeg, and stir again: your quick and easy homemade Béchamel Sauce for Lasagna is ready to use!
THERMOMIX BÉCHAMEL INGREDIENTS: 3 tbsps of butter, 3 tbsps of flour, 2 cups of milk, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 pinch of ground black pepper (optional), 2 pinches of grated nutmeg.
THERMOMIX BÉCHAMEL PROCEDURE: put the butter in the bowl and melt it for 3 min./212°F/speed 1. Then add the flour and mix for 3 min./212°F/speed 1. Finally, add the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook everything for 6 min./194°F/speed 4.
TIPS
Some tricks to achieve a homemade Béchamel Sauce for Lasagna made to perfection:
Flour and butter must have the same weight. The more or less solid consistency will depend on the amount of milk you add.
Add the milk little by little only after butter and flour have formed a thick cream. This way, lumps will not form.
Continuously stir the Béchamel better with a hand whisk: this way, all the ingredients will blend perfectly.
STORAGE
I recommend using the béchamel sauce immediately after preparing it. Once ready, it can still be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
VARIANTS
VEGETABLE BÉCHAMEL WITHOUT BUTTER
To prepare vegetable béchamel without butter, you will need: 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, 7 tbsps all-purpose flour, 2 cups soy milk (thus also lactose-free), 1 pinch nutmeg, 1 pinch fine salt.
Procedure: Put the flour and olive oil in a saucepan over low heat and mix well with a whisk, trying not to form lumps. Begin to pour the milk little by little, always continuing to stir until you get a soft and creamy Béchamel Sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Keep stirring over low heat until the butter-free vegetable béchamel reaches a boil. Cook for 1 more minute, then remove from heat: the Béchamel Sauce is ready!
GLUTEN-FREE BÉCHAMEL
If you need to prepare a gluten-free Béchamel Sauce due to intolerance issues, check out my recipe by clicking HERE.
BÉCHAMEL HISTORY AND CURIOSITIES
Béchamel Sauce is prepared with butter, flour, and milk and flavored with nutmeg. It is among the base sauces of French cuisine, as well as Italian and Anglo-Saxon cuisine, where it is called ‘white sauce.’ According to French tradition, the inventor of béchamel was the Marquis Louis de Béchamel, from whom the name derives, who in the 18th century was the first to introduce it into his recipes.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
SHOULD BÉCHAMEL BE MADE WITH HOT OR COLD MILK?
Actually, BÉCHAMEL can be prepared by adding either hot or cold milk to the ROUX. Depending on the method followed, a slightly different result will be achieved. The original recipe calls for using COLD MILK straight from the fridge into the roux and whisking vigorously. This way, it will be harder for lumps to form, and you’ll get a smooth and velvety béchamel. The only drawback of this method is that the cooking times are obviously longer as the milk needs to heat up. Alternatively, you can use HOT MILK, with significantly shorter cooking times. The milk needs to be heated separately in a saucepan and added to the roux off the heat. Stir quickly until every lump is dissolved, then put the pot back on the stove and finish cooking the béchamel. The downside of using hot milk is that the likelihood of lumps forming is higher, but don’t worry, below I leave you instructions on how to fix your lumpy béchamel.
WHAT IS ROUX AND HOW TO PREPARE IT?
Roux is the mixture of butter and flour with which the preparation of béchamel sauce begins. To prepare it, simply melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and let it cook for a couple of minutes while stirring with a whisk. You’ll know the roux is ready when it takes on a slightly hazel color (indicating that the flour is well cooked). This prevents the béchamel from tasting of flour, which happens when roux is not properly made.
WHAT TO USE INSTEAD OF NUTMEG IN BÉCHAMEL SAUCE?
An option is cardamom, a spice with an intense and slightly citrus aroma, perfect for giving the sauce an exotic touch. Also interesting can be the use of cumin, which with its warm and earthy flavor pairs well with meat or vegetable dishes.
HOW LONG TO COOK BÉCHAMEL SAUCE?
For the question “how long to cook béchamel sauce?” there is no exact answer because it depends on how liquid or thick we want the béchamel. In general, keep in mind that béchamel is a bit like pastry cream, meaning the cooler it gets, the more solid and thick it becomes. So if it seems liquid after cooking time in the pot, keep in mind that once cooled, it will have a more “solid” consistency. Obviously, the more you extend the cooking time, the thicker the final result will be.
HOW TO FIX LUMPY BÉCHAMEL SAUCE?
If, despite following the procedure to the letter, your béchamel sauce has lumps, don’t despair, you can still save it! Fixing it is easier than you think. While the béchamel is still on the burners, use an immersion blender and give it a good blend. You’ll see how in just a few seconds, your béchamel will be lump-free, smooth, and velvety. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can simply strain it through a fine mesh sieve and then put it back on the stove until the cooking is complete.
