Basic White Sauce - Quick No Roux Method

A white spoon pours smooth white sauce into a saucepan with wooden handle.

Basic White Sauce - Quick No Roux Method

Never fear, our easy no-fail white sauce recipe is here! This is the quickest, easiest, and most fuss free way to make a quick roux béchamel sauce base at home with just 3 ingredients.

Course Base, Basics

Cuisine Australian, Greek

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 6

Total Time 8

Servings cups

Calories 438kcal

Author Wandercooks

Cost $5

Equipment

1 Large Saucepan
1 Whisk

Ingredients

For the white sauce base

100 g butter 3.52 oz
½ cup plain flour / all purpose flour 50 g / 1.76 oz
3 cups milk 750 ml / 26.4 fl oz, full cream

Seasoning suggestion

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cheese grated, tasty, cheddar or shredded pizza cheese mix
2 tsp chicken stock sub vegetable stock or dashi powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the basic white sauce

Pop the butter, plain flour / all purpose flour and milk in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
100 g butter, ½ cup plain flour / all purpose flour, 3 cups milk
Keep whisking until butter has completely melted and the sauce has started to thicken, around 3 minutes. Whisking will help to avoid any lumps forming, so you have a super smooth white sauce base!
Note: This is unflavoured and will be very bland at this stage. Add your favourite seasonings now, or follow on for our flavouring suggestion.

Optional: Season Your White Sauce

Add in the grated cheese, parmesan, chicken stock, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Keep whisking until the cheese has completely melted and everything is well combined. Allow to heat through for a minute or two, then switch off the heat.
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup cheese, 2 tsp chicken stock, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, Salt and pepper

Video

Notes

Keep Whisking - Our biggest tip when making white sauce is to whisk, whisk, whisk! This will ensure you have that perfectly smooth sauce with no lumpy bits.
Storage - White sauce will last for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Extra Creamy - Add a swirl of thickened cream / heavy cream to the finished white sauce and whisk through for an extra creamy sauce.
Other Seasonings - Stir in a splash of Worcestershire sauce or a spoonful of your favourite mustard. You could even flavour it with onion powder, garlic powder or mustard powder, or season with your favourite dried herbs. For something completely different, try seasoning it with cayenne pepper or curry powder!
Make it Vegan - Use soy milk, oat milk or almond milk, and olive oil instead of milk and butter.

Nutrition