Dairy Free Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel is one of those foundational sauces that shows up everywhere — lasagna, moussaka, mac and cheese, creamy gratins — which makes it genuinely frustrating when dairy is off the table. This version swaps in dairy-free butter and your preferred plant-based milk to deliver the same silky, spoonable result without any compromise on texture or flavor. The technique is classic: a quick roux cooked until it smells faintly nutty, then a slow pour of milk whisked in until the sauce thickens to that perfect coat-the-back-of-a-spoon consistency. White pepper and a pinch of nutmeg give it that subtle warmth that makes a proper bechamel taste like it came from a French kitchen. It comes together in well under 15 minutes and makes four generous servings, so it's just as practical on a weeknight as it is for a weekend dinner party centerpiece. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface if you're not using it right away — that one small step keeps it smooth and skin-free until you're ready to pour.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 2 tbsp dairy free butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- 1
Melt the dairy free butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until fully liquid and just beginning to foam.
- 2
Add the flour all at once and whisk constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture forms a smooth, pale paste and smells faintly nutty — this cooks out the raw flour taste.
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