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How to make Bechamel sauce without butter – it’s creamy, silky smooth and tastes delicious. Use this sauce for many classic comfort food dishes even if you’ve run out of butter.
Bechamel sauce is one of the first, basic sauces most people learn to make when they first start cooking.
It’s a base that’s used for many different sauces and recipes and it’s definitely one of the most important sauces to learn how to make.
But what if you run out of butter or forget to pick it up from the store? This has happened to me far too often so today I’m showing you how to make bechamel sauce without butter.
Ok, so if you love comfort food dishes such as lasagne or macaroni cheese as much as I do then you’ll know how important it is to know how to make a basic bechamel sauce, right?
Bechamel is a base that’s used for a lot of recipes that I personally couldn’t live without.
Take pasta bakes, homemade pies or baked cheesy vegetable gratin for example. I don’t know about you but I need those in my life especially at this time of year when it’s all about hearty comfort food.
More Ways To Use Bechamel Sauce
- Baked cauliflower cheese
- Macaroni cheese
- Cheesy leeks
- Lasagne
- Cannelloni
- Souffle (savoury)
- Croque Madame
- Mix with vegetables/meat/herbs/spices for hearty homemade pies + more!
There have been many occasions when I’ve forgotten to buy butter and I need to make bechamel sauce. Instead of rushing back out to the shops or changing the meal plan, there is a very simple, easy solution that almost all of you (especially those who love Italian food) will have in your kitchen.
Olive oil
Yes, you can make a silky, smooth, thick and creamy bechamel sauce using olive oil and there’s no compromise on flavour either. It’s that simple!
The Ratios For Making Bechamel Sauce (white sauce)
The basic ratio for making a classic bechamel sauce is 1:1 fat to flour. Choose a fat such as butter or oil and use the same amount of flour to form a thick paste.
This recipe uses 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 heaped tablespoon of flour which will thicken around 2 cups/1/2 litre of milk. You can adjust the milk measurements for a thicker or thinner sauce by adding less or more to your liking.
How To Make Bechamel Sauce Without Butter
Add the olive oil to a saucepan and warm it for a couple of seconds before adding the flour (photo 1).
Once the flour has been added mix it together with a whisk or wooden spoon to form a paste and let it cook for one minute (this cooks the flour so you don’t have a floury taste in your sauce) photo 2.
Add a little milk and whisk constantly to remove any lumps. Once it has started to thicken add a little more milk (around 1/4 at a time) until you have used up all the milk (photo 3).
Once it’s thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, take it off the heat and add nutmeg, salt and pepper and cheese if making a cheese sauce (photo 4).
The best cheese to add to bechamel sauce is something that melts well such as parmesan, gruyere, fontina or cheddar.
Recipes to Use White Sauce With That You Might Enjoy:
- Classic Beef Lasagne with Spinach Pasta
- Lentil Ragu Lasagne
- Tomato Pasta Bake – Pasta Al Forno
- Pesto Provolone Cannelloni Pasta
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How to make bechamel sauce without butter
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 heaped tbsp flour all-purpose
- 2 cups (500ml) full fat milk
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg grated
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 tbsp parmesan grated (optional)
- 2.8 oz (80g) gruyere cheese grated (optional)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a saucepan and warm it for a couple of seconds before adding the flour.
- Once the flour has been added mix it together with a whisk or wooden spoon to form a paste and let it cook for one minute (this cooks the flour so you don't have a floury taste in your sauce).
- Add 1/4 of the milk and whisk constantly to remove any lumps. Once it has started to thicken add a little more milk (around 1/4 at a time) until you have used up all the milk.
- Continue to heat the sauce whilst stirring until thick. Once it's thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, take it off the heat and add nutmeg, salt and pepper and cheese if making a cheese sauce.
- If making a cheese sauce stir the sauce until the cheese has melted. You may need to put it back on the heat for a few seconds. If it thickens too much add another splash of milk.
Notes
- The best cheese to add to bechamel sauce is something that melts well such as parmesan, gruyere, fontina or cheddar.
- Cals 400 without cheese 700 with cheese
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use this brand for the best results and flavour
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated here
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples here
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking here
25 Comments
Ruby
October 31, 2020 at 8:08 pmTried this recipe because we had too too much spinach leftover in the fridge. All 4 of my dinner guests loved it. I was so surprised by how fast the sauce was to put together, we even added courgette to the pasta. Fantastic, filling meal on the go for a full moon evening.
Rasha Hamzeh
February 18, 2020 at 2:53 pmnot a huge fan. I replaced wthe olive oil with sesame oil and it was too strong !
Inside the rustic kitchen
February 18, 2020 at 7:23 pmHi Rasha, I can see why you wouldn’t like the recipe with sesame oil it’s super strong and more suited to Asian cuisine.
Billie
December 17, 2018 at 11:12 amThis was just what I was looking for!
I made pesto and my daughter said it “tasted too green” lol! So I ur bechemel with the leftover pesto olive oil and it was perfect so thanks!!!!
Inside the rustic kitchen
December 17, 2018 at 11:56 amHi Billie, haha “too green” love it! So happy you enjoyed the recipe.
Montina
January 18, 2018 at 3:35 amOh my gosh, thank you for this recipe! I ran out of butter & it’s freezing out. Now I don’t have to walk to the store! I can’t wait to try this!
Inside the rustic kitchen
January 18, 2018 at 2:23 pmHey Montina, so glad you found this helpful, I don’t know how many times I’ve forgotten butter. Enjoy!
Brianna
November 26, 2017 at 10:26 pmHmmmm, think this would work with coconut oil?
I make the butter version as half of the base of my favorite ham and potato soup, but I’ve never tried making it with anything but the butter.
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 27, 2017 at 12:10 pmHi Brianna, I haven’t tried it with coconut oil but I know people do and it works fine. It’ll have a different flavour but if you’re adding cheese or using it for ham and potato soup it would definitely work. Hope you enjoy!
linda
November 1, 2017 at 4:00 pmGood to know! Lovely sauce and so versatile!
Deanna
November 1, 2017 at 2:46 pmI love this!! I never made a bechamel sauce, I really didn’t know how.. Now I have a resource!!!
Diana
November 1, 2017 at 12:52 pmI’ve tried making it with olive oil before, but I prefer the taste of the butter to be honest. it’s still a great alternative to people that don’t want to use butter.
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:09 pmDefinitely, if you run out of butter then this is a perfect alternative. I really love it either way.
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C
October 31, 2017 at 5:28 pmI love cheese sauce, and yours looks delicious! I haven’t had Gruyere in a long time, and now I’m craving it.
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:03 pmGruyere is the so, so good in cheese sauce it melts perfectly and doesn’t lose any flavour (can you tell I love cheese haha). Thanks Andre!
Elizabeth | The Recipe Revival
October 31, 2017 at 4:14 pmThis looks yummy! I could totally slather it on anything and everything! 🙂
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:03 pmMe too, I love it!
Tina Lindquist
October 31, 2017 at 4:01 pmOh these are great tips, it’s true I do run out of butter sometimes. Thanks for the sauce ideas:)
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:03 pmNo problem thanks so much Tina.
Kate
October 31, 2017 at 3:11 pmThis is so great. It looks very similar to a version with butter!
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:04 pmThanks Kate, it tastes just as good!
Dannii
October 31, 2017 at 1:32 pmOh I’m definitely going to use this recipe, as we use this sauce in a lot of recipes and it’s nice to have a butter free option.
Inside the rustic kitchen
November 1, 2017 at 1:04 pmDefinitely, thanks so much Dannii I hope you enjoy it!
Bernadette
October 4, 2019 at 9:14 amI was after bechamel sauce for my 2 lasagne trays. I used 4 tblspn of olive oil : 4 tblsp of plain flour & 4 cups of milk .. it took ages for the sauce to thicken but eventually was at a consistency i liked. If i followed ur recipe & used 8 cups of milk it wouldn’t have thickened at all ??
Inside the rustic kitchen
October 4, 2019 at 10:59 amHi Bernadette, sorry to hear you had trouble thickening the sauce. It sounds like you added the milk too quickly if you add it gradually and allow it to thicken each time before adding more the sauce thickens up fairly quickly.