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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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Step By Step Photos Above
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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
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- 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 Cirio or Mutti brands 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.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just back from the sunny Mediterranean and needed to whip up a meal fast after 13 hours travelling. Used what was readily available and this Bechamel Sauce converted it into a feast!
This was delicious, the kind that’s licked off the spoon!! Thank you so much
Looking forward to trying this, I just don’t like butter and since my last pregnancy I can pick up the taste in everything. Could previously eat it in sauces, recipes etc but now just can’t!! Hoping this brings lasagne back to my table!
worked out PERFECTLY thank you so much
So happy you enjoyed it!
Tried 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.
not a huge fan. I replaced wthe olive oil with sesame oil and it was too strong !
Hi Rasha, I can see why you wouldn’t like the recipe with sesame oil it’s super strong and more suited to Asian cuisine.
This 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!!!!
Hi Billie, haha “too green” love it! So happy you enjoyed the recipe.