So your basic vegan white sauce has a lot of uses. It’s the basic recipe that with a few additions can turn into a vegan cheese sauce.
Also called a bechamel sauce, this is the white sauce you can use in lasagnas and other dishes that require a white sauce.
It’s usually made with butter, flour and dairy milk. Sometimes oil, flour and dairy milk.
Since this is the vegan version, of course the dairy milk is replaced with plant based milk. Too easy really!
In this case I used soy milk but any plant based milk of your choice will do the trick.
I tried a version using vegan butter and the butter flavor was pretty strong.
I wasn’t a huge fan but I liked it more than Jaye who thought it was disgusting. He was all like: ‘aarrgggg butter sauce, I just ate a heap of butter in a sauce!’
Well, needless to say, he didn’t! It was just a little butter in a lot of sauce, but whatevs.
So the next time I made it with olive oil and I thought it tasted heaps better, and Jaye agreed.
In fact this one was so delicious that we’ve made it a few times since.
And I used it in a lasagna dish that came out beautifully.
I really think you are going to fall in love with this vegan white sauce! It is:
- Creamy
- Smooth
- Versatile
- 3-Ingredients
- Simple
This creamy dreamy white sauce is like a blank canvas that you can add any flavorings to that you choose, like garlic or herbs or whatever you desire!
The basic recipe is just 3 ingredients, and after that it’s up to you how you flavor it.
We’ve just gone with some sea salt and black pepper, but fresh herbs would be great, dried herbs, garlic spice, chilli, mustard, whatever you’re in the mood for.
So let us know what you think of this recipe by leaving a comment and rating it too please as that is SO super helpful.
And for some other great sauces, check out these great ideas:
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Vegan White Sauce (Bechamel)
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Cook Time: 15 mins - Total Time: 15 mins
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Yield: ~2 cups -
Category: White Sauce -
Cuisine: Vegan
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3-ingredient vegan white sauce recipe. Also called bechamel sauce, this simple sauce is creamy, wholesome and delicious and can be used whenever you need a white sauce.
Ingredients
Basic Sauce
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Spices to taste:
Instructions
- Add the oil to a pot on the stove and heat it at medium to high heat.
- As the oil heats, sift the flour and add to the pan stirring vigorously.
- Fry the flour in the oil for a bit, stirring vigorously, don’t allow it to burn, turn down your heat if it starts to stick at any point.
- Add the soy milk or other non-dairy milk and continue to stir and allow the sauce to gradually thicken.
- You will usually get to the right thickness after it has reached boiling point and boiled for a few minutes.
- When you’ve reached the desired thickness (keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools), remove from the heat and add any spices you choose, such as some salt and black pepper or garlic spice or whatever you choose.
Notes
*If you double this recipe, then just a note that the way to double it is that the flour must always be one less than the oil. So doubling this recipe would mean you use 6 Tbsp of olive oil and 5 Tbsp of flour.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 Cup (~1/4 of the recipe)
- Calories: 153
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 98mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Carbohydrates: 6.3g
- Fiber: 0.6g
- Protein: 3.9g
Love how simple your recipes are and still taste so good.
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Easy peasy
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Hi, this sounds easy and just what I need!, I was wondering, if I was to make half of that recipe, would it be 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp All purpose flour and 1 cup non-dairy milk? I want to make a vegan lasagna but it’s just for me and my husband and I think half of that amount would be fine… are my proportions correct?
Hi Karen! It would likely work better if you use 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Flour and 1 cup non-dairy milk. I just found that the oil should be 1 more than the flour, even when the recipe is doubled, so I assume it would be the same when it’s halved (have not actually tried this yet). Otherwise it can stick while you are frying the flour in the oil. Hope it works out well! 🙂
Thank you for your prompt response!
I’ll be trying what you suggested in a moment and I’ll let you know how it works
I tried it and it was very good!, I think I could have used 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil considering the size of the casserole I was using and that it was non-stick, thank you so much, this will be the recipe I follow every time I am in need for this sauce!
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Awesome! So glad to hear it came out well. And good to know that 1 and a 1/2 Tbsp olive oil would work, that’s useful info. Thanks so much for coming back and posting! 🙂
Turned out perfect! I halved the recipe by using 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of flour, and 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk. Would probably go for soy milk instead next time. Also put a bit of nutritional yeast in it to give it a bit of a cheesy flavour, worked wonderful. Thanks!
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Yay! So glad it worked out well! 🙂
Hello! Love the recipe but it tasted like something was missing. I think I’m missing the cheese element maybe 🙁 just tasted a bit bland, even after seasoning
More seasoning! And if you want to make it into a cheese sauce, that’s pretty easy, some nutritional yeast does the job. This is pretty much the blank canvas that you add flavor to, so it’s definitely bland to start with, and what you add to it will be what gives it the flavor.
How much nutritional yeast per the recipe?
We don’t use nutritional yeast in this recipe, maybe you’re thinking of the cheese sauce version of this recipe? That one uses 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been craving a lasagne for months and your method was simple and delicious (I did finish off the rest of the saucepan’s contents with a spoon!). Perfect, even for a can’t cook shouldn’t cook, like me.
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Fabulous! Nothing like a good lasagna! Or a good sauce for that matter! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Will oat milk work as well? 🙂
Hi Nora, I haven’t personally tried it with oat milk but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work out just as well.
Hi great recipe, the only thing missing is the onions. Sautée onions then add flour. For true bechamel flavor also add nutmeg with your choice of milk. Thanks.
Fab recipe. I’m not vegan but am intolerant of dairy. The discovery of a white sauce that I can actually eat is a revelation. I made it with Oat milk and it was spot on. Thanks!!
Fantastic! So glad you liked it Rachel! 🙂
This worked great! It was difficult to get the sauce to thicken, but additional flour helped. I also threw in some thinly sliced fried carrots to act as a substitute for bacon in a carbonara! Delicious.
Glad to hear it worked out Jamie! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Do you need unsweetened unflavored soy milk?
The one I regularly use is sweetened but not sweet. I wouldn’t use a flavored one or a particularly sweet one, but as I say mine is sweetened slightly and you don’t notice that in the final result. So either slightly sweetened or unsweetened. Definitely unflavored.
Would it also work if I used chickpea flower instead of wheat? 🙂
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I don’t really know Ilze, it depends on if chickpea flour has the same thickening effect as wheat flour. If it’s just about gluten-free then I’d rather use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill and try with that first, which should work out the same.
That answers my question! My daughter has recently been diagnosed with gluten and lactose intolerance, and loves lasagne, so this bechamel recipe is perfect, knowing I can use gluten free flour for the sauce (and I was able to get gluten free lasagne sheets also)! Thanks so much! 🙂
So when I read this I was like ??? Will this actually work and taste okay??? My mum makes her sauces this way, but of course with normal milk, and I never thought about simply changing the milk. I tried this with alpro unsweetened almond milk, some spicy spices and threw in some peas and fried onions after, and then had it as normal with potatoes and it was so lovely, thank you so much for sharing this!
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Haha, yes it’s so great that it’s really just a milk swap and it works out perfectly! So glad you liked it!
Hello Alison, do you think the sauce could be made a day ahead? I’m making a lasagna and want to prep the sauces a day ahead. Thank you!
Hi May, the sauce thickens a lot when cold. So this could make it harder to work with. It could be okay, but you may have to reheat it before use. Used in a lasagna (I have used this exact sauce in my lasagna recipe), it’s great served cold as it’s already in the layers, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to layer it in a lasagna if it’s very thick and cold.
I ended up making it all in one day, it was such a unique lasagna that didn’t result in any stomach distress!! Thank you, I think I will find many uses for this recipe.
That’s fantastic May! Glad to hear! Thanks for posting.
Just tried making with an oat milk base – personally I found it a bit too sweet, will try with soy milk next time. But it’s so easy, which is great!
That’s good to know about the oat milk making it a little sweet. Thanks for posting Susannah!
Do you think this would be good with fettuccine noodles as an Alfredo sauce replacement?
It’s good with pasta for sure! I used it when I made my creamy asparagus pasta recipe, (if you use the search bar you’ll find it). But I’m not sure how closely it resembles an alfredo sauce. I would be more inclined to veganize an alfredo sauce recipe to more closely match it.
I used rice milk and now I have soup AND I used an extra tbsp of all purpose flour – what’s wrong?
If this happens, just let it cook for longer until it reduces enough to thicken.
I am so excited to try this recipe. Do you think I could use your sauce on pizza, I would add roasted garlic and other flavorings. When thinking about it, I did not know if the sauce would be more on the looser side. I have been looking for a sauce that does not use cashews. Thank-you so much for your creativity. Suzie
You could definitely use this on a pizza – to make it thicker you just cook it for longer so that it reduces/thickens more.
Just made it with oatmilk, put it on a vegan “lentils bolognese” and sliced potatoes, and a bit of grated vegan pizza cheese… and hop, to the oven.. And it was amazing!!! Thanks so much!! I can’t believe it was so delicious! My husband and 2yo had more than one serving!
That’s awesome! Thanks for posting! 🙂
I made this tonight in a veggie pie and it was brilliant. i added some nutmeg nutritional Y & Salt/Pepper. Will be using it next in lasagne.
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Awesome! It’s fabulous in a lasagna! 🤗
This is what I needed to make with my lasagna! However, instead of regular flour, what else could I use for a gluten free recipe? Thanks!
I’ve made it with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend before (the one I used was Bob’s Red Mill brand) and it came out great! So it can definitely be adapted for gluten-free. However, I would definitely recommend you use a gluten-free all purpose blend and not just a single type of gluten-free flour.
I would to add a comment about cooking with rice milk. I used it in a creamy broccoli soup recipe and the day I made the soup it was great, nice and creamy. But the next day when I reheated the soup it was no longer creamy, it was very runny. I am curious as to whether this happens when using soy milk.
Soy milk is a lot thicker than rice milk, which could be a factor in this. I used this sauce (made with soy milk) in a lasagna that was then reheated the next day and the sauce stayed very thick, in fact I would say it got thicker. Hope that helps!
if I double the recipe will I add two cups of almond milk ( I prefer almond milk )
If you double the recipe you’ll use 6 Tbsp of olive oil, 5 Tbsp of flour and 4 cups of almond milk. 🙂
I was looking for a simple vegan alternative for cheese sauce and after reading endless recipes based on potatoes and carrots, I came across yours. Beautifully simple, felt like making a traditional bechamel sauce, and tasted great!
So happy to hear Adele! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Try it!
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I’d like to make this now as I have an open soy milk in the fridge but my vegan family member won’t be home this week. Any idea if this recipe can be frozen? Thanks!
Yes you can freeze it. Allow it to cool completely before placing into a freezer safe container. When you’re ready to use it thaw it in the fridge or on a countertop and then reheat in a saucepan.
Can I make this with Almond Milk? Which type can I use,unsweetend or sweetend (original)?
Yes, you can. And either/or is fine. I usually make it with regular plant milk as it’s what I most often have on hand, but either one would be fine.
Thank you so much dear Alison
I have no idea what went wrong but this was just a big gloopy mess for me. The minute I added flour, the oil and flour just stuck together in balls and it got worse from there.
I’m not sure either, if you sifted the flour, if the oil wasn’t too hot, if you stirred it very fast and vigorously once the flour was added, and if you used a whisk once the rest of the non-dairy milk was added (a whisk can fix a lot of stuff!), then I don’t know. As you can tell from what I mentioned though, there are a few places it could possibly run into an issue. It can just be a case of practice makes perfect, though I know it sucks when it doesn’t work out.
Thank you so much for your reply Alison. I tried again and it worked perfectly! I have a lasagne in the oven right now. I think the first time, I added the flour too quickly and didn’t sift it. Thank you very much for sharing your recipe.
Awesome! So glad to hear it worked out this time! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Unfortunately I’ve tried but it hasn’t worked for me ;(
The olive oil was so strong (I added salt, parsley and pepper)
I’ve tried 3 times lol but none of them was good