Vegan white sauce, also known as bechamel sauce. Basic 3 ingredient recipe that you can expand on with different flavorings. Creamy and delicious.
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 wasn’t a fan. 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 lot since then.
And I used it in a lasagna dish that came out beautifully.
It’s a creamy dreamy white sauce that is like a blank canvas. You can add any flavorings to it 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.
More Vegan Sauces
- Vegan Mushroom Sauce
- Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Tahini Sauce
- Vegan Peanut Sauce
- Vegan Peppercorn Sauce
- Vegan Tartar Sauce
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan White Sauce (Bechamel)
Ingredients
Basic White Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups (480ml) 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, add the flour and stir or whisk vigorously.
- Add the soy milk all at once and continue to stir and whisk (you can alternate between a wooden spoon and a whisk) 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.
Video
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.
Shey says
Can I use almond flour?
Alison Andrews says
I don’t think so, if you want to make it gluten-free use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
Tenesha says
Hello!! Love this recipe, I have made it many times. I use Cassava Flour and Avocado Oil and it turns out great every time!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Mariam says
I just made this and it turned out perfectly !! I doubled the recipe and used “Melt” vegan butter instead of oil , added in salt & garlic and it’s absolutely divine – THANK YOU !! Will be using this again that’s for sure!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review! 🙂
Marcela says
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
Lindsey S says
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.
Alison Andrews says
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.
Lindsey S says
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.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad to hear it worked out this time! 🙂
Anastasia says
Can I make this with Almond Milk? Which type can I use,unsweetend or sweetend (original)?
Alison Andrews says
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.
Anastasia says
Thank you so much dear Alison
Tirtza says
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!
Alison Andrews says
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.
Adele Williams says
Try it!
Adele Williams says
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!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear Adele! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Jules says
Hi, iv been asked to take out all dairy and grains out of my diet, what kind of flour that has no grains could i use please
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jules, I’m not sure, even gluten-free all purpose flours like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour use things like brown rice flour in the blend, and of course brown rice is a grain. Even cornstarch is a grain. If you’re gluten-free it’s easy you can just a gluten-free flour blend but if you’re entirely grain free then I don’t have a suggestion for you, you would have to try things out according to what you are able to eat. All the best! 🙂
Kwaneija says
if I double the recipe will I add two cups of almond milk ( I prefer almond milk )
Alison Andrews says
If you double the recipe you’ll use 6 Tbsp of olive oil, 5 Tbsp of flour and 4 cups of almond milk. 🙂
DJ55 says
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.
Alison Andrews says
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!
Marie says
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!
Alison Andrews says
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.
Jade says
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.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! It’s fabulous in a lasagna! ?
Clémentine says
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!
Alison Andrews says
That’s awesome! Thanks for posting! 🙂
suzie says
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
Alison Andrews says
You could definitely use this on a pizza – to make it thicker you just cook it for longer so that it reduces/thickens more.
Ken says
I used rice milk and now I have soup AND I used an extra tbsp of all purpose flour – what’s wrong?
Alison Andrews says
If this happens, just let it cook for longer until it reduces enough to thicken.