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.
Sky says
So excited to try this in a ratatouille, going to use King Arthur’s all purpose gluten free flour. Can’t wait to see how it turns out! Thank you for the recipe!
Nat says
I made this a week ago and it was wonderful, very creamy, and it turned my spaghetti into something beautiful. Even my non-vegan roommate said it was awesome. Will definitely be making more. Note: I used oat milk, since soy or nut milk are really expensive where I live.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing Nat! 🙂
jess says
amazing- use for lasagne & it taste awesome so creamy
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks Jess! xo
Jaleia Corbin says
This recipe was so convenient! I’ve been looking for an easy, tasty recipe for white sauce for months. it worked out great !!
Alison Andrews says
So glad to hear that! Thanks for the awesome review! 🙂
Paige says
I used almond milk and gluten free flour and when I tried to add the milk it curdled the flour/oil mix, but when I tried the second time and let the flour/oil mix cool and warmed the almond milk first it stopped this issue, the end result ended up great and I added cheese to make it a lower dairy cheese sauce alternative
Jessica Oxenham says
A great way to go about this is to substitute regular flour for gravy flour, it’s made to not go lumpy at all.
Brooke says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! By far the best vegan sauce I have ever made and tried! I used a bit more olive oil and more spices. I put it with penne pasta, mushrooms, and spinach. It was amazing.
Alison Andrews says
Thank you so much Brooke, that is the best compliment! So happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Malini says
Can i use corn flour or rice flour instead of all purpose flour? I should eliminate gluten.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Malini, cornflour might work fine, but I haven’t tried it with this recipe. I have tried a gluten-free all purpose flour blend and that worked great. 🙂
Jessica Healy says
This recipe changed the game for me! It’s a great, vegan sauce that can be tweaked to use for a lot of different dishes.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thanks so much for the great review Jessica! 🙂
Michelle says
Very easy and very good! I love that you can add any ingredients you like, to change it up! Made this for a vegan chicken noodle casserole and my son loved it! I love it when I can fool him into eating healthy! Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
That’s awesome! Yes, this is really the blank canvas and you can create any flavors you like. Thanks so much for sharing and the great review! 🙂
Catherine Gilbert says
I do not usually cook vegan recipes, but I was looking for a way to lighten the calories in a Cordon Bleu casserole recipe I have which includes butter and cream cheese. I followed the directions carefully, using an almond milk/cashew milk product. This way, I replaced both the butter and the cream cheese in my recipe. I added Dijon mustard to the sauce before layering it in my dish with chicken, ham, and reduced fat Swiss cheese. It’s genius! Excellent taste replacement for dairy based bechamel with a lot less calories.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Bryony Redwood says
Fantastic simple recipe! My first try at vegan lasagne and the whole family loved it – in fact my super fussy 5 year old had seconds!! I doubled all ingredients and used 2/3 oat milk 1/3 soya milk. Thanks SO much for posting.
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic, so pleased it worked out great! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Dianne says
Thanks for your quick reply. I made this recipe with the blender and then simmered it to thicken. The method worked well because it thickened very nicely. The olive oil is quite strong, so I may work on that next time. I used this recipe to make tomato soup, and then used the tomato soup for my sloppy joe recipe.
Thanks so much.
Dianne Lahr says
Hi. Thanks for this recipe. I was wondering if I could add the ingredients to a blender and blend them. Then, gently heat and stir until the mixture becomes a sauce. This is how I have made the traditional white sauce in the past. Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Dianne, you probably can! Especially if you have done it that way in the past, the vegan ingredients shouldn’t make any difference to whether it works that way or not. Let us know how it goes. 🙂
pat says
a little nutmeg is amazing with this!
Alison Andrews says
Oooh good to know! Thanks Pat! 🙂
Rae says
Lovely, smooth bechamel! Made this for lasagna the other day and it came out perfect. And so simple.
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for posting! 🙂