# Basic Béchamel Sauce Without Lumps

> Béchamel is a fixed ratio: 50g butter and 50g flour per litre of milk for a pouring sauce, or 70g of each for a thicker one. Butter and flour cook together for two minutes (the roux), then warm milk goes in gradually with constant whisking.

**French Cuisine · 17 min · 8 servings · 145 kcal per serving**

Béchamel is the mother of the French sauces, and a whole family branches off it. In Egyptian cooking it's the base of pasta béchamel, potato béchamel and rekak. Lumps have only two causes: cold milk hitting a hot roux, or not enough whisking.

## Ingredients


### Roux
- 70 g — butter (5 tbsp)
- 70 g — plain flour (½ cup)

### Sauce
- 1 litre — whole milk, warmed

### Seasoning
- 1 tsp — salt
- ¼ tsp — white pepper
- ¼ tsp — grated nutmeg

### Optional
- ½ cup — grated hard cheese

## Method

1. **Warm the milk** — Heat the milk over a low flame until warm — not boiling. Warm milk is the single biggest reason a béchamel comes out smooth.
2. **The roux** — Melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour all at once and whisk for two minutes until the raw flour smell goes and it turns pale gold. Don't let it brown.
3. **The first cup of milk** — Take the pan off the heat and pour in the first cup of milk, whisking hard until completely smooth. This is the decisive moment.
4. **The rest of the milk** — Return to the heat and add the remaining milk in three additions, whisking after each. Let it simmer gently for five minutes, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.
5. **Season** — Off the heat, add the salt, white pepper and nutmeg. For a richer sauce, stir in the cheese while it's hot until it melts.

## Tips

- If lumps appear: pass it through a sieve, or blitz it with a stick blender for ten seconds. It comes back perfectly smooth.
- White pepper, not black — so the sauce stays white with no specks.
- Make it thicker for a pasta bake and thinner for pouring over vegetables.
- If you're storing it, press cling film against the surface so a skin doesn't form.

## FAQ

### What is the correct béchamel ratio?
For a medium sauce: 70g butter and 70g flour per litre of milk. For a pouring sauce: 50g of each. For a very thick one (fillings): 100g.

### Can I make it without butter?
Yes, with oil or ghee, but it's less rich. Butter is what gives béchamel its characteristic flavour.

### Why does mine taste of flour?
The roux wasn't cooked long enough. It needs at least two minutes over medium heat before any milk goes in.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/french-cuisine/bechamel-sauce-recipe-no-lumps
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-12