This white sauce or bechamel sauce as it is called in french is my go to sauce for any casserole or quick pasta sauce. It is so very easily made but can go very, very wrong in a second. Simply because the steps are so few and the ingredients measured in a precise way you need to read this carefully if you do it the first time. I have done it so many times by now that I wing it but believe you me, I had my horrendous fails when I started making this. The next series of fails came when I went vegan and was looking for substitutes for the butter and milk.
So this is a very detailed step by step guide to my vegan bechamel sauce. I believe it should be a staple in any home cooks repertoire since it only takes a few ingredients to turn it into a fantastic sauce, gratin or casserole base within a few minutes.
Ingredients : metric ( imperial )
- 50g (6 tbsp) vegan butter, or any oil you want to use
- 50g (4 tbsp) flour
- 500ml (2cups) almond milk, room temperature
Instructions
Place the vegan butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and melt it completely. Add the flour and stir quickly until combined and keep stirring and cooking the flour and oil mix for a few minutes. It will dry out a little bit and resemble dough as you can see in the pictures.
Don’t let the mass darken, you want the flour just cooked, not fried.
Add the milk a few tablespoons at a time and stir vigorously to soften the mixture and the mass is of even consistency. Keep adding and stirring the liquid into the mass a few tablespoons at a time until the milk is incorporated.
Don’t be tempted to add all the liquid at once. It will result in a clumpy disaster. Trust me, I’ve tried.
You will be left with a thick, creamy mix of flour, vegan butter and almond milk. If you want your sauce thinner add more milk. If you prefer it thicker then use less almond milk next time. Add any seasoning you want that goes well with your dish.
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