Béchamel vs. Alfredo Sauce:
Béchamel may seem similar to an Alfredo sauce, but they are actually quite different. Alfredo sauce calls for heavy cream and parmesan cheese, and is thickened by reduction. Béchamel calls for milk instead, and is thickened with a roux. It traditionally does not include any cheese, though some people do enjoy a cheesy béchamel sauce over pasta.
How to use Béchamel Sauce:
Béchamel is a multi-purpose sauce. You can use it as the base of a gourmet mac n cheese, layered in lasagna, in a vegetable gratin, or even just on top of freshly cooked pasta. If you want to take the next step into French cooking, you could go on to use it in a Soubisse, Nantua, or Mornay Sauce.
Adjusting Thickness:
The recipe as written makes a medium-thick sauce that is perfect for general use like coating pasta. For a thin white sauce, reduce the butter and flour both to 2 tablespoons. For a super thick white sauce use up to 1/2 cup each of flour and butter.
Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, and other Substitutes:
Béchamel Sauce has been considered a “mother sauce” since the 17th century. It uses only whole, natural ingredients, and as such there really are no adequate substitutes. This is one of those recipes that needs to be made as written to fully appreciate such a simple, timeless sauce. The one exception is replacing the flour that is used as a thickening agent. You can replace the flour with cornstarch. Simply use cornstarch in half the amount of the flour listed for a gluten-free béchamel sauce. If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious pasta recipes:
Classic Bolognese SauceBest Baked Ziti EverThe Most Amazing Lasagna RecipeAuthentic Pasta Carbonara
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