recipe ideas that change everything!

Come and stock up on recipe ideas for a homemade béchamel sauce that changes!

Almost essential in lasagna or so comforting in a gratin, béchamel sauce gives creaminess to many good dishes. We offer you recipe ideas if you want to revisit this great classic or lighten it up a little.

How to make a light béchamel?

Because this is often what the detractors (yes, yes, they exist!) of béchamel sauce criticize it: too fatty, too heavy or not digestible enough. So for those and others who might be missing an ingredient, for example, we have put together some tips for a successful homemade béchamel.

Béchamel without butter

Whether you’re looking to replace butter in your recipes or simply because you don’t have any left, you can easily make béchamel without butter.

Thus, it is possible to use a vegetable oil such asolive or sunflower oilas in this recipe from vegan béchamel.

Pour a tablespoon of oil, 70 mL of vegetable milk and two tablespoons of flour into a saucepan. Place over medium heat and whisk until the sauce becomes thick.
Off the heat, you can add a pinch of nutmeg often very popular or other spices.

Béchamel without milk

To replace cow’s milk, there is the very simple solution of vegetable drink as in the recipe above. But you can also make a béchamel without milk using vegetable broth instead. In addition, it will be as light as possible.

Béchamel without flour

Here, everything depends on your motivations in your search for a recipe. flourless béchamel. If you are gluten intolerant for example, you can use any flour that does not contain gluten, it works! And there you have the choice: rice flour, corn flour, potato starch, almond flour…

Delicious, rich in protein and easy to cook, the chickpea is essential in your cupboards. You can use it to make vegan béchamel, either in flour form or using a simple can of chickpeas.

Mix 200 g of cooked chickpeas with 30 mL of olive oil and water to the desired consistency. Add spices, herbs and a good tablespoon of malted yeast for a taste reminiscent of cheese. It is possible to replace the olive oil with almond puree.

How to make an original homemade béchamel?

Do you want to vary the pleasures? Test other ways to revisit béchamel.

Fresh cream béchamel

Here, clearly, the idea is not to be light-hearted! So, for even more creaminess, reduce the amount of milk in your usual béchamel sauce and complete with crème fraîche or liquid cream.

Creamy homemade béchamel – © David Moreno Hernandez

At this point, we can also add a yellowegg and grated cheese to obtain a Mornay sauce ! A delight with any seasonal vegetable or soft-boiled or poached eggs.

And then, adding peeled shrimpmussels and fish stock, you get a Dieppoise sauce.

Béchamel Express

For an even quicker béchamel than the traditional recipe, start by heating 50 cl of milk. Meanwhile, mix 30 g of flour with 5 cl of oil. Add the spices of your choice. Once the milk is hot, pour into the flour and oil mixture, stirring vigorously. Once homogeneous, cover and let thicken all alone.

Other spices to change from nutmeg in homemade béchamel

What makes the difference is often that little extra added to the béchamel.

Don’t hesitate to swap nutmeg, a bit classic, for one four spice blendmore surprising or paprika.

You can also brown onions or shallots in butter and add them to the béchamel sauce.

Many of us add grated cheese like Gruyère or Comté: for a change, try it parmesan.

And why not add at the end of cooking, a spoon of mustard to your béchamel to give it a little character.

Finally, for desserts, think of a chocolate béchamel sauce by gradually pouring chocolate milk into the usual butter-flour mixture.

Republished article