Healthy Eating

Vegan Bechamel Sauce | The Picky Eater

June 2, 2023

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Vegan bechamel sauce is one of those staple recipes that can be used for so many dishes. It’s a 3 ingredient basic recipe made with vegan butter, flour, and dairy-free milk, with lots of optional flavor combinations. This dairy free bechamel sauce is easy to make and is ready in just 15 minutes!

This vegan béchamel recipe is based on a traditional bechamel sauce but is completely dairy-free! It has a wonderful creamy consistency, and you can easily make it to your desired thickness.

If this is your first time making this classic white sauce, you’ll love how easy it is to make. This simple vegan bechamel sauce with soy milk is simmered over medium heat in a small pot. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, plastic spatula, or whisk, so all the ingredients come together to ensure it doesn’t burn on the bottom.

You can make a big batch of this dairy-free recipe and use it in a variety of dishes. It’s easy to fit into your dinner prep without having to spend a bunch of extra time in the kitchen!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

3 ingredient base sauce and very versatile
Great for a vegan diet
Healthier than regular bechamel sauce
Super easy recipe
Great as a vegan white sauce recipe for pasta, for lasagna, mac n’ cheese, or other Italian dishes
Best vegan bechamel sauce recipe ever!

Latest Recipe Video!

🥘 Ingredients

This dairy free white sauce recipe uses simple ingredients that you can find at most grocery stores, specialty grocery stores, or online. Here are some helpful details about each ingredient.

Vegan Butter: Used instead of dairy butter to make the roux. Be sure your dairy-free butter is at room temperature before adding it to the pan. It will melt faster and will help ensure it doesn’t burn. You can also use olive oil for the fat instead of butter.
All-Purpose Flour: Flour is critical to the white roux, and helps this delicious sauce thicken up to become a wonderful a creamy white sauce without milk. You can also try whole wheat flour instead of all purpose.
Soy Milk Or Non-Dairy Milk: You can easily find soy milk or other dairy-free milk in most grocery stores. Feel free to make almond milk bechamel or oat milk bechamel by just changing out the milk.
Salt, Pepper, Ground Nutmeg: Salt and pepper are essential to building flavor in any recipe, the a pinch of nutmeg is optional, but is a great way to give this healthy bechamel sauce a nutty flavor. Note: traditional béchamel sauce uses white pepper to keep the color consistent, but you can use black pepper if that’s all you have on hand.

🔪 How To Make Vegan Bechamel

It’s so easy to make this non dairy bechamel sauce. For more detailed instructions, see the recipe card below.

Make The Classic Roux: Melt vegan butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add Milk: Heat the milk in a microwave-safe container until warm (1-2 minutes). Whisk the warm milk into the flour mixture until smooth to make a vegan roux. The plant milk and butter make this a healthy alternative to bechamel sauce.

Cook: Continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or whisk, for 7-8 minutes or until this non dairy white sauce has thickened.

Add Seasoning: Remove from the heat and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using, whisk to combine. Serve this milk free white sauce warm.

💭 Expert Tips

Whisk continuously. Whisk the non-dairy milk into the roux gradually, and make sure to whisk continuously to prevent lumps from forming. This step is important for achieving a smooth and super creamy consistency in this vegan version of bechamel sauce.
Make sure to cook the roux completely. The roux is the mixture of fat and flour that forms the base of this bechamel vegan sauce. Cook it over medium heat until it turns a pale golden color to ensure that the flour is properly cooked and doesn’t leave a raw taste in the sauce.
Adjust the consistency. If your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out by adding a little more non-dairy milk. Alternatively, if it’s too thin, you can continue to simmer it until it thickens to the desired consistency. Remember that this lactose free white sauce will thicken further as it cools.
Use unsweetened plant based milk. You want a non dairy milk that has a creamy texture and neutral flavor, like unsweetened soy, almond, or oat milk for this white vegan pasta sauce.

📖 Variations

There are so many different ways you can customize this basic white sauce! Use different spices, make it gluten free or vegetarian (with traditional dairy ingredients), or use a different base. There are many ways to make this soy milk cream sauce fit exactly what you need.

Silken Tofu Bechamel Sauce: Use 10-12oz of silken tofu and only 1/2 cup of plant milk for added protein in this soy bechamel.
Almond Milk Bechamel: Instead of the soy milk, you can make this creamy bechamel sauce with almond milk by using unsweetened almond milk as a 1:1 replacement for the soy milk. You can also make plant based bechamel sauce with oat milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or even cashew milk.
Vegan Gluten-Free Béchamel Sauce: Use gluten free flour instead of all purpose white flour for the roux. Chickpea flour, oat flour, rice flour, 1:1 gluten free flour, or tapioca starch would all work.
Vegan Bechamel Cheese Sauce: Add some vegan cheese like vegan parmesan, cheddar, or mozzarella. You can even add some nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor in this dairy free white pasta sauce.
Add Fresh Herbs Or Other Spices: Enhance the flavor of this creamy sauce by adding ingredients like fresh thyme, rosemary, or parsley, or garlic powder, onion powder, mustard, or even a splash of lemon juice or white wine for more acidity in this soy milk pasta sauce.
Vegetarian Béchamel Sauce: If you’re not concerned with making a vegan béchamel sauce, you can use traditional milk or dairy products instead as a 1:1 replacement for the plant based versions.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

This vegan white sauce goes well with so many different recipes! Here are some of our favorite ways to serve vegan bechamel:

In Pasta Dishes: Use this dairy free white sauce for pasta — as the creamy component for healthy vegan mac and cheese, vegan lasagna, or as a cream sauce to toss with any pasta shape.
As A Base Sauce: Use it as a base for a creamy soup, drizzled over biscuits and gravy, or mixed into creamed spinach or healthy mashed potatoes for an extra creamy side dish.
In Baked Savory Dishes: Use this healthy bechamel alternative as part of the filling for vegan pot pie, veggie bakes, casseroles, in vegan moussaka, or in a potato gratin

🫙 Storage Directions

Keep any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat this easy vegan béchamel sauce in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove. I don’t recommend freezing this sauce as the texture will change once it’s defrosted.

❓Recipe FAQs

What is a substitute for milk in white sauce?

You can substitute milk in this easy white sauce recipe with any non-dairy milk alternative! There is no one best non dairy milk for bechamel – soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, rice milk, or even cashew or hemp milk could all work. Just make sure to buy the unsweetened version otherwise it will change the flavor of your sauce.

What is the difference between bechamel and roux?

These two common sauces are easy to make, but they have different purposes. Roux is made with flour and butter and is generally used to thicken sauces or soups.

Béchamel sauce is also made with butter and flour but has added milk and is a thinner consistency. It’s used to pour over potatoes, pasta, lasagna, or casseroles.

Is bechamel sauce the same as Alfredo sauce?

While béchamel and Alfredo are both white sauces, they aren’t interchangeable. Béchamel sauce is simpler to make and usually has 3 main ingredients: butter, flour, and milk.

Alfredo sauce, on the other hand, is made with butter, heavy cream, garlic, parmesan cheese, and flour, and sometimes fresh parsley or other herbs are added.

easy, dairy free, vegan bechamel sauce recipe in a pan

🍲 More Delicious Sauce Recipes!

If you love this dairy-free white sauce, here are some other recipes that you’ll love too!

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📋 Recipe Card