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Home » Recipes » Pasta

Published: Nov 5, 2022 · Updated: Feb 24, 2023 · This post may contain affiliate links

Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)

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Bechamel, as well known as White Sauce, is one of the five Mother Sauces in French Cuisine. Our Vegan Bechamel Sauce is a staple recipe that can be used for pasta dishes, lasagna, moussaka, cannelloni, and many other basic recipes that you can now make plant-based or dairy free.

Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)

What is Bechamel?

Bechamel is a creamy white sauce that combines fat (butter), flour, and milk. The traditional béchamel is cooked with dairy butter, all-purpose flour, and cow's milk. Some recipes include seasonings such as black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, or nutmeg.

Our Bechamel Sauce is a vegan version of the classic recipe. To make a basic vega white sauce recipe that has the perfect texture and flavor, we combine five simple ingredients: cashews, water, nutritional yeast, vegan butter, and all-purpose flour.

What type of plant-based milk can I use to make Vegan Bechamel?

The answer is simple, you can use any plant-based milk to make vegan béchamel. But we want to explain a few things to help you choose the right ingredient to create the best white sauce.

For our Vegan Bechamel recipe, we use cashew milk, made by combining presoaked cashews and water. This adds one more prepping step to the recipe compared to using already-made non-dairy milk such as soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.

So, why do we use cashew milk? We found that cashew milk thickens quite fast to the right texture when making bechamel. Some plant-based kinds of milk such as almond milk or soy milk are quite watery, containing just a small percentage of almonds or soybeans, which will make the thickening process a bit more difficult. As well, cashew milk has a lovely nutty flavor that won't overpower the rest of the flavors you want to serve the sauce with. Sometimes, oat milk or almond milk can be quite sweet.

If you are using another type of plant-based milk such as soy, almond, oat milk, or another type of nut milk, we recommend always using an unsweetened milk version. You don't want to end up with a sweet white cream when cooking béchamel.

Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)

How to make cashew milk

Making cashew milk is really simple and all you need are cashews and water. You will need to leave the cashews soaking for at least 20 minutes in hot water. After that, you can drain the water and rinse the cashews.

Once the cashews are soaked, add them to a blender jug with water and blend until you have smooth milk.

To avoid the cashew milk from being grainy, make sure you are using a high-speed blender such as Ninja or similar, or if you plan ahead, you could leave the cashews soaking overnight in room temperature water.

Vegan Bechamel recipe

How to make Vegan Bechamel or White Sauce

This is an easy recipe that can be made in a few minutes following these steps:

  1. Leave the cashews soaking in boiling hot water for 20 minutes. Then drain and rinse the cashews.
  2. Add the soaked cashews to a blender jug with water and nutritional yeast. Blend until you have smooth milk. To avoid the cashew milk from being grainy, use a powerful blender such as Ninja Bullet or similar. As well, the longer you soak the cashews, the easier they blend.
  3. Using a medium saucepan or small pot, add the butter and melt the vegan butter at low heat.
  4. Keep the pan or pot at low heat and slowly add the flour. Using a wooden spoon or whisk keep mixing while adding the flour to make sure no lumps are formed.
  5. Pour the cashew milk while you keep stirring.
  6. Stir for 3-5 minutes until the bechamel has thickened to the desired consistency. If you find that the bechamel is too thick, you can always add some plant milk. If the bechamel is too liquidy, keep cooking for 1 or 2 more minutes or bring the pot to medium heat.
Vegan Bechamel Step by Step

What do you use Vegan Bechamel Sauce for?

This creamy vegan sauce can be used in many dishes such as Vegan Lasagna or even Vegan Lasagna soups, pasta dishes or pasta bakes, Vegan Moussaka, veggies gratins such as Vegan Cauliflower Casserole, savory crepes, vegan mac and cheese, and many others.

You can add other ingredients to our basic recipe to make the flavor perfect for your recipe such as a pinch of nutmeg, garlic powder, black or white pepper bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, etc.

You can make this sauce one or two days ahead by keeping it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Moussaka with vegan bechamel

FAQ and Tips

  • What can I use instead of vegan butter? Sometimes, vegan butter is not easy to find or you may want to use something less refined. You can substitute this ingredient for olive oil (extra virgin or regular).
  • What can I do if my bechamel is too grainy? If your cashew milk bechamel is too grainy, you will need to use a blender to get a perfect consistency. If you make sure that you get smooth milk while making the cashew milk, the béchamel should not be grainy.
  • How can I get the perfect bechamel consistency? If you stir the mixture for too long, your bechamel will become too thick. Don't worry, if this happens, simply add some more plant-based milk and stir one more time.
  • Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes, this creamy sauce works great using gluten-free flour. Make sure the nutritional yeast you are using is labeled as gluten-free as well. You can use other flour such as coconut flour, chickpea flour, or almond flour, but you may need to reduce the flour amount to 30 g as they thicken faster.
Vegan White Sauce
Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)
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5 from 12 votes

Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)

Our Vegan Bechamel Sauce is a staple recipe that can be used for pasta dishes, lasagna, moussaka, cannelloni, and many other basic recipes that you can now make plant-based or dairy free.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Vegan Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 480kcal

Ingredients

  • 100 g cashews presoaked
  • 400 ml water
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 40 g vegan butter
  • 40 g all purpose flour
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  • Leave the cashews soaking in hot water for 20 minutes. Then drain and rinse the cashews.
  • Add the soaked cashews to a blender jug with the water and nutritional yeast. Blend until you have smooth milk.
  • Using a medium saucepan or small pot, add the butter and melt it at low heat.
  • Keep the pan or pot at low heat and slowly add the flour. Using a wooden spoon or whisk keep whisking while adding the flour to make sure no lumps are formed.
  • Pour the cashew milk while you keep stirring.
  • Stir for 3-5 minutes until the bechamel has thickened to the desired consistency.

Notes

  • If you find that the bechamel is too thick, you can always add some plant milk. If the bechamel is too liquidy, keep cooking for 1 or 2 more minutes or bring the pot to medium heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 146mg | Potassium: 432mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 764IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 4mg
If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations! 

More Vegan Creamy Recipes:

  • Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
  • Vegan Moussaka
  • Vegan Lasagna Soup

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    Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
  • Vegan Lasagna Soup
    Vegan Lasagna Soup

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bernice Hill says

    November 08, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    5 stars
    We added some vegan cheese to this rich and luxurious bechamel and made some really great mac and cheese! This recipe is keeper for sure.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 09, 2022 at 8:43 am

      Hi Bernice, that's a really good way to use this bechamel. Mac and cheese sounds lovely!

      Reply
  2. Veronika says

    November 09, 2022 at 3:06 pm

    5 stars
    This is genius! Cashews are always my go-to for anything vegan but I haven't tried making a vegan bechamel. Definitely making it next time I cook lasagna!

    Reply
  3. Amy Liu Dong says

    November 12, 2022 at 3:31 pm

    5 stars
    Such a creamy sauce to make, and I am so excited to make this for my pasta dishes like mac and cheese. Yum!

    Reply
  4. Sharon says

    November 12, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    5 stars
    This vegan bechamel is so good on a simple bed of pasta and a nice salad on the side. So easy and delicious.

    Reply
  5. Amanda Mason says

    November 13, 2022 at 2:20 am

    5 stars
    Turned out great - very tasty. I'll be making this on the regular. It was also easy to make. Great recipe!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 13, 2022 at 4:38 pm

      That's great Amanda!

      Reply
  6. Lauren Michael Harris says

    November 13, 2022 at 4:37 pm

    5 stars
    What a brilliant alternative to bechamel for those who can't have or choose not to eat dairy. I'm supposed to cut back and can not wait to try this subtitute!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 13, 2022 at 4:38 pm

      Thank you Lauren!

      Reply
  7. susan | the wimpy vegetarian says

    November 13, 2022 at 6:56 pm

    5 stars
    I'm mostly dairy-free, so this is perfect for me. I can't wait to try it!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 14, 2022 at 8:45 am

      Thanks Susan, I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  8. Lisa says

    November 13, 2022 at 8:54 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect bechamel for my daughter who keeps a dairy free diet! So good on pasta and vegggies!

    Reply
  9. Michele says

    November 14, 2022 at 1:48 am

    5 stars
    We love to make this sauce for my vegan mac and cheese. It’s definitely my daughter’s favorite dinner. So easy and delicious!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 14, 2022 at 8:45 am

      Thanks Michele, this sauce is definitely a great addition to your mac and cheese! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Cathleen says

    November 14, 2022 at 3:02 am

    5 stars
    This sauce looks perfect!! I am so excited to make this next weekend, thanks so much for the recipe! 🙂

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 14, 2022 at 8:45 am

      Thank you Cathleen!

      Reply
  11. Amanda says

    February 23, 2023 at 6:07 pm

    Would be nice if was in standard US measure not only metric, Converting gives me odd measurments

    Reply
    • Laura says

      February 24, 2023 at 5:21 am

      Hi Amanda, I have added the US measure, now you can click right below the ingredients to check the US measure. Thank you for your comment, we normally add both but somehow this recipe didn't have the US measurements.

      Reply

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Welcome to Six Hungry Feet! We are Astra, Laura, Luca, and Lena, a family of foodies. Through our food blog, Six Hungry Feet, we want to inspire you to cook delicious and nutritious vegetarian and vegan meals at home that the whole family will love.  More about us →

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