Bechamel / white sauce with cornflour
Posted: April 8, 2025 Updated: April 8, 2025
Bechamel or white sauce is the base of so many sauces, but if you’re gluten free you need to use cornflour instead of wheat. Does it work? Yep! And you can even avoid making a roux.
Growing up in a household with a coeliac I honestly never knew bechamel to be made any other way than with cornflour. My parents made it regularly for our cauliflower cheese to accompany roasts. As it began to thicken they would add pieces of cheese to get a warm, cheesy sauce ready to coat the steamed cauliflower.
Two basic ingredients, one great sauce
Bechamel (or white sauce as I called it as a kid) is kind of a magical sauce, with just milk and cornflour you’ve got the start of a smooth sauce ready for lasagna, cauliflower cheese and more.
I tend to use full cream milk, but I have also used low fat milk when it’s all we have. Soy milk works really well too, which gives you a great vegan / dairy free option.
How much do you need?
This volume is good for smaller-sized recipes. Or rather, not family sized.
I’ve used this volume for making six serves of lasagne, and it’s also good for making a cauliflower cheese of six serves (about the size of loaf tin).
If you’re making a large, family sized lasagna, then I’d recommend doubling the recipe to 1L of milk and 80g of cornflour.
Storing and reheating
You can store bechamel / white sauce with cornflour in the fridge for 1 – 2 days if necessary. Given how quick it is to put together it is better to make as needed.
When reheating it is best to do it slowly with lots of stirring to ensure even heat distribution. You can do this by heating in 30 second bursts in the microwave or gently over low heat on the stove.
Bechamel / white sauce with cornflour
Equipment
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 whisk
- 1 cup or small bowl
- 1 fork
Ingredients
- 500 mL milk or dairy free alternative
- 40 g cornflour US cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt optional
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg optional
- pepper to taste
- 1 tsp mustard optional
Instructions
- Measure 40g of cornflour into a small bowl or cup. Pour a portion of the milk, about 50mL into the cornflour and mix with a fork to combine.
- Pour the rest of the milk into a small saucepan and heat gently on the stove.
- Once the milk warms, turn it down to ensure it does not boil.
- Give the cornflour and milk mixture a vigorous stir to remix any cornflour that may have settled.
- Pour the cornflour mix into the hot milk and whisk vigorously. The milk should begin to thicken within 2 – 3 minutes.
- The sauce is ready when the sauce has thickened and it begins to stick to the whisk.
- Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard.
- Sauce can be used immediately in dishes such as cauliflower cheese or lasagna.
Notes
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