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READY IN 22 mins

Chef John's White Sauce

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"White sauce is one of the “mother sauces” in traditional culinary training and is used in many popular dishes." — Chef John

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Battle of the Butter: Salted vs. Unsalted

Measuring All-Purpose Flour

Types of Salt

Cooking with Cayenne Pepper

Original recipe makes 4 cups Change Servings

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 quart milk
4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste

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Directions

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and cook for about 5 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup cold milk, about 1 minute. Stir in second cup of milk for an additional minute.
Stir in remaining 2 cups of milk, cayenne pepper, salt, thyme, and nutmeg; bring to a simmer over low heat until sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.

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PREP 5 mins
COOK 17 mins
READY IN 22 mins

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This is a BASIC sauce. Add whatever spices will complement whatever you're going to use it on. Important: you want to cook the butter/four mix at a temp that will cook the flour without burning the butter. Usually when I get lumps, it's because I didn't cook the flour long enough. I like to make this with whole wheat flour, if you don't mind a brown "white" sauce with speckles. :)

—OddJobber

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Apr 27, 2012

I didn't change a thing and loved it!!

—justacitygirl

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11 Ratings

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Feb 16, 2013

I skipped the thyme in this recipe. I browned some chopped onion and fresh minced garlic in the butter before adding the flour. After the sauce was made, I added some ground mustard and a touch of hot sauce. I used the white sauce as a base for homemade macaroni and cheese. It worked out great--perfect thickness and held up well during the whole cooking process.

—Sarah Jo

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Mar 28, 2013

Thank you so much! I had a basic recipe for white sauce and lost it and couldn't find a good one to replace it. This was exactly what I was looking for. I did add some chopped onion and garlic to the butter and skipped the cayenne since I don't care much for spicy hot food. It turned out perfectly. I can't wait to experiment with other added ingredients and can see several possibilities!

—Ollianna786

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Sep 06, 2012

I consider myself a pretty good cook, but I had some trouble with this sauce. It took me over half an hour to be able to come up with something good because it was very bland. I ended up adding 2 chicken bullion cubes, basil, and oregano. I also had to whisk the sauce for a good ten minutes for it to thicken up without clumps. Maybe this sauce is supposed to be a base that you modify yourself, but that should be specified. **However, after I added everything I did, this sauce came out terrific and tasted very good over baked chicken.

—Merpina

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Mar 16, 2013

This was absolutely awesome! I made a vegetarian lasagna but didn't really like the sauce that was with that recipe. So, I went looking for something with a bit more flavor. I found this!! It is really good... it made a bit more than I was expecting so the lasagna was a little overflowing but very flavorful. I don't typically measure spices, so I just dashed until it suited our taste. My husband loved it and he's not a fan of white sauce - and he's a meat-eater so it was high praise - for both the sauce and the lasagna! Thank you Chef John!!

—Cori

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Feb 10, 2013

This turned out good-but made alot so I had to throw out the rest..I used this sauce for my macaroni and cheese dish and my son loved it...A keeper!!!

—tracey

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Feb 23, 2013

It is a very nice white sauce. I used it as the base sauce to make it into the mac N cheese recipe that chef John made with the no-bake topping. It was really a gourmet mac in my book.

—TC

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Nutrition

Calories
192 kcal
10%

Carbohydrates
11.8 g
4%

Cholesterol
40 mg
13%

Fat
14 g
22%

Fiber
0.3 g
1%

Protein
5 g
10%

Sodium
180 mg
7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Chef John's White Sauce

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 192
Calories from Fat: 126

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14g 22 %
Saturated Fat 8.8g 44 %
Cholesterol 40mg 13 %
Sodium 180mg 7 %
Potassium 197mg 6 %
Total Carbohydrates 11.8g 4 %
Dietary Fiber 0.3g 1 %
Protein 5g 10 %
** Sugars 5.8g
Vitamin A 12 %
Vitamin C < 1 %
Calcium 19 %
Iron 4 %
Thiamin 11 %
Niacin 12 %
Vitamin B6 3 %
Magnesium 6 %
Folate 12 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.