Vegan Béchamel Recipe

Making a Béchamel on the Stovetop

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Prep: 0 mins
Cook: 8 mins
Total: 8 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 3/4 cup

Need a vegan béchamel for a non-dairy or dairy-free recipe? Try this vegan béchamel recipe which uses soy milk and vegan margarine which is a perfectly good replacement for anything you need a béchamel or a thickening agent for. As an added bonus, a vegan béchamel is much lower in fat than a traditional milk and butter-based béchamel, and is cholesterol-free as well! A béchamel, sometimes called a white sauce, has many uses in cooking, such as thickening a gravy, soup or stew or as a base for a French cream sauce.

Traditionally, a béchamel is made from flour, butter, and milk, but there's no reason you can't use non-dairy milk substitutes to make a reduced-fat and cholesterol-free vegan béchamel which is suitable for absolutely anything you need to use a traditional béchamel for: from thickening a soup or a sauce or as a starting point for any number of other sauces and dishes such as a white pizza sauce, a vegan white lasagna sauce, and even a vegan macaroni and cheese. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup soy milk, unsweetened and unflavored is best

  • 2 tablespoons vegan margarine

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. First, heat the soy milk (or another non-dairy milk substitute) in a medium saucepan or large skillet over low heat.

  3. Once the soy milk is hot, add the vegan margarine and the flour, whisking vigorously and constantly to incorporate and avoid forming lumps. Use a fork or a whisk for this for the best and smoothest béchamel possible. 

  4. Allow to simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened.

Tips

  • If your béchamel is not thickening, then you may need to turn up the heat a bit. If it is getting too thick, add in a little bit more soy milk, and stir it all together to combine well. Remember that just like with a regular milk and butter-based béchamel, the sauce will continue to thicken slightly as it cools, so you may want to plan on that, depending on what you need it for. 

Recipe Variations

  • Note that while the recipe calls for soy milk, any other kind of non-dairy milk substitute would also work, but proceed with caution. Rice milk has a bit of natural sweetness and is much thinner than soy milk, so it's less than ideal. Almond milk or an almond and coconut milk blend would be one to try, but a regular coconut milk might add a bit of unwanted coconut flavor. If in doubt, stick with the originally recommended unsweetened and unflavored soy milk in this recipe. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
360 Calories
27g Fat
20g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 360
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g 35%
Saturated Fat 5g 24%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 120mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 302mg 23%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 321mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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