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Bechamel

White sauce of butter, flour and milk.

Bechamel — illustrative ingredient image

About Bechamel

Bechamel is a smooth white sauce made by thickening milk with a cooked flour-and-fat roux. It is used in layered pasta dishes, gratins, baked vegetables, savoury pies, croquettes, and other preparations requiring a creamy sauce. Plain versions are usually lightly seasoned so they can complement rather than dominate the main dish.

Plain bechamel has a mild dairy flavour and a smooth texture ranging from pourable to spoonable. Its body depends on the proportions of milk, flour, and fat, along with cooking time. Chilling firms the sauce, while added milk or another liquid makes it looser. Nutmeg, pepper, or herbs may provide seasoning.

Bechamel is pale white to ivory and is prepared as a sauce rather than a dry ingredient. Warm sauce flows and spreads readily; cooled sauce becomes thicker and more set. Reheating, dilution, or baking changes its consistency, while cheese creates a related cheese sauce rather than plain bechamel.

Ingredient type
sauce

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Where bechamel appears

1 linked foods

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Main dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for bechamel

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

bechamel

English

white sauce

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Bechamel nutrition & diet

Bechamel nutritional value

Reference: Bechamel sauce with butter, homemade

Per 100 g of the edible portion of the explicitly named reference food.

Calories
147kcal
Protein
3.8g
Carbs
9.0g
Fat
10.6g

Per 100 g edible portion. ANSES Ciqual 2025; energy and protein follow EU Regulation 1169/2011 (protein = nitrogen × 6.25); carbohydrate excludes fibre. Values describe this food form, not every brand or recipe. Reused under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0: https://www.etalab.gouv.fr/licence-ouverte-open-licence/.

Portions & preparation

Treat béchamel as a prepared sauce rather than as separate butter, flour, and milk ingredients. Record recipe proportions and serving amount, since thickening, reduction, added cheese, seasoning, and accompanying foods determine the form actually consumed.

Compare the right form: Match references to the finished béchamel recipe, including milk, fat, flour, thickness, added cheese, and the served sauce portion.

Diet considerations

Béchamel conventionally contains dairy and a flour-based roux, but the exact recipe must be established. Compatibility changes with plant-based substitutes, animal-derived fats, cheese, and cereal ingredients in the thickener. Its portion-dependent carbohydrate pattern depends mainly on the flour and any added starch or accompanying dish.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: ANSES Ciqual 2025 — Sauce béchamel au beurre, faite maison ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .