Simple White Sauce

This easy white sauce is ready in half an hour (and it's freezer-friendly!) Perfect on pasta, pizza, and more. No heavy cream required!

this recipe

One thing every home cook needs in their back pocket: A quick white sauce recipe. This creamy, versatile sauce is made from scratch and excellent with your favorite pasta recipes or as a base for homemade pizza.

Ingredients

Scroll to the recipe card below for a full ingredients list with exact quantities.

Before you jump in, there are a few things we want to highlight:

• Use real parmesan, and shred it yourself. Look for true Parmigiano Reggiano cheese at the store, and shred it yourself if you can. Store bought shredded or grated cheese is often coated with preservatives that prevent it from melting smoothly, which can lead to a grainy or clumpy sauce. Learn more: How to tell if your Parmigiano Reggiano is the real thing.
• Goat cheese lends a bit of brightness and complexity to this white cheese sauce. (If you don't have goat cheese on hand, use cream cheese instead!)
• We used minced garlic here, which leaves some small pieces studded throughout our sauce. If you'd like less texture in your final sauce, you can lightly smash the garlic cloves and sauté them whole (instead of mincing the garlic), then remove the smashed garlic before adding the flour.

Instructions

Start by melting butter in a deep skillet or small saucepan over medium heat, then add garlic (Image 1, below) and sauté for just a minute or two, until garlic is soft and fragrant.

Add a bit of flour to the butter (Image 2) and stir everything together to form a roux (a thick paste that will thicken the sauce).

Let the roux cook for a minute or so until it's thick and foamy (Image 3), then slowly stream in the milk, stirring constantly to break up any lumps (Image 4).

Once all the milk has been added, bring the sauce to a low simmer and let it thicken.

Reduce the heat to low, add your cheeses (Image 5), and stir until all the cheese is completely melted and you have a smooth, silky sauce (Image 6).

Storage and Freezing

This basic white sauce is easy to make ahead of time, and it freezes very well! Let the finished sauce cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container (we use these deli containers for just about everything).

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost frozen sauce overnight in the fridge, then reheat over low heat on the stovetop and use normally!

Ways to use White Sauce

• Pizza. This recipe makes an excellent white pizza sauce! Use it as the base for a chicken alfredo pizza (it's also great with our pesto chicken pizza or cilantro corn pizza!)
• Toss it with your favorite pasta! Use this anywhere you'd use a jar of alfredo sauce (it's great with linguine, our favorite corn fettuccine, and macaroni) or pair with your favorite stuffed shells or ravioli. Add vegetables (peas, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach) or protein (shrimp, sausage, crockpot shredded chicken, turkey meatballs) to make it a bit heartier.
• Pour this sauce over tortillas stuffed with your favorite fixings for easy white sauce enchiladas. (You can also stir some green chiles, smoked paprika, or sour cream into the sauce to give it an extra kick!)
• Use it in place of homemade béchamel sauce for a cozy lasagna.

FAQs

More Simple Sauce recipes

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Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out!

📖 Recipe

Simple White Sauce

★★★ 3 from 2 reviews

• Author: Jessie
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Cuisine: French and Italian Inspired

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Description

This quick, simple white sauce is perfect on pasta or as a base for your favorite pizza! 

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Ingredients

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• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled (about 2 Tablespoons)
• kosher salt to taste

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Instructions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan or a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for one minute, until garlic is soft and fragrant.
2. Add flour and stir to form a paste. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the mixture is thick and foamy.
3. Stream milk in a little at a time, stirring constantly to work out any lumps. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Bring mixture to a low simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 6-10 minutes, until sauce is thickened and easily coats the back of a spoon. 
5. Reduce heat to low. Add parmesan and goat cheese; stir until cheeses are completely melted and you're left with a smooth sauce. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve immediately or let sauce cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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Notes

A few notes on cheese. Look for true Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) cheese here for best results. Shred and crumble the cheeses for this recipe yourself: store-bought shredded parmesan and pre-crumbled goat cheese are often coated with preservatives and anti-caking agents that prevent them from melting smoothly into a sauce. 

Additions and Substitutions. Replace up to half of the milk in this recipe with white wine, chicken stock, or parmesan broth. Use cream cheese instead of goat cheese if you like. For a more mac-and-cheese style sauce, swap the parmesan for shredded cheddar, white cheddar, or gruyere (or a mix of all three). Add herbs (chives, parsley, tarragon), a splash of lemon juice, or a pinch of nutmeg to this sauce for extra flavor. 

For a smoother sauce, use whole, smashed garlic cloves instead of minced garlic. Cook the whole cloves in the butter as directed, but remove and discard them before adding the flour (this gives you plenty of garlic flavor without the added texture!) You can also blend this sauce with an immersion blender to make it ultra smooth.

How to use this sauce. Toss this white sauce with cooked pasta or gnocchi (it's excellent with fettuccine!), use it as the base for homemade pizza, serve it over grilled or roasted chicken, or stir it into your favorite casserole.

Storage and Freezing. Let sauce cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost frozen white sauce in the fridge overnight, then reheat over low heat on the stovetop and use normally. If sauce separates in the fridge or freezer, add a splash of cream or milk, or blend it with an immersion blender to smooth it back out.

Strict vegetarians should look for cheeses made without rennet.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: ½ cup
• Calories: 169
• Sugar: 6.4 g
• Sodium: 409.8 mg
• Fat: 10.1 g
• Carbohydrates: 9.9 g
• Protein: 9.8 g
• Cholesterol: 28.2 mg

Keywords: sauce, pasta, alfredo