This is a basic bechamel sauce that is used to make our lasagna, baked pasta, or rose’ pasta. I would make rose pasta if I needed to use up leftover besciamella sauce as it does not last long in the refrigerator. If you do have some left over, just add it to a pan with marinara sauce. Mix the two together, heat, then add cooked, drained pasta. Toss, add parmesan cheese and you have a quick, delicious dish!

Use this sauce with Lasagna and Baked Penne.

Besciamella Sauce

Alice Ciccu

This is our Italian version of bechamel sauce. There is a lot of variation to it depending on whether you like it thicker or thinner. If you make it early, it will definitely thicken up so I don't recommend it. It will store in the refrigerator, but not usually longer than a week. This is a key ingredient for both our baked pasta and our lasagna.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 13 minutes mins

Course Sauce

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8 servings

Calories 53 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 2 C milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp nutmeg ground

Instructions

 

• Place milk in small saucepan and heat over low heat to warm.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and cook for a minute or so. Do not brown the flour.
• Pour over warm milk all at once. Stir with a whisk to break up the flour clumps. Add salt and nutmeg.
• Cook over medium heat, the mixture should simmer just slightly. Cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

Notes

I always use fresh ground nutmeg. It’s really easy to keep a nutmeg seed on hand with a little grater; it doesn’t take much more time than spooning it out of a container, and it doesn’t go stale as fast. 

For a richer sauce, sometimes I’ll substitute 1/2 cup of cream for 1/2 cup of the milk. Or you can use cream if you don’t have enough milk on hand. 

If you burn the butter at the beginning, throw it out; there’s no coming back from burnt butter in this recipe.

You can substitute a 1 for 1 gluten-free flour if needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 53kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 2gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 34mgPotassium: 93mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 143IUCalcium: 76mgIron: 0.04mg

Keyword sauce

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