Missing your favourite creamy dishes? Master this vegan béchamel sauce, and you’ll soon be basking in the comfort of creamy lasagnas and pasta bakes.
Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 10 mins | Serves: 1 cup
Making béchamel sauce is not rocket science, but pulling off a flavoursome vegan alternative can be tricky. A traditional French béchamel relies on three core ingredients: flour, butter and full cream milk. Hence, most vegan versions, swap the dairy milk and butter with plant-based alternatives.
In this béchamel recipe, Almo Crème, coconut oil and flour are heated over a stovetop to form a thick paste, to which Almo Milk is then gradually added to create a silky-smooth sauce with a golden hue and nutty flavour, just like a classic French roux. Turmeric and nutmeg balance the sweet and savoury flavours, while the nutritional yeast adds a rich, fermented cheesy flavour.
The quantities given should be enough to cover a large lasagne, make a vegetable gratin, or take your potatoes to the next level. We recommend steadily heating your béchamel in a cast iron saucepan, which retains heat and locks in moisture to enhance the flavours. We’ve used the signature cast iron saucepan from Le Creuset’s new Meringue collection.