Sauces and Dressings
How to Make Vegan Bechamel Sauce

Prep
5 minutes
Cook
20 minutes
Yield
1 large serving
Bechamel sauce is a white sauce that is so yummy and creamy. Famously used in French cuisine but expanded to basically using it on anything from in mac n’ cheese, to vegetables, bechamel is made with milk and flour. It’s super easy to make, however, how do you make bechamel vegan? Well, I got you with this dairy-free recipe coming your way!
Why you’ll love this vegan bechamel sauce:
Well I mean, I think everyone loves bechamel sauce, but if you needed some more convincing than here are just a few reasons:
- It’s very easy and quick to whip up
- It is incredibly versatile and can be used in many different ways (more on that below)
- Elevates your recipes
- It’s classy – people will think you’re a real chef or something 😉
Seriously though, I said it once, I’ll say it a million more times, this vegan bechamel sauce can be used on almost anything. Keep it in your back pocket as a go-to recipe, because I promise you’ll want to. You can use it in casserole dishes, pastas, lasagnas, sauces for vegetables, pies, veggie bakes, and the list goes on. The opportunities are endless with a good, classic sauce like this.
How to make this vegan bechamel sauce:
- Melt your butter on low heat in a medium-sized pot.
- Once melted, add your flour, stir till a ball or more lumpy consistency appears.
- Add your nutritional yeast and stir more.
- Now, slowly add your milk and whisk aggressively while cooking on medium-high heat (the whole process should take around 20 minutes).
- Stir till you’ve added all your milk and a more silky smooth sauce comes together.
- Add the nutmeg and stir even more!
- At the last minute season to taste, remove from heat and set aside.
Nutmeg is your bechamel’s best friend
Yep, you heard me right. Nutmeg is a key ingredient in making this bechamel vegan. I, of course, used my friends at Mountain Rose Herbs nutmeg because I trust that I’m going to get a high-quality spice whenever I use their products.
Mountain Rose Herbs is a grower, processor, distributor, and retailer of organic (and amazing) herbs, spices, teas, and even essential oils. All their products are sustainably grown and harvested ingredients. I trust that when I shop my spices from them that I’m getting spices made with care, versus mass-produced stuff without any flavour.
For this recipe, the use of nutmeg is critical for the flavour you’re going to want to achieve. I used the whole nutmeg in this recipe, so you’ll need a grater to grate it down for the sauce. I suggest their spice grater for this.
Nutmeg is popular in baking recipes, but believe me when I say that it’s the perfect ingredient in this dairy-free sauce.
Tips for making the best bechamel vegan
A few key pointers to make sure that you mix up the best possible vegan bechamel are:
- To make sure you use good quality ingredients, seriously though, that nutmeg 😉
- Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan to help prevent sticking
- Whisk and whisk until your arms fall off – this will help you achieve that perfect silky smooth consistency
Other recipes you’ll love:
If you’re looking for some vegan recipes to pair this sauce with, I got you, here’s some I suggest:
If you’re looking for another way to use this bechamel sauce, I have another post you’ll love that includes a brand new recipe and works perfectly with this sauce. It’s a Greek Pasta Dish. Nom nom nom! It celebrates my roots because I grew up eating it. Now I’ve made a yummy vegan version you’ll love.

How to Make Bechamel Vegan
Ingredients
For the Bechamel:
- 3 heaped tbsp. of vegan butter
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 1/2 cups almond milk
- season to taste
- 1/2 tsp Mountain Rose Herbs Nutmeg grated
Instructions
- For the bechamel, melt your butter on low heat in a medium-sized pot. Once melted, add your flour, stir till a ball or more lumpy consistency appears. Add your nutritional yeast and stir more. Now, slowly add your milk and whisk aggressively while cooking on medium-high heat (the whole proces should take around 20 minutes). Stir till you've added all your milk and a more silky smooth sauce comes together. Add the nutmeg and stir even more! At the last minute season to taste, remove from heat and set aside.
Video

Notes
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs.
Can I use another flour? Coconut or almond flour etc.
Yes you can! Use 2/3 the amount of flour as both almond and coconut flour absorb more liquid and thicken faster. Blend this really well so it does not become grainy! 🙂