Low Carb Béchamel Sauce: 3 Ingredient No Flour White Sauce
In short
A classic béchamel starts with a roux of butter and flour, and flour is off the table on low carb. This one uses just three ingredients: 1 cup of heavy (thickened) cream, 3oz of cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter (about 28g). Melt the butter and cream cheese together in a saucepan with a whisk, add the cream and keep it moving until it thickens and coats the whisk. Season with salt and, if you like, a pinch of nutmeg. It thickens a bit more as it cools and keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week.
Key points
- No roux, no flour. A normal white sauce is thickened with butter and flour. Flour’s out when you’re low carb, so this is a pretty decent alternative.
- Three ingredients. 1 cup of heavy cream or thickened cream, 3oz of cream cheese (I used Philadelphia) and 2 tablespoons of butter, which is about 28g or 1oz.
- Melt the butter and cream cheese first. Pop them both in a saucepan and whisk until they’re combined, then go in with the cream.
- Keep it moving. Stir as it heats so it doesn’t catch and burn. It’s ready when it’s coating the whisk nicely.
- It thickens as it cools. Take it off and let it stand, and it firms up a little more.
- Season at the end. Add salt and, optionally, a pinch of nutmeg.
- Make it ahead. It keeps in the fridge for probably a week in a sealed container. I made mine the day before my keto lasagna.
- About 5 minutes. Super simple, and you can knock it up in no time.
If you’ve ever made lasagna or moussaka, you’ll know one of the layers is a white sauce, a béchamel. Normally that’s made with a roux: melt butter, stir in flour to thicken it. Flour’s off the table when you’re cutting carbs, so here’s a three-ingredient version that does the same job with cream, cream cheese and butter.
Method in brief
You’ll need: 1 cup of heavy cream (thickened cream), 3oz of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of butter (about 28g or 1oz), salt, and a pinch of nutmeg if you like it. Plus a saucepan and a whisk.
- Melt: put the butter and cream cheese in a saucepan and whisk until they’re melted and combined.
- Add the cream and give it a good stir.
- Thicken: keep whisking over the heat so it doesn’t catch and burn, until it’s coating the whisk.
- Rest: take it off and let it stand. It’ll thicken a little more as it cools.
- Season with salt and an optional pinch of nutmeg.
- Use or store: use it straight away, or let it cool and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week.
Where to use it
Use it anywhere you’d use a white sauce: low carb lasagna, keto moussaka, creamy vegetable dishes, or over meat and casseroles. I made this batch for my low carb eggplant lasagna, where it goes between layers of eggplant, beef mince and mozzarella.
More low carb comfort food: try my low carb cabbage carbonara, Philly cheese steak casserole and low carb mashed potato. If you’re wondering why flour and pasta are off the menu, read why I avoid bread, rice and pasta, and for the high-fat side of things, see what is LCHF and LCHF vs keto. Grab the free Carb Guide too.
New to all this? Watch my story and how I lost 23kg in four months.
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Not medical advice. I'm not a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist, just a bloke telling the story of what worked for me. Check with your doctor before changing your diet or medication.
