This creamy, silky keto béchamel sauce tastes just as good as the classic French bechamel, but without all the carbs! Pour it over vegetables, use it in lasagna, eat it with eggs - so many possibilities.
My keto white sauce is so thick and lovely you're going to want to pour it over almost anything. It's just 1.9 net carbs per serving.
Reader Reviews
"This is absolutely divine! I used it in a keto lasagne dish and then for a broccoli and cauliflower bake." (Steph)
"Very good! We added smoked turkey, peas and mushrooms to make a meal." (Leslie)
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What Is Béchamel Sauce?
Béchamel is also known as white sauce. It is a classic French sauce made from butter, white flour and milk. You cook the flour and butter to form a thick mixture called a roux. Then, the milk is added slowly until the desired creamy consistency is reached.
In French cooking, bechamel is considered one of the five "mother sauces". This is because you can use it as a base for other sauces.
How I Made It Keto
Whilst a "proper" bechamel is certainly delicious, there's a problem: it is not gluten-free and it is high in carbs because of the flour and the milk. Not what we want on a Keto Diet!
So, how do you make a thick and creamy low carb bechamel sauce that looks and tastes like the real deal?
Many recipes simply add an extra portion of mozzarella. Don't get me wrong - a keto cheese sauce tastes great, but bechamel is not supposed to be cheesy.
My version of béchamel is by no means authentic, but it tastes wonderful. I settled on the following ingredients:
Ingredients
- Cream cheese - full fat
- Double Cream - that's heavy whipping cream in the US
- Egg yolk - this helps thicken the sauce
- Chicken broth - for an extra bit of flavour
- Salt and nutmeg - the classic bechamel seasoning
Method
It is simple to make a keto white sauce. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Add the butter, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and chicken stock to a saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the butter melts - about 2 minutes. Do not boil.
STEP 2
Now, put the egg yolk in a cup. Add a little of the warmed cream mixture to it, mixing well with a fork, then add back into the saucepan.
This step is essential! It will stop the béchamel splitting.
STEP 3
Stir constantly over a low heat using a hand balloon whisk for about 4 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Katrin's Top Tips
Don't overheat the sauce or the egg yolk can curdle. Stick to a low heat and make sure the mixture does not boil.
Easy hack if the sauce does split or becomes lumpy: Take it off the heat immediately and pulse with an immersion blender.
Variations
You can customise my low carb bechamel sauce by adding one or more of the following ingredients:
- shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
- grated parmesan cheese, gruyere or Emmental (to make a low carb sauce mornay)
- white wine or sherry
- lemon juice
- parsley
- tarragon
- puréed sautéed onions (for a soubise sauce)
- mustard
- garlic
- chives
- pepper
Uses
Here are a few ideas which low carb recipes and meals work well with bechamel:
- Vegetables such as cauliflower, zucchini noodles, broccoli or Brussels sprouts
- keto lasagna
- Eggplant lasagna
- Any casserole dish that is topped with cheese - use the keto bechamel as a final layer before the cheese
- zucchini boats
- Croque Monsieur (use my 90 Second Keto Bread)
- boiled eggs
- your protein of choice such as fish or chicken
Storage
Keto bechamel sauce stays fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Reheat slowly so the sauce does not split.
More Keto Sauce Recipes
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Recipe
Keto Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 14g
- ½ cup cream cheese 120g
- ½ cup heavy cream 120ml
- ¼ cup chicken stock 60ml
- 1 egg yolk
- Pinch of flaked sea salt
- pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
- Add the butter, cream cheese, cream and chicken stock to a saucepan. Cook over a medium heat until the butter melts - about 2 minutes. Do not boil.
- Put the egg yolk in a separate cup. Add a little of the warmed sauce to it, mixing well with a fork (this step is essential to stop the béchamel splitting).
- Add the yolk mix into the saucepan. Stir constantly over a low heat using a hand balloon whisk for about 4 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Don't overheat the sauce or the egg yolk will curdle.
- Season with salt and nutmeg to taste.
Notes
- shredded mozzarella or cheddar for a Keto Cheese Sauce
- grated parmesan, gruyere or Emmental (to make a low carb sauce mornay)
- white wine or sherry
- lemon juice
- parsley
- tarragon
- puréed sautéed onions
- mustard
- garlic
- chives
Inga
Easy version of a white sauce. Extremely smooth, rich & delicious. Will be making it again.
Georgene
Nice recipe. Here’s a hint. Start with 1/2 teaspoon sodium citrate, mixing as you go and it will not split. Makes the creamiest sauce you ever had.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you for sharing!
Leslie
This was very good! We added smoked turkey, peas and mushrooms to make a meal
Kaylene Carey
I just love the white sauce, would like it to be thicker. Any suggestions please
Katrin Nürnberger
To thicken a custard you cook it a little longer. Or, add another egg yolk.
Marcelle
Would I still have to temper the yolk if I am using powdered?
Steph
This is absolutely divine! I used it in a keto lasagne dish and then for a broccoli and cauliflower bake. It is the best! Thank you for sharing.
Kenrick Fearn
Awesome …even better than the original sauce this is based on …now to find “the holy grail” …I need to find a sensible keto/low carb egg noodles recipe …I know courgettes can be used but honestly they are no substitute for the real thing !
Great fan of your site …and I too suffered many health issues …but once off processed/ refined foods …and 95% less sugar etc …not looked back since the transformation was unbelievable to the benefit of my health and that was over 10 yrs ago …I live in Spain …eating out here is still a major trauma lol…but you can with care and cast iron discipline avoid the worst of the V. High Carb diet here !
Although, the occasional and I mean very occasional potato or rice dish does get consumed …Spanish potatoes and rices are just the absolute best …
Randy M
I will try this over par boiled cauliflower with Gruyère topped with finely a ground pork rind and almond flour mixture in lieu of breadcrumbs. I expect it will be fantastic and very low carb.
Katrin Nürnberger
That sounds wonderful. Come back here and let me know how it turned out!
Annmarie
Randy, won't it split though at the end after putting it in the oven to melt and brown the cheese. I did wonder about doing this.
Katrin Nürnberger
Mine did not split and other readers have commented the same.
Martha Mora
Excellent!!!
Margo J Jackson
Thanks for this-can I convert to Metric?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Margo, I added the metric conversions in the recipe card for you.