Low Carb Keto Bechamel Sauce

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.

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 to make bechamel keto friendly

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:

• 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

That's it!

The sauce is so thick and lovely you're going to want to pour it over almost anything. Thanks to my swaps, it's just 1.9 net carbs per serving.

Keto Bechamel sauce - step by step

Add the butter, cream cheese, ½ cup 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.

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.

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 can curdle.

Variations

You can customise this gluten free, 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

Where to use low carb bechamel

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 essential keto sauce recipes

In my opinion, it's the sauces that take a meal from simply food to simply delicious. Here are some of my favourites:

Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!

★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★

Recipe