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Creamy White Sauce

Luke is a 2017 James Beard Best Chef Midwest semifinalist and owns the Driftless Café in Viroqua, WI. Rooted in local and organic food, he is also the host of television show Wisconsin Foodie.

A bowl of creamy white sauce with a wooden spoon in it.

This sauce is a basic building block. In fact, it’s considered a variation on one of the five classic “mother sauces” in French cuisine—Béchamel. We enhance it with some delicious, creamy Organic Valley® Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. It will hug your pasta tighter than a long-lost friend.

5 min Prep10 min Cook15 min Total
5 min Prep10 min Cook15 min Total
4 Servings
A bowl of creamy white sauce with a wooden spoon in it.
5 min Prep10 min Cook15 min Total
5 min Prep10 min Cook15 min Total
4 Servings

This sauce is a basic building block. In fact, it’s considered a variation on one of the five classic “mother sauces” in French cuisine—Béchamel. We enhance it with some delicious, creamy Organic Valley® Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. It will hug your pasta tighter than a long-lost friend.

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Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon white or black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

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Directions

  1. First, make the roux with the butter and flour. In a medium-size saucepan (on low heat) start by melting the butter gently.
  2. When the butter is melted, slowly add all the flour. Using a whisk, make sure the butter and flour are perfectly blended together.
  3. Stir gently for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth, keeping the heat very low. Once blended and heated through, continue on to making the Béchamel sauce.
  4. Once the roux has cooked, pour all of the milk over the roux while keeping it at low heat.
  5. Use your whisk to stir and incorporate the milk (the sauce will be very liquid and separated at first).
  6. Now turn up the heat to medium and keep on stirring your sauce slowly. Add your salt, pepper and nutmeg. Continue to whisk until the sauce reaches a boil, and it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  7. Finally, add all of the shredded mozzarella cheese, and whisk until completely melted. Remove from heat, sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

Directions

Cooking Mode

Prevent your screen from going dark as you follow along.

  1. First, make the roux with the butter and flour. In a medium-size saucepan (on low heat) start by melting the butter gently.
  2. When the butter is melted, slowly add all the flour. Using a whisk, make sure the butter and flour are perfectly blended together.
  3. Stir gently for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth, keeping the heat very low. Once blended and heated through, continue on to making the Béchamel sauce.
  4. Once the roux has cooked, pour all of the milk over the roux while keeping it at low heat.
  5. Use your whisk to stir and incorporate the milk (the sauce will be very liquid and separated at first).
  6. Now turn up the heat to medium and keep on stirring your sauce slowly. Add your salt, pepper and nutmeg. Continue to whisk until the sauce reaches a boil, and it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  7. Finally, add all of the shredded mozzarella cheese, and whisk until completely melted. Remove from heat, sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

© Luke Zahm 2026. All rights reserved.

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