Best Mac Sauce Béchamel Recipes

Mac Sauce (Béchamel 101) image

Provided by Allison Arevalo

Yield makes 3 cups

Number Of Ingredients 4

3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt

Steps:

Lesson Plan
Heat the milk in a pot over medium heat until it just starts to bubble, but is not boiling, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a separate, heavy-bottomed pot. When the butter has just melted, add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Slowly pour the warm milk, about 1 cup at a time, into the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly. It will get very thick when you first add the milk, and thinner as you slowly pour in the entire 3 cups. This is normal.
Once all the milk has been added, set the pot back over medium-high heat, and continue to whisk constantly. In the next 2 to 3 minutes the sauce should come together and become silky and thick. Use the spoon test to make sure it's ready: Dip a metal spoon into the sauce-if the sauce coats the spoon and doesn't slide off like milk, you'll know it's ready. You should be able to run your finger along the spoon and have the impression remain. Add the salt.
The Mac Sauce is ready to use immediately and does not need to cool. Store it in the fridge for a day or two if you want to make it ahead of time-it will get a lot thicker when put in the fridge, so it may need a little milk to thin it out a bit when it comes time to melt in the cheese. Try melting the cheese into the sauce first, and if it is too thick then add milk as needed.

Healthy Mac & Cheese With Bechamel-Cheddar Sauce image

Provided by Silly_Mommy

Categories Cheese

Time 1h

Yield 6-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 13

2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 slices whole wheat bread
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Steps:

In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil. Add macaroni, bring to a boil, then simmer on medium-high heat until al dente (a little less than fully cooked). Set aside ½ cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately rinse with cold water.
In the same pot used for the macaroni, melt butter and add flour. Whisk until mixture looks like a paste and is light beige in color. Slowly pour in evaporated milk while whisking, and continue until fully incorperated. Simmer and stir for another 3-4 minutes for sauce to thicken Stir in nutmeg, mustard, and salt.
Remove from heat and add cheese and pasta water. Continue stiring until cheese is fully melted. Pour macaroni back into and stir until fully mixed with sauce.
(This step is for topping.) Break apart bread in large peices and pulse in food processor with melted butter until bread is in small crumbs. Mix with cheese and cayenne pepper and set aside.
Pour macaroni mixture into a 9x13 casserole dishes and spread bread/cheese mixture over the top.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven when top is slightly browned and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.