Classic Mornay Sauce (Cheesy White Sauce) Recipe

The backbone of a traditional mac and cheese couldn't be easier to make.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Senior Culinary Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated Feb. 20, 2023
Whisking a homemade mornay sauce in a pan

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why This Recipe Works

  • Cooking the flour and butter together first helps remove the flour's raw flavor, and prevents lumps from forming later.
  • A ratio of one and a half tablespoons each of flour and butter per cup of milk makes a thickened yet still pourable sauce, great for all sorts of recipes.

Mornay sauce is made from béchamel, one of the mother sauces in classic French cooking. You can use many different semi-firm cheeses for this, including cheddar, though Swiss or Gruyère is most traditional. It's incredibly easy to make. Here's how.

August 2019

Recipe Details

Classic Mornay Sauce (Cheesy White Sauce) Recipe

Cook 10 mins
Active 5 mins
Total 10 mins
Serves 8 servings
Makes 1 cup

The backbone of a traditional mac and cheese couldn't be easier to make.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 ounce; 20g)

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (12g) all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup (240ml) whole milk

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)

  • 2 ounces (55g) finely grated Swiss or Gruyère cheese

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown). Add flour and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Sauce will initially become very thick, then get very thin once all the milk is added.

  2. Heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.

  3. Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg to taste, if using. If any lumps form, simply whisk thoroughly to remove them and smooth out sauce, or use an immersion blender or countertop blender if lumps are particularly large or tough. Working in 2 or 3 additions, whisk in cheese, incorporating each addition just as the one before it is on the verge of fully melting; make sure to keep the heat low after the cheese goes in, as too much heat can cause the sauce to break. Remove from heat.

  4. Use sauce right away, or press a piece of plastic wrap over surface of sauce to prevent a skin from forming and keep warm until ready to use. Sauce can be cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat very gently on the stovetop or in the microwave before use.

Special Equipment

Whisk

Make-Ahead and Storage

The finished sauce can be used right away, or cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat very gently on the stovetop or in the microwave before use.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
71 Calories
5g Fat
3g Carbs
3g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 71
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 7%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 16mg 5%
Sodium 102mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 105mg 8%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 48mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)