Hello Fresh Cream Sauce Base Recipe (Tested)

When you want a creamy sauce but don’t have much time, Hello Fresh cream sauce base comes to the rescue!

This recipe is actually what is called in France a bechamel sauce. It uses only 5 ingredients, and you can make a full cream sauce in less than 15 minutes.

I’ve adapted this recipe from HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit company. HelloFresh provides pre-measured ingredients and simple recipes, so you can quickly make home-cooked meals.

Cream sauce is a flavorful sauce made with milk and cream. It often serves as a base for other toppings, such as cheese sauce.

With this HelloFresh cream sauce base, you can quickly put together a great topping for pasta, marinated steak, grilled beef, fish, or even pizza.

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Hello Fresh Cream Sauce Base Recipe

• Prep Time5 min
• Cook Time10 min
• Total Time15 min

• Servings2 servings
• Yield1-1.5 cups

Level: Easy

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups whole milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Equipment

1 medium saucepan

1 whisk

Method

1. Melt the Butter
   

   First, add the butter to a saucepan, and melt it over medium heat. Make sure it doesn’t brown, unless you want that flavor and color.

   

2. Add the Flour
   

   Next, pour the flour into the pan and whisk constantly for 3 minutes. For a purely white sauce, don’t let the roux turn brown.

   

   

   

3. Whisk in the Milk
   

   Then, pour in the milk a little at a time as you continue whisking. Try to prevent lumps from forming by stirring constantly.

   

   

   Once you’ve added all of the milk, turn the stove to low heat and bring the sauce to a simmer.

   

   

   If you still have lumps, remove the pan from the heat and stir with the whisk off the heat. Once the cream is smooth, return to heat until it makes bubbles.
   

4. Cook and Season
   

   Once it simmers, keep cooking (and stirring) the sauce for about 5 minutes over low heat. Once it’s ready, it should be thick, silky, and no longer taste like raw flour.

   If the sauce is too thick, add a little milk until you get the desired consistency.

   At this stage, take the pan off the stove. Then, add the salt and pepper, and the nutmeg if you’re using it.

   

   

5. Eat or Store
   

   Store the sauce in a small bowl.

   If you don’t serve it right away, the sauce might form lumps or a skin. But don’t worry! Simply reheat it over the stove and add a little more milk.
   

Best Tips For the Perfect Hello Fresh’s Cream Sauce Base

• Always Add the Same Quantity of Butter & Flour. This is the key for a successful bechamel sauce. The base of this cream sauce is a what we call in France “un roux”.

  It’s a cooked mixture of butter and flour in equal amounts. Actually, this is the base for many different types of white sauce. If you want to make more quantity, simply double by always adding the same quantity of flour and butter.



• Don’t Substitute The Butter for Vegetable or Olive Oil. Vegetable or olive oil has a harder time suspending the flour. Therefore, it’s more likely to create lumps in the finished sauce.

  Also, butter is a great option for cream sauce because its flavor goes well with cream (and cheese if you make cheese sauce).



• Use Whole Milk. In this delicious recipe, I like to use whole milk because the high fat content makes the texture very creamy. If you use a different kind of milk, I recommend adding ⅓ cup of heavy cream to compensate.
• Make It Smoother. Sauce Bechamel is a thick sauce. If you want a smoother texture, add 1 cup heavy cream.

Fun Ways to Adapt This Hello Fresh Cream Sauce Recipe

This recipe is very simple, but that makes it very versatile! It’s really a “mother sauce” that you can adapt for any other recipe.

• Parmesan Cream Sauce. For a tangy sauce, add ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese. (For a mac and cheese sauce, add shredded cheddar or pepper jack).


• Vegan Cream Sauce. You can make this recipe dairy-free! Simply use almond or full-fat coconut milk.


• Classic Cream Sauce. If this recipe is the base for a cream soup or pasta sauce, add an extra 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. And, instead of milk, you can use chicken or veggie stock, or even pasta water.


• Spicy Cream Sauce. For a spicy take, add hot sauce or a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. But if you want more flavor without the heat, add a teaspoon of dijon mustard instead.


• Herbed Cream Sauce. For a flavorful savory sauce, stir in fresh herbs and a dash of garlic powder. For example, parsley, dill, and oregano work really well.


• Mushroom Cream Sauce. If you want to add veggies, simply sauté sliced mushrooms in butter before adding the flour to make a roux.

How to Store, Freeze And Reheat Hello Fresh Cream Sauce Basee

• In The Fridge: The sauce will last for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator.


• In The Freezer: Frozen, it will last for about 6 months. And after 6 months, it’s probably still fine to eat – it will just have lost some flavor and/or gotten freezer burnt.
  


• Reheat: When reheating, let frozen sauce thaw out in the refrigerator. If it looks like it has broken, don’t worry. Simply pour the thawed sauce into a pan and heat it over the stove. As you whisk it, it’ll come back together.

More Easy Sauce Recipes

• Sonic Crave Sauce Recipe
• Juicy Crab Juicy Special Sauce Recipe
• Bloves Sauce Recipe
• Hello Fresh Tex Mex Paste Recipe