white sauce

American  

noun

1. a sauce made of butter, flour, seasonings, and milk or sometimes chicken or veal stock; béchamel.

---

white sauce British  

noun

1. a thick sauce made from flour, butter, seasonings, and milk or stock

---

Etymology

Origin of white sauce

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

It's made with white sauce, cheese, ham and mustard, cooked under the grill.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

I make a really good one with red or white sauce, but my red sauce is the No. 1 thing on the menu.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2024

The luxurious white sauce that defines the recipe compliments the sweetness of the scallops to perfection, but, honestly, I think it would make a piece of cardboard delicious.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2024

For other states, I propose white sauce for Alaska, cheese sauce for Wisconsin, and applesauce for Washington.

From Slate • Jun. 23, 2023

He even mixes a white sauce for the cauliflower.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque