white sauce

American  

noun

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

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white sauce British  

noun

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

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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

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

From Slate • Jun. 23, 2023

Fans on Reddit recommended enjoying the pizza/cheese bread with additional sauce, such as marinara, balsamic glaze or white sauce, because it's dry at times.

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2022

“I run the potatoes and the cream through the blender before I add it to the white sauce in the pot,” I say.

From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles