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What is Cream Sauce?

Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel

A cream sauce is a savory topping that is commonly used on pasta, chicken, and fish dishes. As the main ingredient in the sauce is cream, it is usually white in color. Some cream sauces that incorporate cheese are deeper yellow or even slightly orange in color. Sometimes a cream sauce is made with tomatoes and the resulting sauce is a savory but slightly tangy sauce that has a pinkish color.

Cream sauce that is made without cheese or tomatoes usually has a delicate flavor. Sometimes that flavor is accented with herbs or spices. The most commonly added ingredients other than tomatoes and cheese are garlic, chives, white pepper, ground black pepper, and parsley. Sometimes the sauce is accented with dill, which is especially common when it is used to top off fish entrees. A cream sauce can also be made for spicy dishes by adding dried red pepper flakes to the mixture.

Garlic is often added to cream sauce.
Garlic is often added to cream sauce.

Cooks only need a few basic ingredients for a cream sauce. Ingredients include two tablespoons (about 28 grams or 30 milliliters)of butter, two tablespoons (about 28 grams) of all purpose flour, one cup (250 milliliters) of milk, one-third cup (about 80 milliliters)of heavy cream, and salt to taste.

Before making the sauce, warm the milk in a separate pan. In order to begin making the cream sauce, first melt the butter in a sauce pan. Use medium heat and be sure not to brown or burn the butter. Add the flour and stir until it is well mixed in with the butter without leaving any lumps. Once this has been done, slowly stir in the warm milk.

Cream sauce is often served on pasta.
Cream sauce is often served on pasta.

Keep the mixture over medium heat and continue to stir it until it begins to boil, at which point the cream sauce will begin to thicken. Then, reduce the heat to low and continue to stir as you allow the sauce to simmer for another four to six minutes. At this point, add the cream. If you plan to flavor the sauce with white wine, as many people like to do, it should be added shortly after the cream.

Parsley can be used to flavor cream sauce.
Parsley can be used to flavor cream sauce.

This recipe makes between one and a quarter and one and a half cups (between 310 and 375 milliliters) of basic cream sauce. This recipe can be used to flavor a variety of dishes such as pastas, chicken dishes, and seafood dishes as well as casseroles.

Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel

In addition to her work as a freelance writer for DelightedCooking, Diane is the executive editor of Black Lawrence Press, an independent publishing company based in upstate New York. She has also edited several anthologies, the e-newsletter Sapling, and The Adirondack Review. Diane has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. from Brooklyn College.

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Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel

In addition to her work as a freelance writer for DelightedCooking, Diane is the executive editor of Black Lawrence Press, an independent publishing company based in upstate New York. She has also edited several anthologies, the e-newsletter Sapling, and The Adirondack Review. Diane has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. from Brooklyn College.

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Discussion Comments

Lostnfound

My favorite curry sauce starts as a cream sauce. I do the basic sauce and use milk, then add some chicken broth, curry powder, garlic, soy sauce, black pepper and hot sauce and presto! Instant curry! It's really not that difficult. You just have to stay with it, but that's the case with any roux-type sauce. You can't let it get away from you, or get distracted, or it will burn. A burned roux has to be thrown away, and will stink up the house!

Grivusangel

Essentially what you're doing when you're making a cream sauce is making a roux. You melt the butter and add the flour to it, then stir until smooth and whisk in the cream slowly. It's a roux.

A cream sauce is also a called a bechamel sauce, or a "mother sauce" for a reason: it's the base of so many different sauces. Add cheese to it and you have a mornay sauce.

Cream sauces are good, but I actually like the rose sauces, which have some tomato sauce added to them. The acidity of the tomato helps balance the richness of the cream.

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    • Garlic is often added to cream sauce.
      By: Schlierner
      Garlic is often added to cream sauce.
    • Cream sauce is often served on pasta.
      By: Shawn Hempel
      Cream sauce is often served on pasta.
    • Parsley can be used to flavor cream sauce.
      By: Barbara Pheby
      Parsley can be used to flavor cream sauce.
    • Heavy cream may be used to make cream sauce.
      By: Viorel Sima
      Heavy cream may be used to make cream sauce.
    • Sometimes herbs are added when making a cream sauce for chicken.
      By: Studio Gi
      Sometimes herbs are added when making a cream sauce for chicken.
    • Cream-based sauces are popular in French, Italian and Mexican cuisines.
      By: Lucky Dragon
      Cream-based sauces are popular in French, Italian and Mexican cuisines.
    • Baked hake and vegetables with a cream-based mornay sauce.
      By: Comugnero Silvana
      Baked hake and vegetables with a cream-based mornay sauce.
    • Cream sauce usually contains white or ground black pepper.
      By: kellyschulz
      Cream sauce usually contains white or ground black pepper.