A white sauce makes for the base of so many dishes. It can be used to make a variety of other sauces such as a basic cream sauce or a fancy mornay sauce. But it is quite a faff. And that’s why when you make it, you might want to consider making it in bulk.
Can You Freeze White Sauce?
Yes, you can freeze white sauce for up to 6 months. To freeze white sauce, portion it into thick freezer bags before sealing tightly and then placing it into the freezer.
Does White Sauce Freeze Well? Sometimes
Can You Refreeze White Sauce? No
How to Freeze White Sauce
Now it’s time for you to get to freezing it. Before you do anything, the most important step is to allow the white sauce to cool right down to room temperature before you freeze it. Once it has, you can move:
- Bag Up: Grab a freezer bag and spoon in your sauce. You’ll want to spoon in the equivalent of one portion so you can defrost portions at a time. Continue filling bags until you have used up all of your sauce.
- Seal: Seal the bags up, squeezing out as much of the air as possible when you do so.
- Store in a Container: Now find a container that will fit all your bags in. The reason we double layer here is that both milk and cheese can and will absorb other odours from your freezer which can tarnish your silky smooth white sauce.
- Freeze: Place the bags in the container, seal it up and place it in the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing White Sauce
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing white sauce to have the best results:
Keep it Simple
Avoid adding flavourings and cheese to the white sauce if you plan on freezing it. Instead, keep it really simple then add other flavours to it once you have defrosted it.
Revitalise with More Butter
Once your sauce has thawed, place it in a pan over a low heat and whisk. This will help to fix the separation. Once it has been reincorporated, add a knob of butter to make it silky.
Use in Cooked Dishes
Once you have your sauce ready to use, consider using it in cooked dishes such as lasagne where the textural change is more likely to be masked.
How Long Can You Freeze White Sauce?
White sauce will be fine in the freezer for up to 6 months. The longer you leave it, the great the chance of separation but keep reading to learn how to fix this.
As always, make sure you label your container with the white sauce with the date on which it needs to be consumed to avoid wasting it further down the line. You don’t want to go to the effort of making white sauce to then have to throw it away.
Once you have made white sauce, it can be stored in the fridge, once cooled, for around 5 days.
How Do You Defrost White Sauce?
The best way to defrost your white sauce is in the fridge overnight. Simply place a bag of your frozen sauce into a bowl and place it in the fridge overnight. By the next day when you need it, it will have completely thawed.
Trying to speed this process up is not a good idea, unfortunately. You’ll end up with a split, grainy sauce.
Can You Refreeze White Sauce?
White sauce will not freeze well in the first place – refreezing it will only make it worse. If you were to refreeze white sauce, you’ll notice a dramatic change in the texture. The fats and liquids will split leaving you with a grainy sauce.
Instead, make sure you freeze white sauce in suitable portions so you can easily grab one portion at a time from the freezing negating any need to refreeze in the future.
Does White Sauce Freeze Well?
Not that well… But don’t panic. The water from the milk and the fat from the butter will most likely separate when the sauce is frozen then thawed. It will make your sauce look pretty grim and grainy. But this can be salvaged.
Once your sauce has thawed in the fridge, place it in a pan over a very low heat and whisk until the sauce has combined again. Finally, add in a small knob of butter to give it that freshly made silky shine.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing white sauce or sauce in general, then these may help:
Yes, mornay sauce can be frozen for a few months but it will not freeze particularly well. The sauce will split when it is defrosted.
Yes, roux can be frozen. Pop spoonfuls of roux onto a baking sheet and freeze into solid clumps. Once frozen solid, it can be stored in a freezer bag.
