Skip to content

Top Navigation

MyRecipes MyRecipes
  • Course
  • Baking
  • Global
  • Healthy
  • Favorite Ingredients
  • Holidays and Occasions
  • Quick and Easy
  • Convenience Recipes
  • BBQ and Grilling
  • How To
  • Extra Crispy
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Register
  • Recipe Box this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Logout
Login
Pin FB

Explore MyRecipes

MyRecipes MyRecipes
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 55+ Easy Dinner Recipes for Busy Weeknights

      55+ Easy Dinner Recipes for Busy Weeknights

      Everybody understands the stuggle of getting dinner on the table after a long day. If you're looking for a simple recipe to simplify your weeknight, you've come to the right place--easy dinners are our specialty. For an easy supper that you can depend on, we picked out some of our tried-and-true favorites that have gotten us through even the busiest of days. Whether you're cooking for yourself or for a family, these easy dinners are sure to leave everyone satisfied and stress-free. Read More
    • The Brilliant Secret to Making Better Mashed Potatoes

      The Brilliant Secret to Making Better Mashed Potatoes

      Trust me, it’s so worth it. Read More
    • 65 Super Easy Finger Foods to Make for Any Party

      65 Super Easy Finger Foods to Make for Any Party

      From chips and dip to one-bite apps, finger foods are the perfect way to kick off a party. No forks or spoons required, just easy-to-pick-up party foods, so you can clean up in no time.  Read More
  • Course

    Course

    See All Course
    • Best Appetizer Recipes...Ever
    • Best Drink Recipes for Any Occasion
    • Salad Recipes
    • The Ultimate Guide to Sensational Sides
    • Soup and Stew Recipes
    • Easy Entertaining for Everyone
    • Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
    • Main Dishes and Entrées
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • Baking

    Baking

    See All Baking
    • Bread Recipes
    • Our Most-Loved Cake Recipes
    • Cookie Recipes
    • Pie Recipes
  • Global

    Global

    See All Global
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Vietnamese Recipes
    • Middle Eastern Recipes
    • Mexican Recipes
    • Malaysian Recipes
    • Korean Recipes
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Italian Recipes
    • Indian Recipes
    • Greek Recipes
    • French Recipes
    • Chinese Recipes
    • African Recipes
    • American Recipes
    • Cajun and Creole Recipes
    • Caribbean Recipes
    • South American Recipes
    • Southern Recipes
    • German Recipes
  • Healthy

    Healthy

    See All Healthy
    • Easy, Healthy Recipes
    • Healthy Breakfasts
    • Healthy Dinners
    • Healthy Desserts
    • Diabetic Recipes
    • Gluten-Free Diet and Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Low Carbohydrate Recipes
    • Low Cholesterol Recipes
    • Low Fat Recipes
    • Low Sodium Recipes
    • Low Calorie Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
  • Favorite Ingredients

    Favorite Ingredients

    See All Favorite Ingredients
    • The Ultimate Guide to Chicken
    • Vegetable Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Cheese Recipes
    • Chocolate Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Shrimp Recipes
  • Holidays and Occasions

    Holidays and Occasions

    See All Holidays and Occasions
    • A Foodie's Guide to Halloween Recipes
    • The Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide
    • Hanukkah Recipes
    • Your Ultimate Christmas Recipe Guide
    • Our Most Festive New Year's Recipes
    • Best-Ever Super Bowl Sunday Recipes
    • Best Valentine's Day Recipes
    • Mardi Gras Recipes
    • The Ultimate Guide to Easter Recipes
    • Cinco de Mayo Recipes
    • Labor Day Recipes
    • The Ultimate Fourth of July Guide
    • Memorial Day Recipes
    • Touchdown-Worthy Tailgate Recipes
    • Wedding and Shower Recipes
  • Quick and Easy

    Quick and Easy

    See All Quick and Easy
    • 15-Minute Recipes for Busy Home Cooks
    • 5 Ingredients or Less
    • Dinner Tonight
    • No-Cook Recipes
    • 45-Minute Recipes
  • Convenience Recipes

    Convenience Recipes

    See All Convenience Recipes
    • Budget-Friendly Recipes
    • Our Top Make-Ahead Recipes
    • Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
  • BBQ and Grilling

    BBQ and Grilling

    See All BBQ and Grilling
    • Grilled Beef Recipes
    • Grilled Fish Recipes
    • Grilled Shrimp Recipes
    • Grilled Chicken Recipes
    • Grilled Pork Recipes
    • Grilled Vegetable Recipes
  • How To

    How To

    See All How To
    • 7 Ways With...
    • Videos
    • Ingredients and Tools
    • Kitchen Cleaning
  • Extra Crispy
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Register
  • Recipe Box this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Course
  3. Easy Sauce Recipes for Every Occasion
  4. Master Cooking Sauces

Master Cooking Sauces

Updated December 18, 2008
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Fudge Sauce
Credit: Evan Sklar

Nothing gives you more confidence as a cook than knowing how to make a great sauce.

Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Béchamel Sauce

Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel
Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Jan Gautro

A béchamel sauce, or white sauce, is one of the foundations of creative cooking. It's traditionally made by stirring milk or cream into a butter-flour mixture called a roux. It can be used alone as a topping for vegetables, or as the creamy component in soups, casseroles, and pasta dishes. Here, a light white sauce is used as the creamy base for lasagna.

Recipe: Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Mornay Sauce

Croque-Madame
Credit: Rick Lew; Styling: Ana Kelley

A Mornay sauce is a variation of a basic white sauce and can be made with a variety of cheeses. Because it's a fairly mild sauce, it typically served with eggs, fish, shellfish, vegetables and chicken. Here, it's featured in the classic French dish Croque-Madame, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich topped with an egg and the creamy sauce.

Recipe: Croque-Madame

2 of 9

3 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Béarnaise Sauce

Grilled Prime Aged Sirloin with Garlic-Scallion Potato Cakes and Béarnaise Sauce

A Béarnaise sauce is a classic French sauce made with a reduction of vinegar, wine, tarragon, and shallots, and finished with egg yolks and butter. It's usually served with meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables. We feature it here with grilled sirloin and potato cakes.

Recipe: Grilled Prime Aged Sirloin with Garlic-Scallion Potato Cakes and Béarnaise Sauce

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo Sauce (with fettuccine)
Credit: Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

This sauce is best known in the traditional dish fettuccine Alfredo, which is how it's used here. It's a rich sauce of butter, Parmesan cheese and heavy cream.

Recipe: Alfredo Sauce (with fettuccine)

4 of 9

5 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Marinara Sauce

Marinara Sauce Over Rotini
Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

There are a number of different definitions of a marinara sauce, but it's typically some kind of tomato sauce, either from fresh or canned tomatoes. It's a versatile sauce, but you'll often see it spooned over pasta.

Recipe: Marinara Sauce over Rotini

5 of 9

6 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Gravy

Sunset's Best Easy Gravy
Credit: Annabelle Breakey

A gravy is simple a sauce made with the juices or drippings of meat and poultry. The juices are usually combined with broth, wine, or milk and thickened with some type of flour or cornstarch. See our how-video for tips on making gravy.

Recipe: Sunset's Best Easy Gravy 

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Mushroom Sauce

Port-Wine Mushroom Sauce
Credit: Randy Mayor

You can make a mushroom sauce with a variety of mushrooms and get a hearty, almost "meat-like" flavor. This mushroom sauce with port is reminiscent of the classic bordelaise sauce, a French sauce made with wine, brown stock, and bone marrow, but made in a fraction of the time.

Recipe: Port-Wine Mushroom Sauce

7 of 9

8 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Custard Sauce

Cinnamon Crème Anglaise
Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr

Custard sauce is also known as stirred custard, boiled custard, and crème anglaise (English cream). It's traditionally used for Bavarian creams and ice creams and for spooning over fruits and desserts and is a classic dessert sauce.

Recipe: Cinnamon Crème Anglaise

8 of 9

9 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email

Chocolate Sauce

Fudge Sauce
Credit: Evan Sklar

Four ingredients are all you need for this luscious chocolate sauce to spoon over cake, ice cream, or fruit.

Recipe: Fudge Sauce

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9 Béchamel Sauce
    2 of 9 Mornay Sauce
    3 of 9 Béarnaise Sauce
    4 of 9 Alfredo Sauce
    5 of 9 Marinara Sauce
    6 of 9 Gravy
    7 of 9 Mushroom Sauce
    8 of 9 Custard Sauce
    9 of 9 Chocolate Sauce

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email
    MyRecipes

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMyRecipes.com is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. MyRecipes is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. MyRecipes may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright MyRecipes. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.myrecipes.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Master Cooking Sauces
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.