Mornay Cheese Sauce Recipe

Sauce Mornay is a condiment supposedly created by a duke — the Duke of Mornay, fittingly, according to Taste Atlas. While we can't truly confirm the specific origins of Mornay sauce, or its name for that matter, the sauce itself is pretty legit. It's made with a béchamel sauce base — this is a basic white sauce that is one of the famous "mother sauces" used in classic French cooking.

Recipe developer Catherine Brookes finds Mornay sauce to be "silky [and] flavorful" and says that it "makes the perfect accompaniment to many savory dishes." The version she is using here is the standard recipe made with Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. "The Gruyere cheese gives [the sauce] such a rich and creamy taste," Brookes describes, though she does say that you can swap it out for Emmental or cheddar if you prefer either (or both) of those cheeses. She also notes that "If you're not a fan of nutmeg, you can always swap for black pepper."

Despite its fancy name, Mornay sauce doesn't require a large number of hard-to-source ingredients. In addition to the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, you're only going to need butter, flour, nutmeg, milk (whole is preferred), and a little salt for seasoning.

As with many classic sauces, Mornay sauce begins with a roux. You start by melting the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour. You should now have a thick paste which will need to cook for another 2 minutes so it won't have that floury taste.

After 2 minutes of cooking time, stir the nutmeg into the roux along with a little bit of milk. This should break up the paste, which is good, since you want it to dissolve in the milk. Keep adding the milk a bit at a time — splash of milk, whisk it in. Splash, whisk, repeat until all of the milk is mixed in. At this point, you should have a nice smooth sauce, but you'll need to simmer it for 5 minutes in order to thicken it up a bit.

Once the sauce is slightly thicker, turn off the heat, then stir in both cheeses until they melt. Add a little salt if necessary, and maybe a tiny bit more milk if the sauce is too thick. Your sauce is now ready to use. While Brookes likes to pour hers over fish fillets and asparagus, she has a few other suggestions, too. "The sauce could also be used as part of a mac and cheese dish or served over pasta or gnocchi," she says. "It's also great with chicken."