Save money on expensive jars by making your own white sauce

White sauce is perfect if you’re knocking up a lasagne, macaroni cheese, fish pie or a host of other heart winter warmers.

But it’s not necessarily the cheapest item in the supermarket.

The good news, though, is that it’s really easy and affordable to just make your own instead of forking out for expensive jars.

What you'll need

• 25g butter or baking spread
• 25g plain flour
• 300ml milk

How to make it

1.   Put the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and let it melt gently.
2.   Stir in the flour and mix well for about a minute, until you have a smooth paste.
3.   Pour in a small splash of milk and stir until smooth. Add the milk a little at a time and keep stirring to stop it getting lumpy
4.   Continue stirring over a low to medium heat for around five to eight minutes, until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5.   If you want a bit of extra flavour, add a little mustard, salt and pepper or any other seasoning you fancy.

And that’s it!

How this saves you money

A jar of white sauce can easily cost a few pounds in the supermarket, especially the branded ones.

But as you can see, it’s made from three inexpensive, everyday ingredients.

So if flour, milk and butter are already on your shopping list, you don’t need to pay for a jar of sauce too.

It’s even more worth it because each of them can be used for much more than just white sauce, so they go a lot further.

Whether you’re making a cake, biscuits or some bread, you can’t go wrong if you’ve always got them in your cupboard and fridge.

What can I use white sauce for?

You can use this simple recipe in all sorts of easy meals, such as:

Macaroni cheese

Stir grated cheese into the sauce until it melts and then mix with cooked pasta.

Lasagne

Layer it with tomato sauce, pasta sheets and your filling of choice.

Fish pie

Pour the sauce over cooked fish and vegetables, top with mashed potato and bake.

Creamy vegetable bake

Mix with leftover cooked vegetables, sprinkle with cheese and bake until golden.

Cauliflower cheese

Pour over cooked cauliflower, add grated cheese and bake until it starts bubbling.

As you can see, an easy homemade white sauce is a really handy recipe to have in your repertoire, especially if you’re trying to make a meal with bits you’ve already got in.