A quick and easy bread sauce recipe, flavoured with onion, bay leaves, cloves, and nutmeg.
The perfect partner to turkey or chicken, and be warned: once you try it, you may find yourself sneaking spoonfuls straight from the bowl!
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Don't settle for bland, store-bought bread sauce mixes when you can easily make a homemade version that's 100 times tastier.
This simple bread sauce recipe is packed with flavour and takes just 20 minutes to prepare. Once you've tried it, you'll never want to go back to the pre-packaged stuff again!
Don't forget to check out my homemade cranberry sauce recipe too!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Bread sauce is a classic accompaniment to roast chicken or turkey, and adds a deliciously rich and creamy flavour to your meal.
- With just a few simple ingredients like onion, bay leaves, cloves, and nutmeg, it's easy to make at home and can be whipped up in just 20 minutes.
- It's a versatile sauce that can be enjoyed with a variety of dishes, including roast beef, pork, or game.
🥘 Ingredients
Breadcrumbs- white bread left out overnight to go stale and then pulsed into breadcrumbs in a food processor.
Milk - use full-fat whole milk for a rich and creamy bread sauce.
Onion - peeled and left whole for infusing the milk.
Cloves - pushed into the onion, and imparts that strong familiar flavour.
Bay Leaves - 2 bay leaves add a delicious savouriness
Nutmeg - freshly grated is best.
Salt and Pepper - for seasoning.
Double Cream - for extra creaminess.
🔪 How to make bread sauce
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: To infuse the milk for the bread sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan and stud the onion with cloves. Place the onion in the pan with the bay leaves and bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
Two: Remove the onion and bay leaves from the milk using a slotted spoon. Return the milk to low heat and add the breadcrumbs, freshly grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
Three: Stir the mixture to combine, then add the double cream. Serve the bread sauce warm and enjoy!
Top Tips
- For the best texture, use stale white bread to make breadcrumbs. The bread should be left out overnight to go stale before pulsing it into fine crumbs in a food processor.
- Forgot to leave your bread out overnight? No problem! Simply preheat your oven to a low temperature, lay the bread slices on a baking tray, and bake them for 5-7 minutes. Once the bread is toasted and slightly dry, allow it to cool before pulsing it into breadcrumbs in a food processor
🍴 Serving suggestions
Traditionally, bread sauce is served with roast turkey for Christmas dinner, with roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, sausage meat stuffing, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, honey roast parsnips and carrots, devils on horseback, and gravy.
It's also good with roast chicken and slow cooker lamb.
📖 Variations
- Reduce the calories by using semi-skimmed milk and omitting the double cream.
- For a more indulgent version, add 1 tablespoon of butter with the double cream.
- For a savoury twist, add a clove or two of minced garlic to the milk while it's infusing.
- Grated Parmesan or cheddar cheese can be added to the bread sauce for a cheesy twist.
- Prefer a chunkier sauce? Tear the bread into pieces rather than pulsing it into breadcrumbs in a food processor.
🥡 Storage
Make- Ahead - This simple bread sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. When you're ready to serve it, simply reheat it gently in a saucepan over a low heat. You may need to thin it out with a little milk if it has thickened in the fridge.
Freeze - Bread sauce can also be frozen for longer storage. Make the sauce as directed, then allow it to cool completely. Transfer the sauce to a freezer-safe container, leaving some room for expansion. Label the container with the date and contents, then freeze for up to 3 months.
❓ FAQs
Bread sauce should be the texture and consistency of thick porridge. It's a sauce that is generally spooned onto plates rather than poured.
A British classic, it's traditionally served alongside roast turkey at Christmas, but is equally good with roast chicken and other meat. Its origins can be traced back to the middle ages when cooks needed a way to use up leftover bread and found it could be used to thicken stews, soups, and sauces.
Traditional British bread sauce is made with milk, butter or cream, and bread crumbs, and typically flavoured with onion, cloves, and bay leaf.
Yes, you can make bread sauce without cloves. Cloves are often used to add a warmth and heat to the sauce, but they are not essential. Just leave them out if you don't like cloves.
😋Related recipes
More Christmas sides to make.
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Recipe
Quick and Easy Bread Sauce Recipe
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We'll email you this post for easy access later! You'll also join the Effortless Foodie mailing list and receive my popular 'No Bake Bars and Slices' eBook for free!
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Equipment
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 Slices White Bread
- 500 ml Whole Milk
- 1 Onion peeled and kept whole
- 6 Cloves
- 2 Bay Leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Double Cream
Instructions
- To prepare for making bread sauce, leave the white bread slices out on the kitchen counter to dry out the day before. If you forget, don't worry! Check out my top tips for a quick and easy way to get stale bread.3 Slices White Bread
- Tear up the bread into large pieces and pulse in a food processor until you get breadcrumbs. Weigh out exactly 150g.3 Slices White Bread
- To infuse the milk for the bread sauce, pour it into a saucepan and stud the onion with cloves. Place the onion in the pan with the bay leaves and bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.500 ml Whole Milk, 1 Onion, 6 Cloves, 2 Bay Leaves
- Remove the onion and bay leaves from the milk using a slotted spoon. Return the milk to low heat and add the breadcrumbs, freshly grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper.3 Slices White Bread, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- Stir the mixture to combine, then add the double cream. Serve the bread sauce warm and enjoy!2 tablespoon Double Cream
Notes
-
- For the best texture, use stale white bread to make breadcrumbs. The bread should be left out overnight to go stale before pulsing it into fine crumbs in a food processor.
-
- Forgot to leave your bread out overnight? No problem! Simply preheat your oven to a low temperature, lay the bread slices on a baking tray, and bake them for 5-7 minutes. Once the bread is toasted and slightly dry, allow it to cool before pulsing it into breadcrumbs in a food processor.
- Reduce the calories by using semi-skimmed milk and omitting the double cream.
- For a more indulgent version, add 1 tablespoon of butter with the double cream.
- For a savoury twist, add a clove or two of minced garlic to the milk while it's infusing.
- Grated Parmesan or cheddar cheese can be added to the bread sauce for a cheesy twist.
- Prefer a chunkier sauce? Tear the bread into pieces rather than pulsing it into breadcrumbs in a food processor.
Claudia Lamascolo
I love that nutmeg additions it must smell heavenly also!
Sherry Ronning
I have been looking for a special recipe to make on Thanksgiving. Thanks to you, I have finally found this Easy Bread Sauce recipe that my whole family is going to love. I like that this recipe can be made a couple of days ahead of time and then re-warmed up when ready to serve. I can't wait to surprise my family with this awesome sauce!!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
Caroline
My mum always made bread sauce at Christmas time but it wasn't one of the recipes I picked up from her, for some reason. Love that hint of nutmeg.
Alison
Super easy, and WAY better than store bought! I'll never get store bought bread sauce again!
Anthea
I want to try this recipe but I notice it has whole milk in the recipe - can I make it with soya or coconut milk?
Beth Sachs
Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend making this with coconut or soya milk.