The Best Easy Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Where I make a small commission on purchased items, at no extra cost to you. See my disclosure for details.

Forget all those quirky modern twists - this right here is the traditional bread sauce recipe your Gran would have made! Creamy, aromatic, and foolproof, bread sauce brings that classic British flavour to your Sunday roast, with minimal effort and maximum comfort!

Close up of a large bowl of bread sauce topped with melted butter and freshly grated nutmeg.

Jump to:

Why you'll love it 💛
Ingredient notes
Emma's top tips
Timings
Product suggestions
Step by step picture recipe
How to store
FAQs
Loved it? Pin it! 💛
Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe
More recipes like this
Share your cooking! 💛

Why you'll love it 💛

Is any Sunday or Christmas dinner really complete without bread sauce? I don't think so! This recipe for bread sauce is as much of a staple for me as roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings. (Yes, I have Yorkies on my Christmas dinner too. So sue me!)

It's smooth, creamy, drowning in nostalgia, and tastes like Christmas. What more could you want from a bread sauce??

A saucepan filled with bread sauce, and lots of little bowls filled with spices.

Ingredient notes

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here's everything you might need to know...

Cloves - These are powerful. Don't use more than 3 or 4, or it will taste like the dentist instead of Christmas!
Onion - A key flavour imparter of bread sauce, and a vessel for those beautiful cloves. You can use any size, but make sure it's a regular brown onion, not red.
Milk - I use full fat milk for the best flavour, but semi-skimmed or any dairy free milks would also work well.
Bay leaves - You don't have to add these, but I have a tree in the garden so make good use of it! They do add to the wonderful aromatic flavour though.
Nutmeg - A KEY flavour of bread sauce. You can use ground nutmeg, but freshly grated nutmeg gives a better flavour.
Peppercorns - Use whole peppercorns, not ground. You need to be able to sieve them out.
Bread - Any white bread will work great. Even better if you're using up stale bread. Waste not want not!
Butter - A good quality salted butter will give the best flavour.

Someone grating nutmeg over a bowl of bread sauce.

Emma's top tips

Here are tips you'll find helpful when making this recipe.

Don't use dried shop bought breadcrumbs, they won't work! It has to be fresh breadcrumbs.
Bread sauce too thick? Add a little more milk. Too thin? Add more breadcrumbs.
Want a more luxurious finish? Add a splash of double cream at the end. (Don't add cream if you're freezing it though.)

Timings

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here's some time managing info to make your life easier!

Infusing the milk will take around 5 minutes. Allow at least 15-20 minutes for it to cool.
Making the breadcrumbs should only take 1-2 minutes.
Mixing, cooking, and finishing your bread sauce will take roughly 10-15 minutes.

A blue bowl of bread sauce with a metal spoon in it on a blue worktop.

Product suggestions

Life in the kitchen is SO much easier when you have the right equipment! Here are the tools I used and recommend...

I've had this Kenwood mini chopper for years. It's perfect when you have tasks that are too small for a full sized food processor (and less bulky to wash!)
You can't go wrong with a set of Pyrex mixing bowls! These are built to last.
I love my Stellar saucepans. The built in 'strain and pour' lids are space and time saving. Plus they come with a lifetime guarantee. (Mine are still going after 15 years!)
Having a good sieve is a no brainer. Used for a multitude of tasks in the kitchen, I love the ones that have extra handles so they can sit on top of a pan or bowl hands free.

A large blue bowl filled with bread sauce, topped with melted butter and grated nutmeg.

Step by step picture recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make 6-8 generous servings.

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

4 x Cloves
1 x Onion, peeled
1 Pint/568ml (2 + ¼ Cups) Full Fat Milk
2 x Bay Leaves
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Peppercorns
Pinch of Salt
4 x Slices of White Bread (approx 140g)
40g (⅛ Cup + 1 tbsp) Butter

Essential equipment

Small Saucepan
Food Processor
Medium Saucepan
Sieve

Instructions

Firstly, push the cloves (x 4) into the onion (x 1) and place it into a small saucepan.

An onion studded with cloves in a saucepan.

Pour over the milk (1 Pint/568ml | 2 + ¼ Cups), and add the bay leaves (x 2), nutmeg (Freshly grated), peppercorns (1 tsp) and salt (pinch).

Next, bring it to the boil over a low heat, then simmer gently for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Milk, onion and spices in a saucepan on the stove top.

Now leave the milk aside to cool a little.

Boiled milk, onion and spices in a saucepan on the stove top.

Next, tear up the bread (x 4 slices | 140g), crusts and all, and place it into a food processor. Blitz into breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs in a food processor and large mixing bowl.

Then tip the breadcrumbs into your medium sized saucepan.

Place a sieve over the pan, and strain the milk through it onto the breadcrumbs. Allow to infuse for 5 minutes.

A sieve over a saucepan that's had the infused milk poured through it.

Next, stir the mixture constantly over a low heat until hot. It won't be smooth, but it shouldn't be as lumpy as it was in the beginning.

Bread sauce heating up in a saucepan on the stove top.

Finally, add the butter (40g | ⅛ Cup + 1 tbsp) and stir until melted and combined. Give it a taste and add a little salt and pepper if you want to.

Butter melting into bread sauce in a saucepan on the stove top.

How to store

If you're not eating all your bread sauce straight away, you can store it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Alternatively, you can freeze it. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge, then reheat stirring constantly until piping hot and smooth. Use within 2 months.

A saucepan filled with bread sauce on a chopping board, with 3 slices of bread at the side.

FAQs

What bread do you use in bread sauce?

Any white bread works well in bread sauce. I don't recommend using sourdough though, as that's a wetter dough.

Do you cut off the crusts for bread sauce?

You can if you want to, but I see no reason to waste them! The crusts will blitz into crumbs just as well as the central bread does.

Can I make bread sauce ahead of time?

Yes, bread sauce actually benefits from being made ahead, as the flavours have more time to develop. Make it up to 2 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

A saucepan of bread sauce next to a blue bowl filled with bread sauce too.

How do I reheat bread sauce?

Gently over a low heat on the hob, stirring regularly. Add a splash of milk to loosen it back to your preferred consistency, as it will likely have thickened in the fridge. Avoid high heat, or it can catch on the bottom of the pan.

What do you serve bread sauce with?

Bread sauce is traditionally served with roast turkey or chicken. But honestly? You could serve it with any variety of Sunday or Christmas dinner. YOU make the rules!

What do the cloves do? Can I leave them out?

The cloves (along with the bay leaf and peppercorns) infuse the milk as it warms, giving bread sauce its distinctive spiced flavour. Without them, it’ll still taste good, but it won’t have that classic depth. If you’re not a fan of cloves specifically, try reducing the quantity rather than leaving them out entirely.

Loved it? Pin it! 💛

A bowl filled with bread sauce dressed with melted butter and nutmeg. A text overlay says "easy peasy bread sauce recipe".