Creamy, decadent, and delicious, this Keto Mornay Sauce is made of cream that is basically steeped with some onion, cloves, and bay leaves. It can accompany any number of dishes–think roasted vegetables, lightly sautéed fish or chicken, or a nicely spiced cut of beef or pork. Although the cooking process takes a little bit of time, this is an incredibly simple recipe.
“What makes this Mornay Sauce keto?” you might ask. It’s simple. I don’t use a roux to thicken it. While xanthan gum is a common thickening agent for keto cooking, this recipe doesn’t use that either. In this case we’re just going to start with heavy cream, which is thicker in the first place. Then we’re going to reduce the heck out of it until we have a nice creamy sauce.
What You Need to Make Keto Mornay Sauce
Ingredients
- Heavy Cream
- Onion – I use a large Spanish Onion.
- Whole Cloves
- Bay Leaves
- Parmesan Cheese Grated or Shredded – I use grated.
- Gruyere Cheese Shredded – You can either buy it pre-shredded or shred your own. Just be aware that pre-shredded cheese often has an anti-caking agent that adds about 1 gram of carbs per ¼ cup
Equipment
- Cutting Board – For cutting the onion
- Chef’s Knife – For cutting the onion
- Cheese Grater – If you need / want to shred your own cheese.
- Medium to Large Saucier / Saucepan
- Fine Mesh Strainer – For straining the onion, cloves, and bay leaf out of the heavy cream.
- Induction Burner – Completely optional, but if you have one, making the Mornay sauce is a good time to use it.
Getting Started with Making Keto Mornay Sauce
Because we are basically avoiding the carbs of a roux by making this as a reduction sauce, it’s going to take a little time. It’s not that much time, but . . . you do need to stay actively engaged with this one so that you don’t burn the cream.
On the plus side, you can make this sauce in advance and refrigerate it if that works better for your Time Budget.
Preparing the Aromatics and Measuring out the Cheese
So that we can just cook the sauce without distraction, we’re going to get the prep out of the way before we start cooking.
Lori Pro Tip: Yay, mise en place. We all know we should do it, but sometimes life gets hectic. However, for anything requiring active attention or high heat, fast cooking (like in a wok), having everything ready to go is crucial to success.
You’ll slice 1 (large) Onion into quarters and remove the root from the end of the quarter that you’re planning to use for this recipe. You can just put the rest in a baggy back into the fridge. Then you can count out 8 Whole Cloves and 2 Bay Leaves. Now you should go ahead and measure out 2 ounces of grated or shredded Parmesan Cheese and 2 ounces of shredded Gruyere Cheese.
Making the Keto Mornay Sauce
Since we’re making this as a reduction sauce with a yield of 2 cups, we’re going to start with 2 ⅔ cups of Heavy Cream. To get the flavor into the cream, we’ll place the Heavy Cream in a medium saucepan with the ¼ of a large Onion, 8 Whole Cloves, and 2 Bay Leaves.
Over medium high heat, we’ll bring the liquid just to a boil and then drop the heat to a simmer. To prevent scorching, burning, or a yucky skin, I suggest that you continuously stir for the next 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has thickened and reduced by about a third. Then, using a fine mesh strainer, you can strain out the onion, cloves, and bay leaves. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and set it over medium heat.
Now you can stir in 2 ounces of Grated Parmesan Cheese and 2 ounces of Shredded Gruyère Cheese until all the cheese is melted. Once done, you’ll remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside until you’re ready for it.
Storage and Reheating
You can store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You’ll just want to gently reheat it in a saucepan or in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring frequently.
Related Recipes
While this sauce can be applied to any number of dishes, here are some of my recent recipes that explicitly use this sauce:
- Deconstructed Kentucky Hot Brown
- Keto Kentucky Hot Brown Casserole
- Creamy Turkey, Bacon, and Tomato Casserole
Keto Mornay Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups Heavy Cream
- ¼ Onion large onion
- 8 Whole Cloves
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 ounces Parmesan Cheese Grated or Shredded
- 2 ounces Gruyere Cheese Shredded
Instructions
- Place 2 ⅔ cups Heavy Cream in a medium saucepan with ¼ Onion, 8 Whole Cloves, and 2 Bay Leaves.2 ⅔ cups Heavy Cream, ¼ Onion, 8 Whole Cloves, 2 Bay Leaves
- Over medium high heat, bring the liquid just to a boil and then drop the heat to a simmer. To prevent scorching, burning, or a yucky skin, stir continuously for the next 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has thickened and reduced by about a third.
- Use a fine mesh strainer to remove the onion, cloves, and bay leaves from the sauce. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and set it over medium heat.
- Stir in 2 ounces Parmesan Cheese (grated) and 2 ounces Gruyere Cheese (shredded) until all the cheese is melted. Once done, remove the sauce from the heat. It’s ready to use immediately or when you’re ready for it.2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, 2 ounces Gruyere Cheese
- Store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Gently reheat in saucepan or in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring frequently.
Equipment
- Cutting Board For cutting the onion
- Chef's Knife For cutting the onion
- Cheese Grater If you need / want to shred your own cheese.
- 1 Medium to Large Saucier / Saucepan
- Fine Mesh Strainer or Sieve For straining the onion, cloves, and bay leaf out of the heavy cream.
- Induction Burner Completely optional, but if you have one, making the Mornay sauce is a good time to use it.
Leave a Reply