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Homemade Cheese Sauce is versatile, kid friendly and tastes great on everything from broccoli to bread. This may be the best cheese sauce ever!
If you are looking for a great cheesy appetizer, try Mozzarella Sticks. Or, make Pretzel bites to dip into this amazing homemade cheese sauce.
Homemade Cheese Sauce
Homemade cheese sauce has a perfectly creamy texture and mild seasonings your family will love! The flavors are gentle enough that kids will go crazy over it, but it can also very easily be spiced up for a more vibrant sauce that can liven up nachos like my beefy enchilada nachos. It is soo good you will be pouring this cheese on everything!
This made from scratch sauce is so much better than the processed version from the grocery store. This is the most amazing sauce and it is ready in minutes! Since it is so quick and easy to whip up, it is great for an afternoon snack for hungry kids to enjoy with chips or pretzel bites or to smother veggies like broccoli or cauliflower. This is a must have recipe that is uncomplicated and easy to make, but will be a huge hit!
Easy Ingredients for Creamy Cheese Sauce:
With just 4 simple and familiar ingredients, you can make a cheese sauce that is so tasty you will want to drizzle it on everything! Basic ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry and fridge will combine easily and make a creamy sauce everyone will enjoy.
- Butter: Gives the sauce rich flavor.
- Flour: Thickens the sauce.
- Milk: Thins the sauce out a bit and adds sweet flavor.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: Freshly grated cheese will melt better and give a stronger flavor than the coated shredded cheese you can buy in a bag at the store.
How Do You Make Cheese Sauce From Scratch?
This homemade cheese sauce is ready to enjoy in almost no time because the recipe is so simple. It uses well known ingredients that are easy to work with and prepare. You will be so glad you have this recipe in your collection!
- Melt butter: In a medium size sauce pan over medium high heat, then add the butter and melt.
- Whisk: Now add in the flour to the butter, then slowly whisk in the milk. Next, add in the cheese. Continue to mix until the cheese is melted.
- Serve!
The Recipe Critic Pro Tip:
Your cheese will start to get clumpy or stringy if it gets too hot. To avoid this, add the cheese end at the very end, then promptly remove it from the heat.
Variations:
This may be one of the most versatile family favorite recipes that you will ever make! It literally goes with anything. Here are some amazing ideas on how to use this savory cheese sauce with your next meal.
- What to serve with Cheese sauce: Pretzel bites, Cauliflower fritters, Sheet Pan Nachos, rice, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, or even roast beef sandwiches.
- What cheese works best: Use a mix of cheeses and change them up depending on how you plan to use this savory cheese sauce. For example, swiss and Gruyère are great cheeses that will melt easily and create a perfectly smooth and creamy dip for bread. Whereas, montery Jack would work very well with a Mexican dish like nachos or enchiladas. Or use half cheddar and half parmesan for a homemade macaroni and cheese.
- How to make a spicy cheese sauce: If you prefer a spicier cheese, try adding hot sauce, chili peppers, or cayenne pepper. Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies would also make great additions if you are making Queso Burgers.
Storing Cheese Sauce:
If you want to make this yummy cheese sauce ahead, or you are in the rare position of having leftovers, this cheese sauce stores well and is easy to heat and use again. You will need to keep your cheese sauce in a sealed container. It will keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat it, microwave it for 30 seconds then stir and repeat until it is heated throughout.
More Cheesy Recipes:
- The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Three Cheese Zucchini Au Gratin
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
- Baked Macaroni and Cheese
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu
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Homemade Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- In a medium size sauce pan over medium high heat, add the butter and melt. Whisk in the flour and slowly whisk in the milk. Add in the cheese and mix until cheese is melted and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My brother made this as a chicken wing dip while watching TV sports today. He added a little gartic and all agreed it was excellent.
The butter and flour, of course, make a roux. Dissolve the roux in milk and it becomes a Bechamel (aka White) Sauce, one of the 5 great “mother sauces” of cooking. The cheddar cheese effectively makes it a Fondue Sauce.
I have made this sauce – with 1 tsp prepared mustard added to kick it up a notch. I’ve used it to make broccoli and/or cauliflower and cheese or pasta and cheese.
With or without mixing in a 4 oz. can of crabmeat, it turns a baked whitefish (Tilapia, Haddock, etc.) with salt, pepper, and lemon/lime juice into a gourmet dish by coating the fillet with this cheese sauce the last 5 minutes it bakes.
Mine didnt blend. Ended up with melted lump of cheese in an orange colored milk bath
Did you use pre-shredded cheese? That contains an anti-caking additive that makes it nearly impossible to melt right in a sauce. If you’re making any kind of sauce with cheese, it’s always best to grate your own block of cheese
Perfect!
I think this is the best cheese sauce recipe and so easy to make! I was wondering if you could mix Gruyère, Gouda, white cheddar?
I haven’t tried changing up the cheese with this recipe but I’m sure that would work and be delicious! Let me know how it turns out!
Ratio fine, this recipe needs more instruction though.
End result is a grainy sauce because the roux hasn’t been made properly
I made it with a touch more milk, because I like my sauce a little runnier, and also added some nutmeg. Perfect amount and delicious!
I would give it five stars, but I found it a bit plain and gritty, as is. I would definitely include a tablespoon of either Sour Cream of Cream Cheese, to give it a nice velvety texture, and it definitely needs some heavy seasoning.
Great base for Welch rarebit! Put over toast & add sliced hard boiled egg & paprika. Yum!
My new go-to base for any cheese sauce! I use 1/2 & 1/2 sharp cheddar/pepper jack w/ onion powder and Mex chili lime seasoning for a spiced-up sauce; or a pinch of mustard powder, onion powder and Trader Joe’s “21 Season Salute” for a nice veggie sauce. LOVE how easy and fast it is to make and elevates boring sides to decadent! Thx for sharing!
That sounds delicious!
Best cheese sauce EVER Children and grandchildren think it’s the best ever including me Thank you so much
You’re welcome! So glad to hear that you all loved it as much as I do!
really really great! although i do think there is too much butter and flour so i now do 1 1/2 table spoon butter and 1 tablespoon of flour- i find there’s also too little cheese involved for it to be an actual cheese sauce so i put 3-4 cups of cheddar cheese!
over all it an amazing basic recipe for cheese sauce
So delicious and cheesy was definitely a favorite in my family and super easy to make thank you.
This was easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
(I did alter it a smidge, as well: onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper – and a l’il chipotle-pepper adobo sauce. I then used the sauce for tortellini, with broccoli. Delish!
My intuitions tell me about something similar, skip the chipotle adobo, and maybe use a combination of Mozzerella and crumbly fetta
Use it for the sauce base on a pizza, with BBQ chicken and the usual veg
Sooooo Yummy!!!!
Amazing!! Everyone in the house loved it.
I’m pretty terrible at cooking, but I made something decent (though quite thick), thanks for the recipe I’m gonna keep attempting to perfect my methods because it seems solid enough for me to learn off.
loved this recipe. thinking of trying it at the weekend for my whole family. nervous + excited. thank you for sharing it.
Hi i did not try this recipe yet but it looks delish