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Learn how to make cheese sauce in no time with this simple recipe. Goes great with nachos, pretzels, steamed vegetables, fries, and MORE!
Featured with this recipe
When it comes to food, even some of my favorite things only get even more delicious when you add cheese. Thanks to this easy cheese sauce recipe, you’ll want to dip all the things in cheese. At the top of my list of favorite things to dip in cheese sauce is soft pretzels. YUM! We have a great recipe for soft pretzels that is popular. You can also dip it in French fries, potato wedges, or steamed vegetables. You will love it on broccoli or cauliflower! It also makes a terrific sauce for mac and cheese, pasta, potatoes, etc.
Ingredients in Cheese Sauce
You can’t go wrong with this cheddar cheese sauce. It is always an easy recipe that we can make quickly with simple ingredients and feed a crowd or just our family for a game night. Every ingredient blends together making a smooth and creamy sauce with all the cheesy flavor! Here’s what you need:
- Cheddar cheese – Hand-shredded cheese works best. Try to avoid using pre-shredded cheese. The pre-packaged shredded cheese has a cellulose on it to prevent the bag of cheese from clumping and it just doesn’t melt as smoothly as cheese that you grate yourself.
- Cornstarch – Combine the cheese and cornstarch together to help absorb the water and expand letting it thicken when melted together.
- Evaporated milk – Smooths, thickens the texture and adds a sweet flavor to this cheese sauce.
- Dry mustard – This helps the sauce bind together as well as gives it a more yellow coloring.
- Cream cheese – Adds a thick and creamy taste!
Smooth Cheese Sauce
The mixture will seem grainy as it starts melting but keep at it. The graininess will go away as it heats and the cheese will become nice and smooth. This is a simple recipe that comes together quickly and everyone loves!
- Toss – In a large bowl, toss shredded cheese and cornstarch, shaking off any excess cornstarch. Place cheese in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the evaporated milk and dry mustard.
- Warm-up – Heat over low heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until cheese melts, adding more evaporated milk when needed to reach desired consistency.
- Melted – Once the cheese has melted, add cream cheese and stir until smooth and mixed in.
- Serve – If serving for a group or party, keep warm in a small slow cooker on low heat to keep from getting clumpy. Stir often.
Types of Cheese to Use for Cheese Sauce
This recipe uses cheddar as the main cheese, but if you like the idea of trying different flavors of cheese, go for it. In fact, having a blend of different cheeses is a great way to go! Use any combination of:
- Mozzarella
- Cheddar Jack
- Pepper Jack
- Monterey Jack
- Extra sharp white cheddar
- Gouda
Nacho Cheese, Please
Want a little hotter and spicer cheese?! This homemade nacho cheese is just what you need. It is smooth and creamy with a hint of spice from a few extra ingredients.
- Switch cheese – To make the homemade nacho cheese sauce, just swap out half of the cheddar cheese in this recipe for Pepper Jack cheese.
- Follow recipe – Follow the recipe as written and then at the end, add a couple of teaspoons of hot sauce (like Frank’s Hot Sauce, Tapatio, Valentina’s, etc..) and a teaspoon or two of finely diced jalapeño or a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and garlic powder for extra kick.
- Add Jalapeños – For the jalapeño, I always use the kind in the can or jar because fresh will add a crunch to your cheese dip that you may not want.
Tips on Making the Best Cheese Sauce
There is definitely a sweet spot when it comes to cheese. You want your cheese to heat up SLOWLY and whisk as it warms up. It may seem like it is taking forever but it will be worth it. Follow these tips to know the best way to make this delicious easy cheese sauce!
- Slowly warm up – If you find your cheese sauce is getting grainy or gritty, nine times out 10 this is because it has either melted too FAST or has been OVERHEATED. Once it is melted and where you want it to be, reduce the heat even more so you can keep it right where you want it. If you continue to heat it the proteins will separate and it may start to get lumpy and gritty.
- Gluten-free – Gluten-free eaters, rest easy, this recipe for cheese sauce has NO flour in it. It is completely GF. Other recipes I have seen have you toss the cheese in flour but because we use cornstarch in this recipe is gluten-free.
- Serve with – This cheese sauce is perfect for dipping tortilla chips, vegetables, pretzels, and cubed bread, or adding it over top baked potatoes, chili, and nachos.
- Storage – Leftovers don’t reheat super well, but store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. You can try to reheat on super low heat on the stove, but it could come out gritty.
“This cheese sauce recipe is exactly what I was looking for. Perfect for dipping all sorts of goodies in. Can’t wait to try it!”
-Jo
Frequently Asked Questions about Cheese Sauce
That’s on the cheese. I like to use EXTRA sharp cheddar cheese when making cheese sauce because I love the flavor. Your cheese sauce will ultimately end up tasting like the cheese that you use because that is exactly what it is. If you use milk cheddar cheese, you aren’t going to get a rich, cheesy flavor. The dry mustard in this recipe helps to enhance that flavor but don’t overdo it on the mustard. Still, want more flavor? Try adding some hot sauce, jalapeños, or Worcestershire sauce.
If you’re hoping to reheat this cheese sauce, unfortunately, It does not reheat well. Try to make as much cheese sauce as you think you will need in one sitting. Typically when the cheese cools in the refrigerator and is re-heated it will turn out gritty. You can try heating it again over the stove over very low heat to medium heat but we have never had success doing this without it getting grainy. Avoid using the microwave to warm it up.
A typical cheese sauce is made by creating a roux with butter and flour, then adding milk, cheese and salt to make a sauce. However this recipe gets its creaminess from cream cheese and evaporated milk. So yummy!
READ MORE: 10 Fun and Romantic Dinner In Ideas
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How to Make Cheese Sauce
How to Make Cheese Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese shredded (large shreds)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 can evaporated milk (12 oz, divided)
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss shredded cheese and cornstarch, shaking off any excess cornstarch (hand-shredded cheese works best, try to avoid pre-packaged shredded cheeses).
- Place cheese in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Add HALF of the evaporated milk and 1 teaspoon of dry mustard.
- Heat over low heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until cheese melts, adding more evaporated milk when needed to reach desired consistency (we usually end up using all of the evaporated milk).
- The mixture will seem grainy as it starts melting but keep at it. The graininess will go away as it heats and the cheese will become nice and smooth.
- Once the cheese has melted, add cream cheese and stir until smooth and mixed in.
- Serve immediately. If serving for a group or party, keep warm in a small slow cooker on low heat to keep from getting clumpy. Stir often.
Notes
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- Toss – In a large bowl, toss shredded cheese and cornstarch, shaking off any excess cornstarch. Place cheese in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the evaporated milk and dry mustard.
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- Warm-up – Heat over low heat, stirring CONSTANTLY until cheese melts, adding more evaporated milk when needed to reach desired consistency.
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- Melted – Once the cheese has melted, add cream cheese and stir until smooth and mixed in.
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- Serve – If serving for a group or party, keep warm in a small slow cooker on low heat to keep from getting clumpy. Stir often.
I love pretzels and cheese dip. This recipe is delicious.
Looks so delicious! Can’t wait to make it for the Super Bowl.
Should have used a more sharp cheese.
Easy and perfectly creamy for dipping. Yum!
Now this is the sauce I need to make ASAP. I’ve been looking for a good cheese sauce recipe for a quite a while, so I am really happy that I’ve stumbled upon yours!
This cheese sauce recipe is exactly what I was looking for. Perfect for dipping all sorts of goodies in. Can’t wait to try it!
Have you made it?
I just love how cheesy this delicious cheese sauce looks! I’d love to sit down with it in front of a film with a few things to dip in.
This cheese sauce sounds delicious! Maybe if I make it I can actually get my sons to eat more veggies?!? Thank you for sharing!
Making tis again over the weekend for movie night, So yummy!