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A silky cheddar cheese pouring over an open-faced burger.
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4.86 / 69 votes

Cheddar Cheese Sauce

This quick and easy cheese sauce recipe is a versatile homemade go-to to stash in your recipe repertoire. Use it to top veggies, burgers, pasta or as a stand-in for nacho cheese sauce. Here's how to make it.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 110

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk, more, if needed
  • 3/4 teaspoon sodium citrate, (optional, but highly recommended)
  • 2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne , or store-bought or homemade hot sauce, to taste
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat the 1 cup whole milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles ring the edge of the pan. Stir in the 3/4 teaspoon sodium citrate until dissolved.
    Milk heating in a saucepan.
  • Meanwhile, melt the 2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter in another saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour over the bubbling butter.
    Flour being added to melted butter in a saucepan.
  • Stir constantly until a thick paste, or roux, forms. It may become quite thick and almost paste-like. This is okay. And if it doesn’t become crazy thick, that’s okay, too. About 1 to 2 minutes.
    A person melting butter in a saucepan.
  • Constantly whisking, slowly pour the warm milk into the flour and butter mixture in a steady stream.
    Milk being poured into a roux.
  • Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. It should be thick but still spreadable and pourable.
    A person whisking a roux in a saucepan.
  • Stir in the 1 cup grated cheddar cheese and whisk until completely melted.
    A creamy cheese sauce mixture being stirred in a saucepan.
  • Season with the 3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne or hot sauce and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Whisk until the sauce is smooth.
    Cheese sauce being whisked in a saucepan.

Notes

  1. Avoid boiling—When heating the milk, avoid boiling, as this can cause it to curdle. Likewise, don't let the cheese sauce boil after the cheese is added, or your sauce may be grainy.
  2. Storage—Cheese sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  3. Reheating—Warm the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until warmed through. Chances are you'll need to add more milk to loosen it up.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 104mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 2g