This Homemade Cheese Sauce is a 6-ingredient, 15 minute recipe for the richest, creamiest cheese sauce. Serve it on veggies, with nachos, over pasta, you name it!
Table of Contents
This Cheese Sauce is one of those basic and simple yet incredibly delicious recipes that’s just good to know. Why? Because it is so darn versatile!
Whether you’re wanting an extra cheesy pasta, a big plate of cheesy nachos, a way to dress up your Roasted Veggies or Air Fryer Broccoli, or maybe even just a big bowl of plain cheese sauce to slurp down like soup (just me?), this 15 minute, 6-ingredient recipe has you covered!
Keep this sauce as-is or customize it with different spices and add-ins!
Make it an extra cheesy night with this Cheese Ball recipe or cheesy Taco Dip!
Ingredients Needed:
- Butter: I always use unsalted butter so I can add salt to taste.
- All-Purpose Flour: whisked into the butter to make a roux which helps thicken the sauce.
- Milk: any kind of milk will work. The richer the milk, the richer the sauce.
- Shredded Cheese: I keep it classic with shredded cheddar, but other types of melty cheese will work too. Whatever you do, shred your own!
- Salt and Pepper: or other seasonings to taste.
How to Make Cheese Sauce
This homemade Cheese Sauce comes together in a total of 15 minutes!
- Make the roux: Melt butter over medium heat, then whisk in flour until smooth.
- Add milk and cheese: Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened. Stir in the cheese, whisking constantly until melted.
- Season and serve: Season as desired, then serve warm.
Homemade Cheese Sauce FAQs
Homemade cheese sauce consists of cheese, milk, a roux made up of butter and flour, and the seasonings of your choice. It’s incredibly simple and so delicious!
I love to keep it classic with sharp cheddar, but any melty cheese works great. Try Asiago, white cheddar, fontina, gouda, gruyere, havarti, Monterey jack, mozzarella, you name it. You can even use a combination. Whatever you do, shred the cheese yourself! Pre-shredded cheese includes anti-caking agents which prevent it from melting smoothly.
Leftover sauce will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat, warm in the microwave or on low on the stove until heated through. You may want to add a splash of milk or water to thin the sauce when reheating.
Tips and Notes
- Shred your own cheese! Freshly shredded cheese is the key to a smooth and creamy texture. Pre-shredded cheeses contain an anti-caking agent that can result in a gritty texture.
- Heat on low. It can be tempting to crank the heat up in the hopes that the cheese melts faster. I get it. But cooking on medium/low allows the cheese to melt without clumping. It’s worth the extra time. Trust me!
- Lighten it up. If you want to make a lightened up version, swap the cream out for half chicken broth and half milk or cream. It won’t be quite as rich, but will still be delicious.
- Play with flavor. This recipe is basic for a reason. So you can play around with it! Add 1/2-1 teaspoon of taco seasoning or chili powder to make nacho cheese sauce, spice it up with cayenne pepper, chili peppers, or diced green chiles, kick the heat up with a drizzle of hot sauce…you really can’t go wrong!
Serving Suggestions
This incredible sauce is also incredibly versatile! Here are a few ways you can serve it:
- On veggies. This makes the perfect cheese sauce for broccoli, cauliflower, Roasted Potatoes, Brussels sprouts, etc.
- Over nachos. Drizzle it over plain tortilla chips or use it as a nacho cheese sauce for Loaded Nachos.
- As a pasta sauce. This also works great for mac and cheese. Just add cooked pasta!
- As a dip. Serve it next to Air Fryer French Fries, Air Fryer Tater Tots, Homemade Soft Pretzels, chips or crackers, you name it!
More Easy Sauce Recipes
Homemade Cheese Sauce
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (32 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups milk (any kind*)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or another kind)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Whisk in flour until smooth, then gradually whisk in the milk.
- Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in cheese until melted. Add additional milk for a thinner sauce if desired.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- *You can use any kind of milk or even light cream in this recipe! The richer the milk, the richer the sauce. If you want to go lighter, skim milk works. If you want rich flavor, opt for whole milk and a splash of cream. You can lighten this recipe even further by using half chicken broth and half milk.
- Shred your own cheese! Pre-shredded cheeses contain an anti-caking agent that can result in a gritty texture.
- Heat on low. Cooking on medium/low allows the cheese to melt without clumping. It’s worth the extra time.
- Play with flavor. This recipe is basic for a reason. Play around with it! Add 1/2-1 teaspoon of taco seasoning or chili powder to make nacho cheese sauce, spice it up with cayenne pepper, chili peppers, or diced green chiles, kick the heat up with a drizzle of hot sauce…you really can’t go wrong!
Nutrition Information
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Elizabeth says
Hey hey! Excited to try my hand a cheese sauce! Can you tell me, how much cheese is 2 cups? Is that 8 oz (1 brick)? More? Less? Thank you!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Elizabeth! I didn’t measure it out but I would start with at least an 8oz block of cheese. Enjoy!
Tammy says
This came out perfect for us. We made extra crispy potatoes & they paired very well with this sauce. I added some chicken bullion, garlic powder, some Italian seasoning, smoked paprika & green chilis. Thank you for this recipe…
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tammy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Alexandra says
Great recipe, I did make a little change. I used three tablespoons of butter, three tablespoons of flour, and two cups of milk. At the end I sprinkled teaspoon or less of cayenne pepper. It was so delicious, my whole family loved it. Thank you 😊
Katie says
Those conversions are BAD. 2 Tbsp of butter should be 30g not 60g. And 2 Tbsp of all purpose flour should be 15g not 63g.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Katie! My bad! It’s fixed now! Thanks for letting me know!
Nancy says
The flour weight is still incorrect, as it should be 15g (max 17g) as mentioned by Katie. (1 cup =120-140g, depending on who you ask…)
Sadly I did not realize this until after I made the cheese sauce. It was sooooo thick and we ended up dumping what was left after breakfast. I couldn’t understand why the recipe got 5 stars but now I realize they probably mostly followed the volume measurements. Please fix this so others don’t go down the same sad path of disappointment 🙁
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Nancy, I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe. As stated in Step 4 “Add additional milk for a thinner sauce if desired.”
Chris says
So good and super easy! Made this with heavy cream, cheddar cheese, and provel cheese. Also added fresh grated nutmeg and smoked paprika. Layered the cheese sauce with cheese tortellini in baking dish for a fancy version of mac-n- cheese.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Chris! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Daymion says
Incredible flavor! Went light on the salt and put over nachos. SO good.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Daymion! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Jayne says
I haven’t tried, but I was wondering if this could be added to potato soup to thicken
The Recipe Rebel says
Maybe? I haven’t tried it myself Jayne but it sounds tasty!
Jean Taylor says
Looking forward to it.
Dave says
Used this recipe on my chicken florentine crepes (half cheddar half swiss ) turned out great. Shredding the cheese yourself does make it turn out better. I doubt I will ever buy shredded cheese again. Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Dave! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!