Cheese Sauce is used every week at our house. In this post I share a simple, stove top recipe to add delicious flavour to your pasta, meat and vegetable dishes.
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Why you’ll love this Cheese Sauce Recipe
Quick to make in just a few minutes, this recipe is so versatile. Add to your cooked macaroni for a quick ‘Mac ‘n Cheese.’ Stir through pasta for a delicious oven Pasta Bake. Pour on top of broccoli, cauliflower or leek for a scrumptious vegetable side-dish. Combine with ground beef and pasta sheets for a delectable lasagna. The options are endless, and an added bonus is, it’s gluten free!
Tips for making your Cheese Sauce Smooth and Velvety
When I first started making my own cheese sauce, I often found it was lumpy or gritty. The main reason for this was because I wasn’t paying enough attention to it. I’d get distracted, loose focus or get my timing wrong. Cheese sauce is very easy to make, you just need to pay close attention to what you are doing and do things in the right order.
- Use a low heat – don’t cook it too fast
- Stir, stir, stir – don’t let it stick/catch on the bottom of the pot
- Completely melt the butter first
- Let the cornflour bubble before adding the milk
- Keep stirring
- Add the salt late in the process to avoid curdling the milk
- Use more than one type of cheese (not essential but very worthwhile)
- Have the cheese grated and ready to throw in
- Did I mention, make sure you stir!!!
- If it gets too thick, just add a little bit of water
Ingredients Needed for a delicious Cheese Sauce
- Butter – 50g
- Cornflour – 2 Tablespoons
- Milk – 1 Cup (approx.)
- Salt and Pepper
- Grated Cheese – 1/2 Cup, Colby or Tasty are good
- Cream Cheese – 2 Tablespoons
- Parmesan Cheese – 2 Tablespoons, grated or powdered
Note: use 1 cup of grated Colby or Tasty cheese if you don’t have cream cheese or parmesan. Sauce will still be good, but is better with the 3 cheeses in my opinion.
Tools you will need for this Cheese Sauce Recipe
A medium size pot, measuring cups and spoons, a whisk, a cheese grater.
How to make Cheese Sauce from Scratch
This first part is by far the most important to get right. I suggest if you burn the butter or get the cornflour stuck to the pot – tip it out and start again before adding the “expensive” ingredients!
Step One
In a medium size pot over a low heat melt the butter completely – don’t let it burn or brown!
Step Two
Next, sprinkle the cornflour into the melted butter and gently stir with the whisk just until combined. Then stop stirring. The butter and cornflour mixture will start to bubble. Move quickly to the next step now, or it will thicken too fast and stick.
Step Three
Next, quickly add half the milk and stir well with the whisk. (If it’s hard to get the cornflour mix to combine with the milk remove from the heat until it is well blended.) Once you have a smooth, yet runny mixture, return the pot to the heat and continue stirring until the sauce starts to look fuller/thicker. Add the remaining milk, again continue to stir until the sauce thickens and is smooth.
Step Four
Add ground black pepper to the sauce, we like quite a lot. Whisk/stir.
Step Five
If you are confident the milk isn’t going to curdle – i.e., you are using a low heat, and the sauce is now quite thick – add the salt. I use about 1/2 teaspoon. Whisk/stir.
Step Six
Add the cream cheese, stir until completely melted into the sauce.
Step Seven
Also add the grated cheese, stir again until completely melted into the sauce.
Step Eight
Finally, add the parmesan cheese and stir again until completely combined.
Taste the sauce and then add more salt and pepper if necessary. (Remember you are seasoning the whole dish not just the sauce, e.g., if you are using this sauce to make Mac n’ Cheese the salt and pepper you add now needs to flavour all the macaroni as well as the sauce.)
If at any stage you notice the sauce has become too thick, simply add a small amount of boiled water and mix through.
Step Nine
Serve directly to the plate for cooked vegetables or add to your pasta or meat dish.
How to make Cheese Sauce from Scratch
A simple, yet delicious stove top cheese sauce recipe to add extra flavour to your pasta, meat and vegetable dishes.
Ingredients
- Butter - 50g
- Cornflour - 2 Tablespoons
- Milk - 1 Cup (approx.)
- Pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
- Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon
- Grated Cheese - 1/2 Cup, Colby or Tasty
- Cream Cheese - 2 Tablespoons
- Parmesan Cheese - 2 Tablespoons, grated
Instructions
- In a medium size pot over a low heat melt the butter completely - don't let it burn or brown!
- Sprinkle the cornflour into the melted butter and gently stir with a whisk just until combined. Then stop stirring. The butter and cornflour mixture will start to bubble. Move quickly to the next step now, or it will thicken too fast and stick.
- Next, quickly add half the milk and stir well with the whisk. (If it's hard to get the cornflour mix to combine with the milk remove from the heat until it is well blended.) Once you have a smooth, yet runny mixture, return the pot to the heat and continue stirring until the sauce starts to look fuller/thicker. Add the remaining milk, again continue to stir until the sauce thickens and is smooth.
- Add ground black pepper to the sauce, we like quite a lot. Whisk/stir.
- If you are confident the milk isn't going to curdle - i.e. you are using a low heat, and the sauce is now quite thick - add the salt. I use about 1/2 teaspoon. Whisk/stir.
- Add the cream cheese, stir until completely melted into the sauce.
- Add the grated cheese, stir again until completely melted into the sauce.
- Finally, add the parmesan cheese and stir again until completely combined.
Taste the sauce and then add more salt and pepper if necessary. (Remember you are seasoning the whole dish not just the sauce, e.g. if you are using this sauce to make Mac n' Cheese the salt and pepper you add now needs to flavour all the macaroni as well as the sauce.
If at any stage you notice the sauce has become too thick, simply add a small amount of boiled water and mix through.
Notes
The finished sauce should be smooth and velvety.
Serve directly to the plate for cooked vegetables or add to your pasta or meat dish.
See full blog post for Tips on making the perfect Cheese Sauce
