There are many different ways to make cheese sauce. You can modify this basic recipe to suit your tastes and the ingredients you have in your kitchen.
Start with a roux.
Making a roux is the first step to making your cheese sauce. A roux is a mixture of butter and flour cooked together until the flour taste is gone. The resulting paste then gets whisked into milk or stock, which thickens it into a sauce.
The best way to do this is by cooking it over low heat in a heavy-bottomed pan until it’s the color of milk chocolate (this will take about 10 minutes). If you don’t have time for that, don’t worry–you can also just melt some butter in with your flour, whisk until smooth, and add liquids as needed!
Mix in your cheese.
Now it’s time to mix in your cheese. If you want to make an awesome, creamy sauce that will impress everyone at the table, then I recommend using real cheese, not processed cheese food. Real cheddar and Parmesan are always a good choice because they’re flavorful and melt well.
If you’re making a large batch of sauce (more than 1 cup), use about 2 tablespoons per cup of sauce; if it’s just for one person or two people, use about 1 tablespoon per cup of sauce.
Add spices that make your mouth water.
- Add some cayenne pepper for a kick.
- Add some garlic powder for savory taste.
- Add some onion powder for more savory taste.
- Add paprika for smoky taste, or use ground mustard for tangy flavor!
Add liquid to reach your desired consistency.
- Add liquid to reach your desired consistency.
- If you want a thinner sauce, add more water or milk (or broth).
- If you want a thicker sauce, add less liquid.
Cheese sauce can be made any way you want it!
Cheese sauce can be made any way you want it! You can make it thick or thin. You can add any spices you like, like garlic powder, onion powder or cayenne pepper. And if you want to get fancy with your cheese sauce recipe, try adding some finely chopped herbs (like parsley) and even some jalapeno peppers for extra flavor.
You might also want to consider changing up the type of cheese that goes into your cheese sauce recipe; Swiss or mozzarella could work well if you have them lying around in the fridge!
Conclusion
Cheese sauce is such a versatile dish that you can make it any way you want. I hope this guide has given you some ideas on how to make the perfect cheese sauce for your next meal. If not, don’t worry! There are still plenty of other ways that I didn’t cover here today–and trust me when I say that none of them involve Velveeta or processed cheese products!
