My parents were lucky in that my brothers and I didn’t need too much convincing to eat our vegetables when we were growing up. Well besides, say it with me, bell peppers and cooked carrots. Oh, and lima beans. If I never see a bag of frozen succotash again, it’ll be too soon.
That said, even I — a die-hard veggie lover — can appreciate a little jazzing up of my favorite side dish every now and again with a warm, decadent Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce drizzled on top, muwahaha!
This cheddar cheese sauce takes just 5 minutes to make and will liven up everything from steamed broccoli and cauliflower, to hot baked potatoes. In addition to vegetables it’s also great to stir into pasta and rice, or even pour directly over crunchy tortilla chips for a little homemade nacho action.
The recipe is adapted from the cheddar cheese sauce I made to swirl into my Cheesy Taco Soup, except it has just a tad more shredded cheddar to really pump up the flavor.
The result is sensational! Thick and extra-cheesy – perfect for convincing any veggie hater to eat their greens or, for those who don’t really need an extra push, a special, occasional treat.
How to Make Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Start by melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in gluten-free or all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute.
Next, slowly whisk in milk, season with salt and pepper, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir until the mixture has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Turn off the heat then add freshly shredded cheddar cheese and stir until smooth. Taste then add additional salt and pepper if desired.
That’s all she wrote! Liberally drizzle the cheese sauce over your favorite cooked vegetables then devour. I hope you love this decadent, delicious dish – enjoy!
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Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Description
Liven up broccoli to baked potatoes with 5-minute Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce for Vegetables!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons gluten-free or all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup milk (works best with 2% milk)
- 1-1/2 cups freshly shredded cheddar cheese (not pre-grated)
Directions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour then whisk for one minute. Slowly whisk in milk then season with salt and pepper and switch to a wooden spoon. Stir and cook until thickened, 4-5 minutes, then turn off heat and add cheese. Stir until sauce is melted and smooth then taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
How much velveeta is Equal to 1 cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese?
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been looking for a healthier alternative to prepackaged icky powdered mac and cheese. I made your sauce with reduced fat (2%) sharp cheddar and 1% milk and tossed it with whole wheat penne and steamed broccoli. Definitely hit the mark for fairly healthy, pretty “easy mac”! I did need to add a bit more milk though.
Tried it tonight, and it was amazing! I ended up using pre-shredded cheese from our local dairy cooperative which turned out fine, the consistency was not perfect, though. Tastes much better than melted Velveeta or Cheese-Whiz. Thanks for sharing!
I’m wondering if I can use the shredded cheese that come prepackaged in the bags like Kraft cheese? If not why? Thanks! :)
Pre-shredded cheese has a coating which makes it not stick to each other in the bag, which in turn makes it not melt quite as well as freshly grated cheese. It will work in a pinch, though!
[…] I made a cheese sauce for the ham and cheese. Recipe here: http://iowagirleats.com/2013/02/25/easy-cheddar-cheese-sauce-for-vegetables/ […]
Thanks Iowa girl.
I’m going to try this tonight.
I was wondering (forgive my craziness) if I could use olive oil instead of butter? Would the spoil the flavour or the consistency of the sauce?
I think it should work! The taste might be a bit different, but it should be ok!
Hey so it turned out amazing with your recipe as is. I’m going to try olive oil in a day or two. :)
This cheese sauce was delicious. I made it the other day to pour on my pasta and my whole family devoured it within minutes. The sauce completed the dish. Thank You!!
Yummmm I love it I decided to put it on pasta and it tasted delicious!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Alex Parker.
[…] News About Cheddar Cheese Sauce: Cheddar Cheese Sauce Philly Cheddar Cheese Sauce Cheddar Cheese Sauce for Vegetables […]
hi, if I make this and have some leftover, will it last in the fridge till the next day? Thanks! :)
Yep! Just add a little milk before microwaving.
I used this today in place of a can of cheddar cheese soup for a hotdish I was making. Turned out great! Thanks!
I am going to try this tonight, hoping it will help my 5-year old eat broccoli/cauliflower. The problem is, its just the two of us. How do you think this would re-heat?
It reheated just fine for me, but you could also halve the recipe and it will turn out great, too!
Made this last night with broccoli, cauliflower, sausage, and rice. It was so easy, so delish, and sooo cheesy! Thanks for the simple and perfect fix to an otherwise boring dish :)
I willl do this…..tonight! I’ve been thinking of a different way to eat the leftover broccoli and cauliflower in my fridge – and now I can’t wait :) Broccoli is my go-to veggie. I crave it sometimes, my roommates think I’m crazy!
My mom always made baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese sauce (pretty much your exact recipe) as dinner growing up – it was always one of my favorites!
Cheese makes everything better–this is a great way to get the kiddos to eat their veggies!
Almost licked the screen … thats how dang good these pictures are … looks sooooooo good.
This looks great and simple enough! I always want a cheese sauce but never took the time to figure out how to make one. I am going to try this for our baked potatoes next time. Thanks for posting!
I love the idea of drizzling this over a baked potato – yum! When my brother was little I remember the only way we got him to eat broccoli was to call them “tree stars” – my brother loved The Land Before Time!
The “trunks” were (and remain) my favorite part. Too bad we couldn’t have tag teamed that as kids! I will definitely be trying this cheese dip soon; even as a mostly grown up, I need some extra encouragement to eat the veggies. And, I think the brocoli and cheese would be amazing on top of a potato. Kind of like the ones you get at Wendys, but healthier.