>Liven up everything from broccoli to baked potatoes with my 5-minute Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce!
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 (like, stewed carrots. I can’t even!) 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 veggies 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 2 Tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in 2 Tablespoons gluten-free or all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute.
Next, slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, season with salt & pepper, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir until the mixture has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Turn off the heat then add 1-1/2 cups freshly shredded cheddar cheese and stir until smooth. I HIGHLY recommend using freshly grated cheese (vs pre-grated) as pre-grated cheese has a coating to prevent it from sticking together and won’t melt as well.
Taste the sauce then add more salt & pepper if necessary. Drizzle over your favorite steamed veggies then devour!
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, about 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat then add cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Taste then season with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This cheese sauce is so yummy that it might even convince your kids to eat the broccoli “trunks”. I was all about the broccoli “tree tops” when I was little, leaving the trunks for, well, the dog. (RIP Friski.) Feel free to play around with the type of cheese in here too – I’m thinking a mix of cheddar and Pepper Jack would be awesome drizzled over a baked potato!
More Easy Side Dishes You’ll Love!
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Thanks Kristin. This sauce is a keeper and is how I start my sauce for Macaroni-N-Cheese. I add grated onion, white pepper, dry mustard, and (the secret) a pinch of grated nutmeg. Put into an 8″x8″ baking dish. Mix in cooked elbows, top with a little more cheese, bread crumbs and a dusting of paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is crusty brown. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Or, forget all my nonsense and just pour Kristin’s sauce over steamed broccoli or whichever vegetable you’ll eat. (Personally, I’ve never met a vegetable I didn’t like)
i MADE THE SAUCE and just pored it over some steamed broccli floret’s and the family loved it so much they ate it all. I will defiantly use this sauce recipe again. Taste great!
Hello from a fellow Iowan…you have a wonderful blog here, and the photos are superb. I would be tempted to use this cheese sauce for Mac and Cheese, too.
Was easy to make and tastes great! Just wonder why mine didn’t turn out so orange in color? Mine pale yellow. Maybe I’ll try sharp cheddar next time for an extra zip!
I think it just depends on the color of your cheese. Also, orange food is REALLY hard to photograph and always turns out a little wonky, so that might be it too!
I used coconut milk and Sargento brand pre-grated cheese and it came out great! It got the thumbs up over the package Mac and cheese we usually eat. Thanks for the tasty, easy recipe!
[…] it is enjoying the making of life as much as the consumption. So last night I made a cheese sauce. It was delightful—truly 400% better than my bestial and unevenly melted grated cheese. Furthermore, there seem to […]
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[…] Cheese sauce adapted from Iowa Girl Eats. […]
Thank you for making this recipe, as well as others. God has blessed you with your talents and desire to reach out with practical things that are so helpful in our daily lives, like cooking.
Sincerely,
Crystal Rollison
I used this last night. Came out great!
Whenever I add flour to the butter, it comes out in lumps. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Kelly. Did you try adding the flour slowly to the bubbling butter before adding the milk?
Hey Kelly! I usually sprinkle it in then whisk until smooth. Sometimes it can crumble up a little but it should smooth out when you slowly stream in the liquid.
Thanks for the recipe. It was simple, fast, and easy to make.
How much of each ingredient should I add in order to have 1 pound of sauce at the end?
This is the easiest, fastest and yummiest cheese sauce ever! I am a terrible cook but this turned out AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe, my kids thank you!
This sauce ROCKS!! I will never (well, almost) buy stouffers mac & cheese again! Put this sauce over 2 cups cooked elbow macaroni & you will be in taste bud HEAVEN!! Thanks for the quick & easy & DELISH recipe!
Great recipe, thanks. I had a package of frozen veggies and only a few minutes to make dinner with a stir fry, and this is a perfect cheese sauce base. My wife loved it. I just realized this is from an Iowa girls recipe site, and I am a Toronto Guy! So from up here in Toronto, pat yourself on the back your recipe is officially international.
[…] so happy that we are able to give it out as part of the share! I love steamed cauliflower with cheese sauce, but cauliflower is also delicious roasted and in creamy soups. Cauliflower puree also makes for a […]
[…] will give them a boost in flavor you may not be able to resist. Try out this easy cheese sauce recipe for your vegetables at your next […]
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why does it take 21 pages to print this recipe? The recipe starts on page 6. To fix this. I do not need all of the comments & ads. I won’t be back if you are going to waste that much ink & paper for every recipe
Hi Sally! If you click the blue “print” button within the recipe, versus “file/print” in your internet browser, you’ll get the recipe on one page instead of the whole site printing out on 20+ pages.
I did click on the blue button on the page. That’s how I got the 21 page print out.
Would you be willing to try one more time? I think we’ve got it figured out!
The milk never thickened. Not after 5 minutes, nor after 10. :(
Nevermind. My wife told me an unmarked vacuum-sealed bag was flour. It was powdered sugar. I’ll try again later. :)
[…] We all love pierogies but it had been ages since I’d served them for dinner. I always serve them with bacon and caramelized onions, with a big dollop of sour cream. And I always serve steamed broccoli on the side. This time I wanted to do something a little different with the broccoli. Enter this Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce for Vegetables. […]
Must you use cheddar cheese? All I have on hand is sharp cheese.
You can use any good melting cheese – I’d just stay away from cheeses like feta or parmesan.
Thank you for this recipe! It is a staple in my menu rotation, and the first time I’ve used it since summer began. I can’t wait to indulge in it over the winter. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes, too.
DO NOT DO PRINT ON THIS SITE. YOU’LL WIND UP WITH 24 PAGES. A WASTE OF INK AND PAPER.
Hi Ray, if you click the blue print button on the recipe, vs file/print on your web browser, the recipe will print out on one page. I can’t control how your browser prints pages, so I provide an easy print recipe button!
[…] ten minutes before dinner, mix up a simple cheese sauce. Heat up some frozen broccoli at the same […]
[…] my husband worked hard to cook the main dish, I found a quick cheese sauce for broccoli online here and made my own adaptions. I added more cheddar cheese and an extra table spoon of butter. I also […]
if I make the cheese sauce with velvetta instead of cheddar will it be the same and can I make it ahead of time and then she heat it up later? Will the cheese re-melt if I do that or will it stay stuck and lumpy? Than you
Hi Kathy! Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of experience cooking with velveeta, so I can’t be sure. I think you could mix it with milk then heat until creamy!
I used margarine and 1 1/2 cups of colby cheese and this was fantastic! I ate an entire head of broccoli all on my lonesome and was actually sad when I realized there wasn’t any more. Once it cooled, it got a little too thick, but it reheated just fine with a little milk mixed in. Perfect consistency when hot. Thank you, thank you!
[…] Original Recipe here […]
Thank you for your recipe, I was looking where to buy cheese sauce but your recipe is so simple, will be making it soon !!! :))
[…] image via Iowa Girl Eats […]
Can broccoli with gluten free cheese sauce be reheated ?
[…] We all love pierogies but it had been ages since I’d served them for dinner. I always serve them with bacon and caramelized onions, with a big dollop of sour cream. And I always serve steamed broccoli on the side. This time I wanted to do something a little different with the broccoli. Enter this Easy Cheddar Cheese Sauce for Vegetables. […]
The only cheese sauce recipe you’ll ever need! Turns out perfect every time.