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.
I used this last night. Came out great!
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
[…] Cheese sauce adapted from Iowa Girl Eats. […]
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[…] 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 […]
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!
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!
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.
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!
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)
[…] are great dipped in ranch, but I also highly recommend this Easy Homemade Cheese Sauce from Iowa Girl Eats. No child can […]
[…] on hand to slice and serve with apples or crackers (does a better snack exist?) shred and add into sauces, and well, look pretty. We love […]
[…] time, During cooking the pasta, I made the sauce, It’ll finish at the same time. You can see Easy cheddar cheese sauce recipe step by step instructions at […]
Iowa Girl – can you explain the bit about the wooden spoon? Why is it important to switch? And why wooden? I made the sauce yesterday exactly as directed, and it was delicious, of course, but I could actually detect the flavor of wooden spoon. (Maybe my wooden spoons aren’t cleaned properly?? Although I am meticulous about clean dishes). I would just like to understand the importance of the wooden spoon. Thanks in advance!
[…] recipe at: http://iowagirleats.com […]
I’m sorry I asked this question again. Just went over the other comments and got my answer. Thanks everyone.
Love cheese sauce on my veggies. Just wondering why pre-shredded cheese isn’t as good as the kind you have to shred. Is chunk cheese you shred fresher?
[…] one big change I made to the recipe was substituting Iowa Girl Eats recipe for cheddar cheese sauce for the processed […]
Just made this to go with my dinner, using 1/4 cup 2% and 1/4 cup evaporated milk (that I had left over from another recipe), and a mixture of pre-grated colby jack and cheddar, and it turned out amazing! Soooo thick and creamy, much better than any cheese sauce I’ve ever had that used processed “cheese”. Thanks for a great recipe, I’ll definitely be using this again and again!
What type of flour you used please?
All purpose. :)