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Sauces · American

Cheese Sauce

Butter, flour, milk and sharp cheddar: a smooth sauce that makes broccoli suddenly popular.

Hands-on
20 min
Total
20 min
Makes
7 servings (about 60 ml / 1/4 cup each)
Serves
7

About 20 minutes, all hands-on: 10 minutes grating and measuring, 10 minutes at the stove, stirring the whole time.

  • easy
  • quick
  • pantry
  • mac-and-cheese-base
  • one-pan

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Cheese Sauce
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: medium saucepan · whisk · heatproof spatula · box grater · wooden spoon

Contains: milk · wheat

Method

  1. Melt the butter

    Melt 28 g (2 tbsp) butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

    Ready when: Fully melted and foaming.

  2. Make the roux

    Add 15 g (2 tbsp) flour and stir until it forms a smooth paste.

    Ready when: A smooth, pasty mixture with no dry flour left.

  3. Whisk in the milk

    Whisk in 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk until smooth, scraping the paste out of the corners of the pan with a heatproof spatula. Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper and 1/4 tsp garlic powder.

    Ready when: No lumps of paste left in the corners or on the bottom.

    Otto tried this firstOtto tips in the milk and walks away to grate the cheese. Paste stuck in the corners turns into lumps; keep whisking and scraping.

  4. Simmer until thick

    Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring constantly, for 2 to 4 minutes.

    Ready when: Gently bubbling and clearly thicker than milk, smooth and glossy. If it's still thin, simmer and stir a few minutes more.

  5. Melt in the cheese

    Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the 170 g (1 1/2 cups) grated cheddar a handful at a time until smooth.

    Ready when: All the cheese has melted into a smooth sauce.

Swaps

  • Instead of whole milk: skimmed (fat-free) milk, same amount A lighter sauce.
  • Instead of white pepper: black pepper, same amount It works the same; you'll just see dark specks.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Storage
Cool leftovers and get them into the fridge within 2 hours, then eat within 48 hours.
Reheat
Reheat only once, gently in a pan, stirring often, until it is steaming hot all the way through.

If something goes wrong

  • Lumpy sauce Why: Paste left in the corners when the milk went in
    Whisk the milk in until smooth and scrape the corners with a heatproof spatula before you turn the heat up.
  • Sauce too thin Why: Not simmered long enough
    Keep it at a gentle simmer, stirring, for a few more minutes until it thickens, then add the cheese off the heat.

Good to know

  • White pepper keeps the sauce free of dark specks.
  • Spoon it over steamed broccoli or other vegetables, baked potatoes, pasta or nachos, or serve it as a dip for soft pretzels.
  • Add the cheese a handful at a time so it melts evenly.

Safety

  • Hot milk sauce sticks to skin and burns. Keep pan handles turned inward, and kids should stir only with an adult at the stove.
  • Leftovers go in the fridge within 2 hours and get eaten within 48 hours.