Simple Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Roasted vegetable season is here and there’s nothing quite as delicious on a cold day as a big plate of roasted vegetables topped with a gooey and flavorful cheese sauce.
A preservative-free and all natural cheese sauce – this recipe uses real cheese and nothing “processed”.
If you’ve ever melted cheese in the microwave and been dismayed at how quickly it becomes thick and gummy, you know that there is more to a cheese sauce than just melted cheese.
In order for cheese sauce to be smooth and malleable, it needs to first start as a white sauce – made of a roux of a fat and flour, then thinned by milk. To make a white sauce into a cheese sauce, all you have to do is melt cheese into the white sauce. I also add some fine ground mustard powder to give the sauce a little ‘bite”. I prefer to use sharp cheddar cheese for maximum flavor, but you can add any kind of shredded cheese. I’ve even had success making a parmesan sauce – which is great as a white sauce for pizza.
Simple Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 cups whole milk warmed in microwave
- 3-4 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder I use Coleman's
Instructions
- In a skillet or sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the olive oil and whisk quickly to combine with the melted butter.
- Add the flour and stir quickly to make a roux.
- Add the warm milk in small batches, whisking in between each addition so a smooth sauce forms.
- When all the milk has been added, whisk the sauce well and let the sauce come to a simmer.
- When the sauce is bubbling and has thickened, add the grated cheese. Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese as it melts.
- Add the salt and mustard powder and stir to combine. Serve immediately/