Homemade Cheese Sauce
Learning how to make your own cheese sauce is a pivotal moment in your culinary journey. No longer are you beholden to canned soups for casseroles and dips! Go forth, and enjoy the ease and deliciousness of homemade cheddar cheese sauce!
Equipment
- 1 medium sized pot
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk I use 2%, but whole would be awesome.
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper more to taste
- 3 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese grated from a block is best
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepot set over medium heat, melt 6 Tablespoons of butter.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add 6 Tablespoons of flour. Whisk the butter and flour together and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This forms the roux that will thicken your sauce.
- Add 3 cups of milk a little bit at a time, whisking thoroughly between each milk addition.
- Add ¾ teaspoon of fine sea salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper to the sauce.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Turn off the heat, and gradually add 3 cups of shredded medium cheddar cheese, preferably that you grated off of a block. Whisk between additions until all of the cheese is added.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice. This brightens up the sauce.
- Whisk, taste for seasoning, and serve!
Notes
Pre-shredded cheese has starches added to prevent clumping. While this may look better in the bag, it can cause gumminess in sauces. It is not the end of the world if you use pre-shredded cheese by any means. The texture of your sauce will just be smoother if you shred the cheese yourself.