Cheese Sauce for Broccoli and Cauliflower

This is the cheese sauce I learned to make in Home Ec. class years ago. Once you learn how to make the white sauce, you can add many things to it for home cooking. Some things I've learned over the years: 1. you need to cook the flour and butter for a bit so the sauce doesn't have a raw flour taste 2. you have to keep the heat very low, or turn it off, when you add the shredded cheese or it will clump up and separate; once the cheese has been added, do not use high heat 3.you need to shred your cheese from a block of cheese, anything that is pre-shredded has added flour to keep the shredded cheese separate. It will make your cheese sauce gritty. I add different things to the basic sauce to give it different flavors - garlic when melting the butter, or Worcestershire sauce for more flavor, sometimes different mustards. This is good on any vegetable or potato. By changing the type of cheese, you get many different sauces. Great recipe! Thanks Samantha for sharing.

outstanding. I doubled it, followed it exact. poured it over penne with some chicken pieces and broccoli. AWESOME Sauce...almost alfredo like, but better...added some garlic as well for a bit of flavor. will use this all the time now

I used the recipe to make a Cheddar Potato Bake. I tripled the recipe, boiled 5 lbs potato cut into bite size pieces until almost done. Drained the potato and stirred in enough cheese sauce and some left over bacon crumbled then poured into a buttered 9x13 pan. Baked for about 30 minutes, sprinkled some bread crumbs over top return to oven till browned.

Very easy and quick to make and even though I'm one of the lucky moms who's kids WILL eat their broccoli without a cheese sauce, I tend to not like it too much, so it helps me! LOL I made this once with old cheddar and it was MUCH better than with medium, so if you're going to make it stick to old or extra old cheddar. Thanks for this recipe! I'm sure I'll use it often :)

Delicious! Was looking to make broccoli more appealing and came across this. I used corn starch for flour and organic half and half for milk. I also added some minced garlic and onion powder. I used shredded cheddar cheese and it worked out perfectly, no need to use block cheese as others have suggested. Sauce was smooth with no lumps. The key is the temperature through the steps of the recipe - not block cheese versus pre shredded in the bag. Make sure to turn temperature down when cheese is added and stir continuously. Good, basic recipe that everyone should know.

Absolutely delicious cheese sauce instead of shredded cheddar I used velveta cause I couldn't find my hand shredder. Came out perfect and smooth. I did change it from 2 cups milk to one cup heavy cream and 1 cup milk was heaven. My honey and son put it even on their pork chops...lol -wakswpnthr41

My sauce broke.

Perfect! and delicious. Just what I was looking for to pour over broccoli for something different. I used a mix of Gouda and American (because that's what I had) and I'm sure you can use just about any cheese you like. Thanks webbsk for sharing.

Very good cheese sauce. Very simple. I had to add about 1/2 c. more milk as it was very thick after adding the cheese. Tip to make cheddar cheese smooth when cooking it in a sauce is to sprinkle it with a little lemon juice and toss to distribute it before cooking the cheese. Make sure to just sprinkle it very lightly unless a lemony sauce is what you are after. Sauce comes out smooth every time!

I tried adding hot mustard, turmeric, and cumin, with SHARP cheddar. Yum. Forget the broccoli or cauliflower. Eat it straight out of the pan! :-)

Perfect! I used 2% Velveeta, instead of cheddar b/c I have better luck w/ it melting. I will be using this recipe again~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)

I was a bit sceptical, but it turned out AWESOME!!! I used it for broccoli, I can see using this on other veggies, like asparagus etc... too! Very good! If the sauce doesn't thicken, just keep stirring and be patient! It will thicken up and turn out great!

Great easy foolproof recipe, I added some English mustard to give it a little bit of a kick and cut down on the salt. This also works if you just put all the ingredients in and just whisk as it heats up before you add the cheese

I used bacon grease instead of butter, chunks of cheese because I'm too lazy to shred it. Poured it over baked potatoes that had bacon, carots, and brocoli mixed inside crispy skins.

Wonderful sauce! I usually follow directions to the letter the first time I make a recipe and I did so with this one and it was wonderful. Today I made it again to go with my Broccoli Cheese Crepes and added minced garlic to the butter while it was melting. I also used extra sharp cheddar this time as one reviewer suggested and it is beyond good. Now it's the only cheese sauce recipe I have in my cookbook as it has so many variations that you can do with it. Blue cheese, Swiss cheese, so many!

Made exactly as stated with skim milk. Next time will use corn starch instead of flour, had just a little flour taste, it is good though. This recipe makes more than is needed for 1 head cauliflower, IMO. Used leftovers on nachos the next night, just added a bit of salsa.

This is definately 'basic' - I'm 73 & learned this from mom!!! I don't usually have lots of cheddar hanging about to use when I decide to make sauce, so I use a couple or three heaping tablespoons of Cheeze Whiz...... awesome!!! Works great, tastes great and makes it very smooth. 'Light' works too.

Good basic sauce that you can add to. I added chopped garlic, black pepper to the sauce. Great instructions.

Great flavor, but for some reason mine was thin, and it didn't seem to stick to the veggies.

It made a super creamy cheese sauce and it was easy too. Unfortunately, I overcooked my broccoli but other than that I pour it over the broccoli and put a touch of breadcrumbs on it and baked it in the oven for 1/2 hour. Delicious!

I made this with Swiss cheese and added small diced ham for chicken cordon bleu bites aka "Blue Balls". Best cheese sauce ever!

I really liked this recipe really easy to make. I found that it needed a smige more cheese tho. Other than that it's great! :-)

Perfect! Used American slices instead of cheddar, but still worked perfectly!

Quick, easy & good. Followed recipe exactly. Did add the optional salt & pepper for better flavor. Will definitely use again.

This is a perfect recipe for white sauce with cheese added for a delicious result. As I am reducing dairy intake, I use mostly almond or coconut milk with a few shakes of hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce for extra brightness, and a little finely chopped parsley to pour over fish or vegetables. It's all good!

Delicious, very easy to make!

Excellent! I needed a cheese sauce for my baked potatoes with broccoli and I added some chives, garlic powder and celery salt. The sauce turned out perfect. I did learn from a previous failed incident that you need to melt the cheese very slowly over low heat otherwise it will separate and you will have a gunky mess. This time came out just right!

Turned out great! Enjoyed this cheese sauce over broccoli. Thanks!

I think the directions are off as butter and flour need to be "cooked" until light brown/tan not just mixed together until smooth also cheese should be freshly shredded otherwise sauce will be grainy.

Yum! I like spice so I added about 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper.

Very good basic cheese sauce. I put some peccerino ramino and a couple of slices of velveeta in mine. Hind sight the pec ram cheese didnt melt well but it was tasty :)

wild rice is nice, too. more important - don't use processed cheese.. ever. 2 tablespoons butter, melted in pan. add two tablespoons flour, whisk to create rue. slowly add one cup of milk. let thicken, be careful not to scald the milk. add a cup and a half of your choice of shredded cheese, melt and mix until smooth. end story. :) I am sure that there are recipes on here that would describe something similar for homemade cheese sauce.

Perfect easy peasy recipe that is quite forgiving of harried mums whether you have time to measure, or maybe don't when you have a family that decides they want cheese sauce right when the rest of dinner is ready to be served :)

Great simple cheese sauce I used white chedda cheese. Put it over broccoli and cauliflower, excellent!

Perfect sauce! Texture and flavor were spot on. I have been looking for a good consistency and flavor recipe. I can't wait to try it with different cheeses. I halved it for the two of us and had just enough left over for the dog to have a little.

Very easy and good. We used kraft's shredded mild cheddar cheese. Added an extra 1/2 cup of cheese as I had skim not whole milk. My fussy 21 month loved it and ate it for days with her veggies!! Making it again tonight.

Look no further! This is the only vegetable cheese sauce you'll ever need. Keep in mind, the quality of the cheese you use (I used Cabot) will effect the taste and texture of this recipe. I too learned this in home-ec, back in the 60's. It's one of those basic recipes you can change up by adding garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard or even a bit of Velveeta. Your recipe went into my hardcopy cookbook that I'll be handing down to my DIL. Thank you for posting Samantha.

This tasted good however it was gritty for me. Others didn't seem to mind it, so maybe its was just me.

I made it according to the recipe and it turned out great!! I'll be saving this one in my recipe book and using it again... thank you!!

So easy and so good, I will never go back to those microwave cheese broccoli bags again. This is so much better. I followed the recipe exactly.

I grated the cheese myself and I used a good cheese but it separated slightly and didn't have enough of a cheese taste.

Easy to make and delicious. I used a mix of aged cheddar and part-skim mozzarella and was very tasty!

I used arrowroot flour in place of the flour. I also substituted half the milk for heavy cream. For some heat I added a pinch of red pepper flakes and smoked paprika and a drop of hot sauce. It was beyond delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

This has been my go to cheese sauce for years. Works for mac and cheese, poatoes, and anything you want cheese on. For people getting gritty results try mixing the flour and the milk together before adding the to fry pan..

It was an ok sauce. Nothing all that special!!! A bit thick, so if I try this again I will definitely use more milk.

A nice, basic recipe! I like it on rotini.

Easy and delicious!

Meh, wouldn't make it again. Kind of plain.

I have been doing this for years. This is a basic cheese sauce recipe but lends itself to many variations depending on the type of cheese used and other ingredients added. This recipe says for broccoli and cauliflower but it can be used for many other things.

I wanted to cut back on the carbs so I used coconut flour for the flour and cream for the milk. I used a block, white cheddar with a strong flavor and cut it into small cubes. It whisked together perfectly. I will use this again! Thanks.

I used a finely shredded mild cheddar and followed the directions exactly. The sauce came out fantastic. I poured it over fresh steamed broccoli and it was the hit of my dinner party!

Loved it as is! But, having a love of all things garlic, added about 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. Yum!

I added a squirt of dijon mustard and a touch Frank's hot sauce. This doubles well. The kids especially loved it. NO leftovers.

I doubled the cheese cause I love cheese! So quick and easy, so good!

So good!!! I add garlic to the butter and mustard after adding the milk. Really addictive!

Very good, classic cheese sauce. The ingredient proportions are spot on. In fact, today I had to use whole wheat flour and it worked just fine, I couldn't even tell. The key to a smooth sauce is to keep stirring. Of course, there are all kinds of things you can choose to add; mustard, hot sauce or Worcestershire are good choices. I served it over noodles, broccoli and a spicy turkey sausage. Very happy with it.

I used garlic butter and old cheddar and it was incredible! Thank you for sharing

Used cream instead of milk, delicious and smooth. Usually my cheese sauces are grainy

This came out awesome!!! Thanks for sharing. u can also do the same recipe but use grated parm cheese

Such A Great Easy Recipe. I Added Adobo, Garlic Powder, And Lawry's Seasoned Salt. I Added More Milk To Make It Creamier!

This is perfect for broccoli, cauliflower, and baked potatoes too. I followed the recipe exactly, but I had to cook a little longer than 3 minutes for it to thicken. More like 5 or 6 minutes, but I waited to add the cheese until it thickened. It was quick and easy and deliciously cheesy! I used sharp cheddar and added pepper. Definitely will use again.

Simple and did the trick. I added a splash of Frank's Red Hot sauce just before it was done to kick the cheddar flavour up a bit.

Simple and delicious. Just the recipe I was looking for to add to cooked cabbage, or broccoli or cauliflower. I cut it in half since I'm cooking for one. Perfect. Thanks!

Very good base for lots of uses!

It was okay. Could have been cheesier, and it was like it was missing something.

I had just thrown my broccoli in a pot and decided I wanted a cheese sauce. I googled "cheese sauce," and this was the first thing I clicked. It was perfect since I had all ingredients on hand. I'd like to eat vegetables more regularly and there's no doubt this makes me want to do it!

Good basic cheese sauce.

It was good but use it right after you make it. Letting it sit makes it sticky and not worth eating.

Easy and excellent! I sauteed a clove of garlic in the butter and used home-made hot pepper cheese. Will be making it again. Thank you.

Love it, it has become a staple with Broccoli in my house. Very easy to make!

I used processed cheese and the sauce was the perfect thickness and cheesiness. I was looking for the cheese sauce that mom used to make when I was a kid and this is it! Thank you for posting.

Very rich

This recipe is very similar to one my mom made when I was a girl...except she used processed cheese slices! If I'm feeling like an adult, I'll make this recipe as is. If I'm channeling my childhood, I use cheese slices in place of the cheddar ??

This is a great sauce that holds together well and is a snap to make. Its a simple white sauce that you can do anything with. I've made this one countless times as my husband loves it. I put cayenne pepper in it one evening to dip fresh home made fries into.

I thought this was okay but really lacked in flavor. It for sure needs salt and maybe some fresh garlic or something... Kids said they did not really like it.

I substituted 1 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup milk for the milk with 2.5 cups shredded cheddar. Just the most awesome sauce ever!

Amazing! My sweet hubby asked for cheese sauce on broccoli. Found this recipe and followed it exactly using Coastal sharp cheddar. Will definitely make again.

I needed a quick sauce to go along with vegetables I was making. This was perfect. Simple to make and ready in no time. A keeper!

Turned out perfect and tasted great. Will make again

Great my wife loved it. I usually add a little more cheese and another cup of milk. Once the wife has her I add a little Crystal Garlic hot sauce and it's even better. Will be making this for a long time.

Great thick sauce for vegetables. Needs a little zip so I'd add hot sauce next time.

Awesome sauce, not gritty at all. I used this during Thanksgiving as an addition to the steamed veggies and it was a hit.

Mine came out really thick. So I'll have to tweak the flour, or milk. But it was delicious!

Perfect cheese sauce! Thank you for your contribution.

My daughter actually ate all of her broccoli tonight! The tasty cheese sauce did the trick!

Delicious cheese sauce! Just what I was looking for to put over our broccoli and baked potatoes tonight. Easy and fast!

Perfect recipe! Everyone loved it. Made exactly as stated.

Simple recipe to have on file. Thanks for sharing.

This is about as basic as it gets but people are blown away whenever I make this. Simple is sometimes better.

Excellent sauce for my fresh broccoli! I did add a bit of Worcestershire Sauce and a dash of smoked paprika to the original recipe!! It was delicious!!!

I used this recipe as a starting point to make a simple mac and cheese. Only making a couple servings, so I cut it about in half. Added a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper and used a really good aged white cheddar. Turned out perfect. Will definitely keep in my bag of tricks.

Very good and easy too.

Great base recipe! I use this recipe to make variations of my own sauce depending on what I’m eating it with.

This sauce is perfect just the way it is. I made broccoli and cheese stuffed potatoes and they were a huge hit!

awesome

This was a good sauce, quick and easy to make but I should have used block cheese and grated it myself as it came out with a gritty taste because of the flour on the shredded bagged cheese. I will definitely be making this again. thank you.

This is super easy and super yummy! You can use any chesse ( I used cheddar/Monterey Jack) it came out awesome! Made it with shrimp, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and some angel hair pasta (I doubled the recipe) and everyone loved it! Will definitely make anytime I need a cheese sauce! Thanks!

I will definitely make it again. Very simple and quick. It was done before the broccoli. Very tasty.

Used about 2 cups of cheese and it turned out great. Easy sauce to make for broccoli and it's tasty.