# Smooth Cheese Sauce

> Cheese sauce is built on a light white sauce — butter, flour and milk — with grated cheese stirred in off the heat. Boiled cheese separates and goes grainy, so the heat has to stop before the cheese goes in.

**American Cuisine · 12 min · 6 servings · 175 kcal per serving**

Jarred cheese sauce tastes synthetic and costs a lot; the homemade version takes eight minutes from things you already have. The one problem people hit is a grainy sauce, and it has a single cause: the cheese went in while the sauce was still bubbling.

## Ingredients


### Base
- 2 tbsp — butter
- 2 tbsp — flour
- 1½ cups — warm milk

### Cheese
- 2 cups — cheddar, grated yourself
- ½ cup — grated mozzarella

### Seasoning
- ½ tsp — mustard
- ½ tsp — paprika
- ¼ tsp — salt and white pepper

### Optional
- ¼ tsp — chilli or chopped jalapeño

## Method

1. **The roux** — Melt the butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir for two minutes until the raw flour smell goes.
2. **The milk** — Pour in the warm milk in stages, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.
3. **Off the heat** — This is the step everything depends on. Take the pan right off and wait half a minute before the cheese.
4. **The cheese** — Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring until each handful melts before the next. The residual heat is more than enough.
5. **Season** — Add the mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. The mustard doesn't read as mustard — it stabilises the emulsion and stops the sauce splitting.

## Tips

- Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-grated is coated in starch that prevents melting and makes the sauce grainy.
- Mozzarella gives the stretch and cheddar gives the flavour — the two together beat either alone.
- It thickens as it cools. Reheat very gently with a spoon of milk, stirring.
- A teaspoon of lemon juice lifts the flavour and cuts the sense of richness.

## FAQ

### Why does the sauce go grainy?
The cheese went in with the pan still on the heat. Cheese protein clumps and separates from its fat above a certain temperature. Take it off the heat first.

### Can I make it without flour?
Yes — add the cheese straight to hot (not boiling) cream. Richer and faster, but higher in calories.

### What do I serve it with?
Nachos, fries, burgers, steamed broccoli and chicken sandwiches.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/american-cuisine/cheese-sauce-recipe
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-30