That’s right…I’m sharing a 5 INGREDIENT CHEESE SAUCE recipe that’s going to change your life! It’s sooooo good! How can you go wrong? I like to think of it as updated fondue…that just also happens to be way tastier…and goes on basically everything (veggies, enchiladas, burgers, pizza, etc,…you name it, this cheese sauce makes it better! And I know a lot of you are thinking that cheese sauce is a lot of work, but I promise you, it’s so easy!
If you’ve been following me for awhile and have ever stumbled across my recipe for white peppercorn gravy, this is a very similar process! The line from the gravy recipe that holds so true with the cheese sauce? “It was easy as whisking a few ingredients together in a sauce pan and letting it thicken.”
That’s really all you have to do to make this sauce as well:
- Heat butter and flour
- Add milk
- Stir in the cheese!
The truth is, you just mostly need to get your muscles ready because you need to whisk quite a bit in this recipe. That’s the hardest part. And the 11 minutes of whisking will be worth every bit when it’s done!
Ok, do I have you convinced that this is the easiest, most delicious recipe yet? If not, let me share with you all of the ways you can use this sauce:
- macaroni and cheese – a quick kid favorite
- pouring it over roasted vegetables – mmm, cheesy broccoli anyone?
- put it in enchiladas – because, why not?
- fondue – fun for date night!
- drinking it straight out of a glass 🙂 ok just kidding with this one…but it’s so good you’ll be eating it by the spoonful!
I used to think making homemade sauces (like homemade gravy or cheese sauce) was so hard, but once you make it, you’ll realize how easy it is!! I hope this 5 ingredient cheese sauce recipe inspires you to make some homemade cheese sauce!
Other recipes you might enjoy:

Five Ingredient Cheese Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter half a stick
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk - I use whole milk but you can use any kind you'd like
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Cut your cheddar cheese into cubes or shred it (you can also buy already shredded cheese).
- Heat butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk constantly until thickened and just starting to turn slightly brown - about 30 seconds.
- Slowly add milk, whisking constantly
- Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 8 minutes. Be cautious not to boil.
- Add cheddar, slowly (in about two batches). Whisk in.
- Add parmesan and continue whisking for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Mixture should thicken at this time. Remove from heat and set aside.
Gillian says
Can we use gluten free all purpose flour instead of regular flour do you think it would work? Also could we use almond milk instead of regular milk?
Sweetphi says
Yes, I think gluten free flour would work in place of regular flour. I’m not sure about the non-dairy milk, but I think so (I’ve used cashew milk in place of regular milk before). Please let me know if it turns out for you!
Mary W says
I am going to try this sauce. I have a block of white cheddar in my fridge just begging to jump into a pan of sauce! I had never thought of adding Parmesan cheese! Brilliant! That must be the secret ingredient that makes this sauce so good.Thank you for sharing!
Sweetphi says
I think you’ll absolutely love this sauce Mary – it also re-heats really well!
Trina says
I would love this on broccoli. I make a chicken & broccoli casserole, I bet it would be tasty on this too.
Sweetphi says
Chicken and broccoli casserole is one of Nicks all time favorite dishes, this cheese sauce would be so perfect on that, thanks for the idea, I’m totally going to try that.