Learning how to make a cheese sauce will provide the basis to many a delicious meals. There’s nothing lovelier than a simple cheese sauce for pasta, or even to use as over vegetables in a delicious oven bake.

Every recipe for cheese sauce is different, and I think once you get the basics right, you can tweak and tinker as much as you like to get the right consistency or cheesiness that you are looking for.

Cheese sauce is basically a white sauce, or bechamel with cheese added in. It tends to be thicker than a white sauce, and by including the cheese, the sauce is a lot more flavourful. I mostly use cheddar cheese for the sauce, but why not experiment!

I want to walk you through the stages of making a cheese sauce, so you can recognise when there is too much of an ingredient and how to correct it. I remember when I was first learning how to make a cheese sauce, the roux would become so thick that I would panic and slosh in litres of milk and it would never recover! The quantities listed here are enough for a macaroni cheese for 2.

Ingredients for a cheese sauce

• 30g butter
• 30g plain flour
• 500ml milk
• 150g grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• ground nutmeg

Step 1: Start the cheese sauce off

Start by melting all the butter over a low heat. Once the butter is melted, as a small amount of the flour, a tablespoon or two and whisk to combine. Keep adding small amounts of flour and whisking until it has all been combined.

Step 2: Make the roux

Now the butter and flour paste is a called a roux. Let is cook gently for a minute or two. Next add a small amount of the milk, say 100 mls. Now stir gently to combine, and once combined add in a bit more milk. As the mixture starts to loosen up, you want to start whisking more vigourously to get all the lumps out and smooth the sauce.

Step 3: Make Cheese Sauce

Season the sauce well with salt and pepper and a fresh grating of nutmeg. Now you can add in the cheddar cheese and gently let that melt into the sauce, giving it a whixk every now and agin to smooth out the lumps. Pour over your favourite dish as required and enjoy!

Photos created with pixlr-o-matic 
hagrid effect
perga border 

You might also like:

1. How to make chicken stock broth I always get excited after we finish up a roast...
2. delicious classic meatballs with pasta sauce This is a genuinely comforting Italian recipe for meatballs with...