Easy homemade cheese sauce for broccoli made with just 6 ingredients. Perfect for serving with your favorite veggies! Picky eater kids everywhere will love this delicious recipe.

This cheese sauce for broccoli is so easy to make!

If you’ve ever poured cheese out of a jar to get your kids to eat more veggies, this recipe is for you! This easy homemade cheese sauce recipe is so simple to make, and tastes delicious.

We love serving it over fresh steamed broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, or whatever veggie we are having for dinner that night.

This recipe uses cornstarch to thicken the cheese sauce, making it super easy and no roux required. Not only is it quick to make, but it is absolutely delicious!

Cheddar Cheese Sauce Ingredients

• fresh grated sharp cheddar cheese: don’t skip grating it yourself. Freshly grated is important for the best flavor
• 2% milk: or whole milk
• cornstarch: this is the easy thickener that we are using in place of a traditional flour and butter roux.
• garlic powder
• pepper
• paprika

How to make cheddar cheese sauce

1. Grate the cheddar cheese fresh from a block
2. Add the grated cheddar cheese, milk, cornstarch, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika to a medium sized saucepan.
3. Cook over medium heat until the cheese sauce is thickened, around 5 – 10 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately with steamed broccoli or veggie of choice

Why we love this cheddar cheese sauce

• clean ingredients: Made with easy to recognize ingredients and no added junk, this cheese sauce is simple and delicious
• easy to make: no roux required, all you have to do is add ingredients to a pan, heat, and serve!
• great for picky eaters: have picky eater kids? Try serving steamed veggies with this sauce and they will love it!

If you have an air fryer you could air fry frozen broccoli and serve it with this cheese sauce for a simple side dish.

What kind of milk to use for cheese sauce

For this recipe, I used 2% milk in place of heavy cream or other higher fat milk. You can’t taste the difference and it still gets thick thanks to cornstarch. You can also use whole milk in this recipe.

Ever since making my 5 minute nacho cheese sauce, I have been using this method to make all of my cheese sauces.

I may never go back to a roux again, this way is just so much easier and tastes delicious!

All you have to do is stir to avoid burning, and use a whisk to get out any clumps of cornstarch or cheese. You will end up with a velvety smooth cheese sauce!

The color of your cheese sauce will depend on your cheese block. The paprika is totally optional, and does not make it spicy, but I like that little extra something something it gives.

How to serve this cheese sauce

• over veggies: this sauce pairs well with just about any steamed veggie like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussels sprouts, asaparagus, and more
• over pasta: need a quick cheese sauce? this would also be delicious with pasta

We like serving our cheese sauce with fresh steamed broccoli, garlic parmesan roasted potatoes, and veggie burgers for a well rounded dinner.

How to store this homemade cheese sauce

• storing: leftover cheese sauce for broccoli can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days
• reheating: reheat leftover cheese sauce in a sauce pan over low heat or in the microwave until heated through. Add a splash of milk to thin the sauce out, if needed

Looking for more easy recipes? Be sure to check out this copycat Papa John’s Garlic Dipping Sauce.

Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

Easy side dish recipes

• Brussel Sprout Chips
• Air Fryer Mushrooms
• Cheesy Brussels Sprouts
• Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan
• Roasted Potatoes & Onions
• Roasted Garlic Baby Red Potatoes
• Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

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