Cheese Sauce for Broccoli
Updated Apr 30, 2026
This homemade Cheese Sauce for Broccoli tastes so much better than the store bought kind. The best easy cheese sauce recipe!
Why we love this cheese sauce for broccoli
- Basic 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’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.
Cheese sauce is my top tip for trying to get my kids to eat more veggies. I mean, I can’t blame them. Add a delicious cheese sauce and I would eat more veggies too!
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 and made with real ingredients!
“Made this tonight. It was delicious! Used it over broccoli instead of ranch. Will continue to use it with veggies. Tasty!” -reader review
Cheddar cheese sauce ingredients
- Sharp cheddar cheese: don’t skip grating it yourself. Freshly grated is important for the best flavor and smoothness of the sauce.
- Milk: 2% or whole milk will both work.
- Cornstarch: this is the easy thickener that we are using in place of a traditional flour and butter roux.
- Spices: garlic powder, paprika, and pepper.
How to make cheddar cheese sauce
Step 1: Grate the cheddar cheese fresh from a block.
Step 2: Add the grated cheddar cheese, milk, cornstarch, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika to a medium sized saucepan.
Step 3: Cook the mixture over medium heat until the cheese sauce is thickened, around 5-10 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately with steamed broccoli or veggie of choice.
If you have an air fryer you could air fry frozen broccoli and serve it with this cheese sauce for a simple side dish.
Best 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 the sauce 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 paprika is totally optional, and does not make it spicy, but I like that little extra something something it gives.
How to serve
- Over veggies: this sauce pairs well with just about any steamed veggie like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussels sprouts, or asparagus.
- Over pasta: need a quick cheese sauce? this would also be delicious served 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 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.
Cheese Sauce for Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 1 cup 2% milk, or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika, optional
Instructions
- Add the freshly grated cheddar cheese, milk, cornstarch, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika to a saucepan.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat until the cheese sauce is thickened, around 5–10 minutes, stirring often. Use a whisk to help smooth out any clumps.
- Pour the cheddar cheese sauce over vegetables of choice like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, potatoes, carrots, etc.
Planning to make this for the family Sunday lunch. We like broccoli but got tired of just steaming it.
I made this today for brocolli, just to jazz it up a bit. It was as delicious as you said & as easy as well. Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed it!
To make this keto – switch up cornstarch for Arrowroot starch or flour or Tapioca
Starch.
Leftover sauce was delicious on omelets the next day !
This was very easy to make. The cheese sauce was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Marie!
I plan to make this for my work for the follow day. How do you suggest I warm it up again?
The microwave or stovetop should both work!
Have not tried it yet but sounds easy and lovely yummm
Oh, one question, do you know how long leftovers of this would keep in the fridge since it’s only for me?
Hi Sarah,
It should keep at least a few days in the fridge! We ate leftovers the next day 🙂
I’m not gluten intolerant but am following a grain free eating plan. I am to eat lots of veggies; 4 weeks into this and all these veggies are getting very boring. I’m a picky eater so not just any sauce will do. I looked on pinterest for “cheese sauce for veggies” and yours was near the top, and the first to say “gluten free.” So I’m like OF COURSE!! If it’s gluten free and says it’s easy, then it’s not going to be roux- based nor require anything that’s not already on hand. Thanks for posting this! I will see about making some up tonight.
This is the easiest, best tasting , ‘lightened up’ cheese sauce recipe ever! I usually make a beer or wine cheese roux based sauce but didn’t have the time to give it the attention it needed. I found this recipe and made it for some roasted potatoes. My fam loved it! I’ll definitely make it again! I’ll try it over nachos next time and will experiment with the types of cheese used. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed the recipe Melissa! If you need sauce for nachos, be sure to check out my 5 minute nacho cheese sauce!