Make it spicy: Use pepper jack cheese and/or stir in extra cayenne pepper to taste for an extra spicy kick.

Give monterey jack, gouda, gruyere, or asiago cheese a try.

Switch up the cheese: Any good melting cheese will work in this recipe.

While I love a good cheddar cheese sauce, this recipe is endlessly customizable. Perfect cheese sauce ready to tasty up whatever you’re going to pour it over. Add salt, pepper, and optional cayenne to taste, and voilà.

Once the sauce is thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese a handful at a time.

Then slowly pour in the milk, being careful to whisk out any lumps as they form, and stir until you have a nice bubbly, creamy sauce.

Cooking the flour with butter first cooks the raw flour taste out of the mixture.

You start with a roux made by melting the butter in a small pot and whisking in the flour until you get a lightly golden paste.

I prefer to use sharp cheddar, but mild to extra sharp will all work. The anti-caking additives in bagged, pre-shredded cheese can make your sauce lumpy.

Cheddar cheese: Be sure to use full-fat cheese and start with a block of cheese that you shred yourself.

Milk: You can use any percentage milk you’d like in this recipe, but the higher fat the milk, the smoother and creamier your sauce will be.

All-purpose flour: Using equal parts (by volume) of flour to butter helps thicken the cheese sauce.

You can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe.

Butter: The base of this cheese sauce is a roux made with butter and flour.

If you have a couple of minutes and some cheddar cheese, you could probably make this sauce right this second. Baked potato feeling a little sad? CHEESE SAUCE IT. Need a quick lunch? Steam some broccoli in the microwave and top with cheese sauce. You’ll be so glad to have this little recipe in your back pocket because it’s so useful and versatile. It’s perfect for dipping broccoli and other veggies or drizzling over baked potatoes, nachos, or french fries. This fabulous creamy homemade cheese sauce is one of the quickest, easiest sauces to make.

Homemade mac and cheese roux