This fabulous creamy homemade cheese sauce is one of the quickest, easiest sauces to make. It’s perfect for dipping broccoli and other veggies or drizzling over baked potatoes, nachos, or french fries.
You’ll be so glad to have this little recipe in your back pocket because it’s so useful and versatile.
Need a quick lunch? Steam some broccoli in the microwave and top with cheese sauce. Nachos for dinner? Cheese sauce. Baked potato feeling a little sad? CHEESE SAUCE IT.
If you have a couple of minutes and some cheddar cheese, you could probably make this sauce right this second.
Ingredients
- Butter: The base of this cheese sauce is a roux made with butter and flour. You can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour: Using equal parts (by volume) of flour to butter helps thicken the cheese sauce.
- 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.
- Cheddar cheese: Be sure to use full-fat cheese and start with a block of cheese that you shred yourself. The anti-caking additives in bagged, pre-shredded cheese can make your sauce lumpy. I prefer to use sharp cheddar, but mild to extra sharp will all work.
How to Make Cheese Sauce
- 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. Cooking the flour with butter first cooks the raw flour taste out of the mixture.
- 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.
- Once the sauce is thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese a handful at a time. Add salt, pepper, and optional cayenne to taste, and voilà. Perfect cheese sauce ready to tasty up whatever you’re going to pour it over.
Sauce Variations
While I love a good cheddar cheese sauce, this recipe is endlessly customizable. Here are some recommendations:
- Switch up the cheese: Any good melting cheese will work in this recipe. Give monterey jack, gouda, gruyere, or asiago cheese a try.
- Make it spicy: Use pepper jack cheese and/or stir in extra cayenne pepper to taste for an extra spicy kick.
What to serve with cheese sauce?
The answer to this is: whatever you want!! If you can dream of drizzling cheese sauce over it, you can do it. But here are my recommendations to get you started:
- Vegetables, especially broccoli, cauliflower , and Brussels sprouts
- Baked potatoes with homemade chili
- Homemade pretzels
- FRENCH FRIES!
(If you’d like to make this cheese sauce for fries, go check out my Cheese Fries post , which has instructions for making homemade fries to go along with the cheese sauce.)
How do you make a smooth cheese sauce?
To get the smoothest cheese sauce possible, follow these golden rules:
- Use full-fat cheese that you grate yourself as bagged cheese has additives that can prevent it from melting smoothly.
- Let the shredded cheese sit at room temperature for a short time so you’re not putting cold cheese into hot liquid.
- Remove the sauce from heat before you stir in the cheese. Overheated cheese can clump.
Why does my sauce taste floury?
If your sauce tastes like flour, it’s probably because the roux was not cooked long enough before adding the milk. Next time, cook the butter and flour mixture until it begins to turn golden. This cooks out that raw flour taste.
Can I store this?
Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated gently on the stove or in the microwave, but it is best eaten right after cooking. It won’t be quite as smooth and creamy after refrigeration and reheating.
More Cheesy Recipes
- Homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup
- Mac and Cheese for One
- The Best Baked Ziti
A Note on Serving Size
As written, this recipe makes about 1 cup of cheese sauce, which generously serves 2. To change the recipe yield, in the recipe card below, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider. Add a couple of minutes to the cooking time when doubling or tripling.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 8g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 3/4 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 3/4 cup ( 3oz ) shredded Cheddar cheese
- ▢ Pinch of cayenne to taste
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking continuously, until flour is lightly golden, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in milk, whisking out any lumps as they form. Continue to whisk the mixture until it is thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the cheese a handful at a time until all the cheese has been used and sauce is smooth and creamy. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
This post was originally published on 1/24/18. It was updated on 10/4/20 with additional information and tips.
This Small Apple Cinnamon Cake is decadent and moist with big swirls of apple and cinnamon and a sweet powdered sugar glaze that sets and crinkles when you cut into it.
A few months ago, ages before apple weather, when we were all still in shorts and sandals, eating ice cream (who am I kidding we’re still doing that here in California), I scrolled past this apple cake on Pinterest.
And I had to have it. Like instant, want to reach through the screen, had to have it.
BUT that recipe makes a 9×13-inch cake, and I knew that if I made a 9×13-inch cake, I would eat a 9×13-inch cake (or a lot would go to waste), so I grabbed the single Granny Smith apple in my fruit bowl and made a mini version.
This cute little apple cinnamon cake is made in a 7×5-inch pan and is an upgraded version of my (already pretty perfect) Mini Coffee Cake. The cake is spongy and moist, with big swirls of apple and cinnamon and a sweet powdered sugar glaze that sets and crinkles when you cut into it.
It’s absolutely glorious and perfect for fall mornings when you’re craving something sweet and want your house to smell like apple-cinnamon magic.
Ingredients of Note
- Granny smith apples: I recommend Granny Smith apples in the recipe because their tartness offsets the sweetness of the cake and glaze, but your favorite baking apple should work just fine.
- Lemon juice: A little lemon juice mixed in with the apples also adds a little tartness to balance the sweet cake.
- Sour cream: Sour cream is used in the cake batter and helps make the cake soft and moist. If you don’t have any, you can replace it with the same amount of unsweetened Greek yogurt.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Cake
This cake is not difficult, but it does have a few more steps than usual, so I’ll break them down for you just a bit.
For the filling, you’ll mix up some cinnamon apples and what basically looks like a paste of cinnamon, sugar, butter, and a little flour. Set those aside and mix together a quick and simple coffee cake batter.
Once the batter is ready and smoothed out into a 7×5-inch baking dish, the apples and butter mixture get mixed together and then swirled into the cake batter.
As you can see in the photos, the cinnamon filling to batter ratio is quite high, so you’ll want to really swirl that mixture in. You DON’T want to stir it and completely mix the two together, but don’t be afraid to cut deeply with those swirls so you see cake batter showing on top.
Also, pro tip, if hanging parchment paper is making you nuts, clip it down with small binder clips to keep it tidy. I usually take them off before baking, but many people just leave them on.
Then the cake goes into the oven for a little over half an hour. Once it comes out, it’s time to make the glaze.
The glaze is just powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. In the recipe, I recommend sifting the powdered sugar, but if you don’t mind having a few lumps in your glaze, you can skip the extra step.
Pour the glaze over the warm cake and give it 15 to 20 minutes to set.
If you glaze the cake right out of the oven, it will still be warm and a little gooey by the time the glaze has set, and this cake served warm and gooey is just a marvelous thing, so enjoy!
Because this is a very sweet cake, if you’re eating it for breakfast, I recommend pairing it with a salty side of bacon or sausage and a cup of strong coffee.
Or make it in the afternoon, grab a couple of friends, a couple of forks, and a pot of tea, and go to town.
I don’t have a 7×5-inch baking dish. Where did you find yours/what can I use instead?
I recommend Pyrex’s 3-cup rectangular oven-safe containers since they come with a lid so they can go from the oven right to storage. That’s what I’m using in these photos.
You can also use a 6-inch round cake pan . Simply extend the baking time slightly as needed since the cake will be a little thicker.
Can I bake this ahead of time?
You can, but this cake is really best right out of the oven when it’s been freshly glazed.
Can I double this recipe?
You can! To double the recipe, bake it in an 8×8 baking pan and extend the baking time as needed.
More Apple Recipes
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Dutch Apple Galette for Two
- Small-batch Apple Pie Bars
- Small-batch Apple Hand Pies
- Apple Crumb Muffins
Apple Cinnamon Cake Recipe Notes
- Because of the filling, this cake is a little tricky to test for doneness. If the top of the cake is still wobbling when you open your oven, don’t even try. Once it has set, find a couple different spaces toward the center where cake is showing through and test until you find a spot that is mostly cake and not filling. The cake is done when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- Try not to leave any large pockets of filling when swirling it into the cake, because the pockets will sink as the cake cools.
- For more small-batch breakfasts, you might also like these Banana Pancakes for Two , Small-batch Cinnamon Rolls , and Waffles for Two .
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 7x5-inch baking dish
Apple Cinnamon Mixture
- ▢ ¾ cup ( about 1 small ) diced Granny Smith apple
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Swirl
- ▢ ¼ cup ( 56g ) salted butter softened
- ▢ ¼ cup ( 50g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 2 teaspoons ( 15g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cake
- ▢ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 75g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method
- ▢ ½ teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ Pinch of salt
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 28g ) salted butter softened
- ▢ ¼ cup ( 50g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
- ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 30g ) sour cream
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk any percentage, divided
Glaze
- ▢ ⅔ cup ( 80g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1 tablespoon and 1 ½ teaspoons milk any percentage
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 7x5-inch baking dish. If you’d like to be able to lift the cake out of the dish, line with a sheet of parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together apples, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix ingredients until the mixture resembles a thick paste. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, combine softened butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in room temperature egg and vanilla until well-combined. Add sour cream and one tablespoon of the milk. Beat until smooth.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Repeat with remaining tablespoon of milk and second half of the flour mixture.
- Transfer batter to your prepared baking dish, smoothing out the top.
- Combine the apple mixture with the cinnamon swirl mixture and stir together. Drop spoonfuls of the mix over the top of your cake until it is all gone. Use a knife to swirl mixture into the batter. Cut deeply into the batter when swirling. You don’t want to completely mix the apples into the batter, but you should see some batter at the top.
- Bake for 27 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cakey section near the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- While your cake is still warm, in a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients. Whisk until smooth and pour over the cake. Allow the glaze to set for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Adapted from Rumbly Tumbly
This post was originally published on 9/27/18. It was updated on 10/4/20 with additional information and tips.
This creamy and marvelous White Hot Chocolate can be made with just two ingredients in five minutes.
Hey friend, how is the weather where you are right now? Here in California, it’s just starting to cool down, and you know what that means. It’s hot chocolate weather! (AKA the best weather.)
If it’s hot chocolate weather where you are today, you should absolutely treat yourself to a cup of something warm and sugary.
And if it’s warm and sugary you want, you can’t go wrong with a cup of creamy, marvelous White Hot Chocolate. A cup of it could be yours with just two ingredients, milk and white chocolate, and five minutes.
Ingredients
- Milk: You can use any percentage milk you’d like. The higher the fat content, the creamier your drink will be.
- White chocolate: Make sure to use a high-quality white chocolate bar or high-quality chips.
A Note on White Chocolate: Because this hot chocolate gets all its flavor and sweetness from the white chocolate, it is incredibly rich and creamy, BUT that also means that you must use high-quality white chocolate in your drink.
High-quality chips are fine, but you want chocolate that tastes good on its own. If you wouldn’t eat the chips (or chunks) by the handful, don’t put them in your hot chocolate, because that’s what your hot chocolate is going to taste like.
How to Make White Hot Chocolate
- Heat milk until steaming on the stove or in the microwave.
- Stir in chopped high-quality white chocolate until melted.
- Pour into a mug and top with an obnoxious number of marshmallows and enjoy.
Variations
- Peppermint: Add just a couple drops (to taste) of peppermint extract to your hot chocolate or crush a candy cane and melt it into the milk while heating it on the stove.
- Snickerdoodle: Place 2 cinnamon sticks in your milk and heat milk to steaming. Turn off heat and allow the cinnamon sticks to sit in the milk and infuse it with flavor for 5 minutes before continuing with the recipe as written.
- Extra creamy: You can also add a splash of heavy cream for an ultra-rich and creamy drink.
- Large batch: This recipe easily scales up to make enough for sharing. To adjust the recipe yield, in the recipe card below, hover over the serving size or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
Does this taste like Starbucks white hot chocolate?
I stopped in and picked up a Starbucks white hot chocolate so I could compare the two, and I’d say that both versions are delicious, but this is definitely a more decadent-feeling hot chocolate than theirs. Because it’s made with real white chocolate, it’s much richer and creamier than the Starbucks version.
Can I add coffee to this?
Sure. If you want to add coffee, go make my White Chocolate Mocha . It uses the same ingredients but has slightly different ratios to better highlight the coffee flavor. (You might enjoy also my Homemade Mocha or Caramel Macchiato .)
More Hot Chocolate Recipes
White chocolate not your thing? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Try one of these other hot chocolates:
- Hot Chocolate (Classic)
- Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate
- Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
- Chai Hot Chocolate
This recipe makes one cup of hot chocolate, enough to fill an 8-ounce mug. If you’d like to fill an oversized mug, 1 1/2 or double the recipe.
Ingredients
White Hot Chocolate
- ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 2 ounces ( about 1/3 cup ) good-quality white chocolate chopped*
Optional Toppings
- ▢ Whipped cream
- ▢ Marshmallows
- ▢ Crushed candy cane
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or the microwave, heat milk until steaming. Add white chocolate and stir until melted.
- Pour into an 8-ounce cup, top with optional toppings, and enjoy!
Notes
This post was originally published on 10/24/18. It was updated on 10/4/20 with additional information and tips.
This fabulous creamy homemade cheese sauce is one of the quickest, easiest sauces to make. It’s perfect for dipping broccoli and other veggies or drizzling over baked potatoes, nachos, or french fries.
You’ll be so glad to have this little recipe in your back pocket because it’s so useful and versatile.
Need a quick lunch? Steam some broccoli in the microwave and top with cheese sauce. Nachos for dinner? Cheese sauce. Baked potato feeling a little sad? CHEESE SAUCE IT.
If you have a couple of minutes and some cheddar cheese, you could probably make this sauce right this second.
Ingredients
- Butter: The base of this cheese sauce is a roux made with butter and flour. You can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour: Using equal parts (by volume) of flour to butter helps thicken the cheese sauce.
- 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.
- Cheddar cheese: Be sure to use full-fat cheese and start with a block of cheese that you shred yourself. The anti-caking additives in bagged, pre-shredded cheese can make your sauce lumpy. I prefer to use sharp cheddar, but mild to extra sharp will all work.
How to Make Cheese Sauce
- 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. Cooking the flour with butter first cooks the raw flour taste out of the mixture.
- 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.
- Once the sauce is thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese a handful at a time. Add salt, pepper, and optional cayenne to taste, and voilà. Perfect cheese sauce ready to tasty up whatever you’re going to pour it over.
Sauce Variations
While I love a good cheddar cheese sauce, this recipe is endlessly customizable. Here are some recommendations:
- Switch up the cheese: Any good melting cheese will work in this recipe. Give monterey jack, gouda, gruyere, or asiago cheese a try.
- Make it spicy: Use pepper jack cheese and/or stir in extra cayenne pepper to taste for an extra spicy kick.
What to serve with cheese sauce?
The answer to this is: whatever you want!! If you can dream of drizzling cheese sauce over it, you can do it. But here are my recommendations to get you started:
- Vegetables, especially broccoli, cauliflower , and Brussels sprouts
- Baked potatoes with homemade chili
- Homemade pretzels
- FRENCH FRIES!
(If you’d like to make this cheese sauce for fries, go check out my Cheese Fries post , which has instructions for making homemade fries to go along with the cheese sauce.)
How do you make a smooth cheese sauce?
To get the smoothest cheese sauce possible, follow these golden rules:
- Use full-fat cheese that you grate yourself as bagged cheese has additives that can prevent it from melting smoothly.
- Let the shredded cheese sit at room temperature for a short time so you’re not putting cold cheese into hot liquid.
- Remove the sauce from heat before you stir in the cheese. Overheated cheese can clump.
Why does my sauce taste floury?
If your sauce tastes like flour, it’s probably because the roux was not cooked long enough before adding the milk. Next time, cook the butter and flour mixture until it begins to turn golden. This cooks out that raw flour taste.
Can I store this?
Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated gently on the stove or in the microwave, but it is best eaten right after cooking. It won’t be quite as smooth and creamy after refrigeration and reheating.
More Cheesy Recipes
- Homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup
- Mac and Cheese for One
- The Best Baked Ziti
A Note on Serving Size
As written, this recipe makes about 1 cup of cheese sauce, which generously serves 2. To change the recipe yield, in the recipe card below, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider. Add a couple of minutes to the cooking time when doubling or tripling.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 8g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 3/4 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 3/4 cup ( 3oz ) shredded Cheddar cheese
- ▢ Pinch of cayenne to taste
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking continuously, until flour is lightly golden, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in milk, whisking out any lumps as they form. Continue to whisk the mixture until it is thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the cheese a handful at a time until all the cheese has been used and sauce is smooth and creamy. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
This post was originally published on 1/24/18. It was updated on 10/4/20 with additional information and tips.
Easy Homemade Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter
- 1 tablespoon ( 8g ) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup milk any percentage
- 3/4 cup ( 3oz ) shredded Cheddar cheese
- Pinch of cayenne to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking continuously, until flour is lightly golden, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in milk, whisking out any lumps as they form. Continue to whisk the mixture until it is thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in the cheese a handful at a time until all the cheese has been used and sauce is smooth and creamy. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
