My Mother-in-Law’s Cheese Sauce…ssshh Don’t Tell Her

  4.0 – 59 reviews  • Sauces

I got this quick, simple recipe for cheese sauce from my mother-in-law. Other than her baby, that is the finest gift she has ever given me.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  2. 4 cups milk
  3. ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  4. ½ teaspoon minced onion
  5. 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  6. 1 tablespoon cold water
  7. 16 slices American cheese

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, milk, minced garlic, and minced onion to a low boil, stirring frequently. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water and whisk into milk mixture. Continue stirring vigorously until desired thickness.
  2. When milk mixture is thick enough, tear cheese slices into pieces and slowly stir them into the sauce, melting gradually, until desired cheesiness. Serve over your favorite pasta, vegetable, or side dish.

Reviews

Sabrina Crawford
I was sooo good. I mixed it with some leftover pork and pene pasta and it was soooooo good 10/10 would recommend!!
Laura Stephens
We tried this for a Super Bowl party and were sorely disappointed. We followed the recipe very carefully and it just seemed to separate and was thin. After about an 45 minutes of simmering and stirring we just gave up and went to the store and bought cheese sauce.
Randall Bradley
It came out really good, I used it for the Perogies I made, and it was amazing. The only thing I did different was leave out the minced onion, and only because I didn’t have any.
Lauren Schultz
use half as much milk and twice as much cornstarch. And don’t forget to dissolve the cornstarch in water first.
John Alvarado
Next time I make this I will use 3 cups of milk instead of what the recipe called for. Even after adding 10 more slices of cheese, this was still way too runny.
Christopher Olsen
I’ve tried this recipe several times, first with the cheese slices, it was great. I tried it again with preshredded yellow cheese, and it didn’t come out as smooth. I don’t know if I am missing something, or if I should add a bit of lemon next time, but if you are trying to avoid processed cheese, as is, this is not the best choice.
Heather White
I doubled the cornstarch b/c the milk was not getting thick. I used a dash of garlic powder and onion powder to save time. It was a nice mild sauce, perfect for veggies.
Oscar Blackburn
It’s my husbands favorite over broccoli
Jared Hill
The taste is there, but too much milk. Never thickend up. Would make again with half the amount of milk of what’s called for.
Susan Garcia
very simple easy to make and tasty!
Sonya Delgado
This sauce was not good. It was runny & had no flavor. We kept adding cheese hoping it would taste like something but it was aweful. Way too runny. It never thickened even after i added more starch. Not good at all. Dont try this at home.
Paul White
This sauce was not good. It was runny & had no flavor. We kept adding cheese hoping it would taste like something but it was aweful. Way too runny. It never thickened even after i added more starch. Not good at all. Dont try this at home.
Teresa Mccoy
Good recipe. After reading others reviews I cut the milk back to one cup and still had to use 3 tbs of starch and 3 tbs of water. I also used a little less cheese. After those few changes this made a great cheese sauce. I will use again.
Cheyenne Perkins
I served this with veggies and everyone loved it. Be prepared…this recipe makes a lot. I will probably decrease the amounts next time.
Gabrielle Lindsey
I had to add a bit more thickener, but it was quite delicious. I’ve made this several times and my kids love it over broccoli and potatoes!
Robert Mckay
too runny. and i whisked forever and ever i had to increase the corn starch. tasted good though will make adjustments
Rose Ford
Good suggestion with the corn starch. I used several types of cheese that I had on hand. The kids are gobbling up the mixed veggies they usually refuse! Yay!
Brandon Foster
Great over broccoli and perogies. I halved the recipe for myself, my husband and daughter. We still only used about half of it.
Jessica Thomas
I was looking for a cheese sauce recipe because it’s the only way my husband will eat broccoli but it’s my children’s favorite veggie (go figure!). I came across this one and was quite pleased with the result – although I did modify a bit. First, I used 8 oz of cheddar cheese because we don’t typically have processed cheese in the house. I also used flour instead of cornstarch because I didn’t have any left – in doing this I used a lot more water, probably about 6-1 but I didn’t measure :); and I added about a teaspoon of salt. The sauce was rich, creamy , cheesy and delicious over the broccoli and the roasted potatoes I had made too! My children wouldn’t poor the sauce on their precious broccoli, but they did dip some bread in it and both said it was tasty.
Steven Rivers
Excellent cheese sauce, but I had to modify it a little bit for it to work. I cut the recipe in half, otherwise it would have been way too much for me. I had to add about 1 tbsp. more of corn starch for it to thicken, and I used a little bit more water to mix the corn starch with. It also should be put in the directions that it should be GENTLY boiled. Milk burns easily and can leave a gross looking solid floating in the liquid so make sure to constantly stir the mix.
David Johnson
Very simple and very good. I used Velveeta instead of American cheese slices (AmCh slices vary a lot in content and moisture and are not reliable in recipes). I found it to be tasty and a good consistency. And folks, if you think it’s not thick enough for you…..add more cheese.

 

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