A quick and easy low carb cheese sauce that is ready in 10 minutes and is so cheesy! The perfect keto-friendly sauce to serve for any occasion.
Cheese really does make everything taste better! Just take this low carb cheese sauce recipe, it can be used as a sauce for steamed vegetables, grilled meats or drizzled over your favorite casseroles.
This recipe will help you make the perfect low carb cheese sauce. Smooth, creamy, and super tasty!
Aren’t all cheese sauces low carb? Not always. Cheese sauce is usually made using a white sauce that uses a high-carb thickener like flour or cornstarch. This recipe skips the white sauce entirely and goes straight to the good stuff. The cheese!
You won’t even miss the thickener in this recipe as the cheese melts and thickens the sauce perfectly.
How to make a low carb cheese sauce
Step 1: Add the cream cheese, butter, and whipping cream to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir often until they are completely melted and well incorporated.
Step 2: Add salt, pepper, and mustard and stir to combine.
Step 3: Turn off the heat. Add the grated cheddar in two batches, mixing the cheese in to melt completely before adding more. The sauce should become more yellow and thick as the cheese melts into it. Keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted.
Step 4: Serve the low carb cheese sauce over steamed vegetables, grilled meats or casseroles.
Choosing your cheese
You can make this sauce with a few different types of cheeses but for the best results, try and stick to cheddar or gouda cheeses. They both have strong flavors that work well for this flavourful sauce.
When you have made the sauce at least once, you can start experimenting with matured cheeses or even smoked cheeses to add different flavors.
How to make the sauce smooth
It’s vital to get your sauce silky and smooth. Lumpy cheese sauce not only looks unappetizing, but lumps of unmelted cheese also make the sauce taste less ‘cheesy’ and rich.
The key to getting a smooth cheese sauce is to melt the butter, cream, and cream cheese together completely. Then turn off the heat and add the cheese in batches and mix well. Keeping the heat on will cause the cheese to separate and your sauce will be lumpy.
How to store cheese sauce
If you have leftover cheese sauce, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To keep it for longer, you can freeze it for up to 2 weeks.
To avoid lumps after freezing your sauce, reheat it slowly, stirring continuously until the sauce is heated through and completely smooth.
Other healthy low-carb recipes to try
If you liked this recipe, here are some other low-carb recipes you might enjoy:
You can also check out the roundup I created of Healthy Dinner Recipes for Diabetics for even more great recipe ideas.
When you’ve made this easy low carb cheese sauce, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Low Carb Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon yellow mustard
- 4 ounces grated cheese, (cheddar works well)
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese, butter and whipping cream to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir often until they are completely melted and well incorporated.
- Add salt, pepper, and mustard and stir to combine.
- Turn off the heat. Add the grated cheddar in two batches, mixing the cheese in to melt completely before adding more. The sauce should become more yellow and thick as the cheese melts into it. Keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted.
- Serve the low carb cheese sauce over low carb steamed vegetables, grilled meats or casseroles.
Brenda
I made this recipe last night and it was super easy and delicious. My husband couldn’t get enough of it. It will definitely be put on rotation.
Bryan
Ummm..followed recipe exactly and the sauce turned into a smooth blob? Failed recipe…any ideas what went wrong?
Tobias Oerum
It’s hard to say, but perhaps you let it reduce a bit too much so there wasn’t enough liquid? It could also be about what specific cheese you used.
Kathryn
Bryan, did you use pre shredded cheese? Pre shredded cheese has an anti-clumping agent that causes it to not melt well. Try shredding a block of cheese and use that. You’ll notice the difference and never go back 🙂
Annie
Delicious!!
Stu
This sauce is very good. I have made it twice now and the second time, it was better. The notes were very helpful and this will now be my go to cheese sauce.
Fred
Better than the standard white sauce i use to make ???
Anahita Irani
I am a recipe developer and loved your easy cheesy sauce recipe. Will definitely try it out