Velvety Cheese Sauce
A smooth, pourable cheddar sauce made without a flour roux — perfect over broccoli, cauliflower or keto nachos.
Nutrition per serving
¼ cup- Net carbs
- 2.2g
- Calories
- 233kcal
- Protein
- 6.6g
- Fat
- 22g
- Total carbs
- 2.2 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Queso dip: A Tex-Mex queso made with Monterey Jack, canned tomatoes with green chiles and a little cumin. Keep it warm for dipping pork rinds and vegetables.
- Make the sauce with the Jack cheese, then stir in the drained tomatoes and chiles with the cumin and warm through. Thin with a splash more cream for dipping and keep warm in a small slow cooker or on very low heat.
Beer cheese: A pub-style beer cheese dip made with an ultra-low-carb lager. Serve it with sausages, pork rinds or almond flour crackers.
- Simmer the beer in the saucepan for 2 minutes to mellow it, then add the cream and butter and continue as written. Serve warm with sausages, pork rinds or almond flour crackers.
- Also add
Estimated cost $3.43 for 5 servings ($0.69 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Warm the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming, with tiny bubbles at the edge. Don’t let it boil.
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Add the cream cheese and whisk until completely smooth.
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Turn the heat to low. Add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until each addition melts before adding the next.
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Whisk in the mustard powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Thin with water or cream, a tablespoon at a time, to the consistency you like, and serve warm.
Tips for success
-
Shred the cheese from a block — pre-shredded bags are coated with starch that makes the sauce gritty. - Gentle heat is the secret: boiling makes the proteins seize and the fat separate. If it does split, whisk in a splash of hot cream off the heat.
- For nacho-style cheese, replace 1 oz of the cheddar with a slice of American cheese and add a pinch of cayenne. Use it on pork rind nachos, roasted broccoli or in cauliflower mac & cheese.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Warm on low, or in 15-second microwave bursts, stirring in a splash of cream.
Prep tip: It sets firm in the fridge; warm it slowly and stir often so it melts smooth instead of turning oily.
Refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat on low, or in 15-second microwave bursts, stirring and adding a splash of cream.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosQueso dip
FlavorA Tex-Mex queso made with Monterey Jack, canned tomatoes with green chiles and a little cumin. Keep it warm for dipping pork rinds and vegetables.
- sharp cheddar → Monterey Jack or pepper Jack
- + ½ can diced tomatoes with green chiles (10 oz can)
- + ½ tsp ground cumin
2 g net · 230 kcal · 7.2 g protein · 22 g fat · ≈$0.76 per serving (−0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
Beer cheese
FlavorA pub-style beer cheese dip made with an ultra-low-carb lager. Serve it with sausages, pork rinds or almond flour crackers.
- water or extra cream → ultra-low-carb lager
2.4 g net · 240 kcal · 6.7 g protein · 22 g fat · ≈$0.74 per serving (+0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
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