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This is the keto cheese sauce recipe you’ve been needing in your life! My keto cheddar cheese sauce is a delicious addition to just about anything and everything. It’s only 3 ingredients to make it (plus one optional), and I’d bet you have all of them in your fridge right now! This low carb cheese sauce is smooth, creamy, and full of flavor – no flour necessary. Learn how to make cheese sauce, and you’ll never have to buy the fake orange sauce made with who knows what again!
This easy cheese sauce recipe started out as part of my cauliflower mac and cheese recipe. It has been so popular that it warranted posting the keto cheddar cheese cheese sauce on its own. And yes, keto cheese sauce for broccoli is delicious on vegetables, but it’s also fantastic on keto soft pretzels, zucchini noodles, or used in sausage rotel dip, and so much more.
What Is Keto Cheese Sauce?
This keto cheddar cheese sauce recipe is a cheesy, flavorful sauce that you’ll want to put on just about everything.
What Is Cheese Sauce Made Of?
This keto friendly cheese sauce is made of just a few simple ingredients: cheddar cheese, heavy cream, almond milk (or any low carb friendly milk of choice), and butter. That’s it!
How To Thicken Keto Cheese Sauce
Many cheese sauces are thickened with a flour-based roux, but this keto cheddar cheese sauce doesn’t need any of that! It’s really not hard to make cheese sauce without flour.
We’re thickening our cheese with real cheese. Novel idea, huh?! 😉
How To Make Cheese Sauce
Learning how to make cheese sauce barely takes any effort, because it’s just ONE easy step and 5 minutes:
- Combine the cheddar cheese, heavy cream, almond milk, and butter in a saucepan over low heat.
TIP: Stir keto cheese sauce for broccoli frequently and be careful to not overheat,or the cheese will burn.
Your keto cheese sauce recipe is ready when it’s smooth and melt-y.
TIP: You can adjust the thickness of your sauce. If it’s too thick, add a little more cream or milk of choice. If it’s too thin, add more cheese a bit at a time.
I love to serve it over steamed or sauteed broccoli!
Can You Make Keto Cheese Sauce For Broccoli Ahead?
Yes, you can make this recipe for cheese sauce for broccoli ahead of time. Store this low carb cheese sauce recipe in the fridge for 4-5 days. When you’re ready to eat it, gently reheat it so that it heats slowly.
TIP: Don’t boil it, or the sauce will “break” and get chunky, instead of staying smooth.
Can You Freeze Keto Cheddar Cheese Sauce?
No, I don’t recommend freezing keto cheddar cheese sauce. Dairy does not freeze well as it changes the texture. If you won’t be able to eat all of the keto cheddar cheese sauce recipe, simply cut the recipe in half.
What To Serve With Low Carb Cheese Sauce
I love serving this keto nacho cheese sauce recipe over steamed veggies like cauliflower and broccoli (it’s an irresistible way to get your veggies in!), but the possibilities are endless. Here are a few ideas:
- Fresh Veggies – It’s great for dipping fresh bell peppers or broccoli!
- Keto Soft Pretzels – These fathead pretzels need a dip, and it’s either mustard or the best keto cheese sauce recipe! 😉
- Zucchini Noodles – Yes, low carb broccoli and cheese sauce is a great option, but so is drizzling this low carb cheese sauce on zucchini noodles. It’s a zucchini mac & cheese!
- Spaghetti Squash – Another great keto mac & cheese option. Follow my easy, fool-proof method to roasting spaghetti squash.
- Keto Tortilla Chips – Oh yes, we’re turning this cheese sauce keto recipe into nachos! Top these chips with your favorite keto taco meat, a hefty drizzle of keto cheddar cheese sauce, and salsa.
Tools To Make Low Carb Cheese Sauce
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Stainless Steel Pots & Pans Set – The only pots and pan set you’ll ever need! These are high quality and I love them.
- Whisk – My favorite silicone utensils set. I love utensils that are made with silicone so that they can be used on both stainless steel and nonstick, without scratching or damaging the nonstick pan.
Low Carb Keto Cheese Sauce Recipe
Low Carb Keto Cheese Sauce Recipe
This 5-minute, easy keto cheese sauce for broccoli is irresistable! Once you see how to make cheese sauce with 3 simple ingredients, you'll never go back to the processed kind.
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Ingredients
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Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until the cheese mixture is smooth. Be careful not to overheat or the cheese will burn.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/4 cup
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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62 Comments
Lawana
0My go to goodie. For most of my veggies. Quick n easy.
Cee Cee
0Came out perfect! I’m so thankful for this recipe. I paired my broccoli and cheese with some tilapia.
Kel
0Can you make this in the crockpot?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Kel, I have not personally tried this, but it should work. Just remember to stir the sauce to help it come together.
Kelli
0I was looking for a keto cheese sauce without cream cheese. This was perfect. After reading the reviews, I made sure to keep the heat low and patiently waited while it melted. I mixed it in some ground beef and cauliflower rice. 😋
Dianna
0This cheese sauce is delicious!
Leigha Goff
0Could this be made with greek yogurt instead of heavy cream?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Leigha, If you do make that substitute the sauce may be too thick, but let me know your results.
Aly
0Was it just me…. but sauce was too runny for cauli cheese. I added cornflour. Flavoursome tho.
Soraya McInnes
0Worked well, very tasty.
Cee Cee
0Next time try adding your cheddar cheese slowly it will make the sauce more thick and less runny.
Sarah
0Add dash of turmeric, powdered yellow mustard, dash and a splash of Aceto Balsamico, maybe 2 oil splashes, and a bunch of fresh said cheese slices from the deli and Vwa-lah! Amazzzzzzing!
BJ
0Worked beautifully. I didn’t use the almond milk just added more cream.
Brian
0Fabulous simple recipe, and tastes delicious
Sherry
0Do you think extra sharp cheddar will be too oily? That’s all the hub will eat anymore.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sherry, Yes, sharp cheddar should work just fine. Enjoy!
Carol-lynne
0The sharp is great.
Paula
0I thought this sauce was really delicious. I did shred my own cheese and used half Vintage Irish Cheddar from ALDI (probably equivalent to Kerry Gold) and Land O’ Lakes Italian Blend for a little extra flavor. I made sure to keep the heat low and did add a little extra almond milk at the end to thin it out a bit. Served it over roasted cauliflower. Yum!!
I do have a question about the serving size in the recipe. The full recipe says 8 servings with a serving size of 1/4 cup, but that doesn’t seem to work for the ingredients?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Paula, This sauce will reduce and thicken the longer it is cooked. The volume of a serving size may vary if your sauce didn’t reduce down as much as mine did. Using these ingredients, it makes 8 servings. I hope this helps!
Dee
0This sauce is amazing!! Simple ingredients that I always have on hand. I added curry powder and put over chicken and broccoli. Was the best. Just like mom use to make.
Ben
0More like cheese blob than cheese sauce.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Ben, I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. The cheese sauce likely clumped together because the mixture got too hot on the stovetop.
Debbie Mahan
0It was a lump of cheese. Not a sauce.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Debbie, This is likely due to the cheese sauce getting too hot on the stove. That will cause it to seize and clump.
Tracey
0Typically grating your own block cheese comes out so much better than using already grated cheese when melting for sauce. There is a an ingredient in already grated cheese to keep it separated. hope this helps!
Andrea
0I had the same experience, I used HWC for all the fluid, I did use the butter, but it seems way too much cheese for the liquid. I added more HWC to try to thin it, but it just wouldn’t merge at that point. Still worked OK on tacos, but it was weird to have to deal with strings of cheese sauce.
Yevonne
0Yum! I made pot roast in my instant pot last night. For the leftovers tonight, I made low carb bread, cut up the roast beef over the bread, then cover it with this cheese sauce. A big hit with the family! And one of the easiest recipes on the net! Thank you! What is really neat, it does not taste like diet food!
Lee
0I’m new to keto and this cheese sauce is just what I have been looking for. Can I make it in one of those tiny crockpots that (I think) came free with my big crockpot?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lee, I have not personally tried this, but it should work. Just remember to stir the sauce to help it come together.
Christine Demetroff
0I am new to Keto so I have been looking up recipes, I was trying to find a cream cheese sauce and yours is fantastic, Thank you so much have trie da few of your recipes Wow Thanks for all the help you give us to keep going
Liz
0This was a flop. It was more like cheese taffy. Trashed it.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Liz, I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. It sounds like your cheese sauce got too hot, which would cause it to clump or become too thick to pour.
Sammy
0Are the non-cheese ingredients (milk, cream, butter) interchangable for one another? Like, if I only had almond milk, could I adjust the amount and still get the same creamy texture? Same question with solely adding butter?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sammy, The ingredients are not necessarily interchangeable. You will get a different consistency if you use all almond milk. The recipe will still work, but it will be much thinner. If you use just butter in place of the cream and almond milk, you will get a much thicker consistency. I hope this helps.
Desiree'
0This was so creamy and good. Definitely a keeper, I will be making this for all my cheesy dishes I cook. Thank you!
Molly Poorboy
0I love your recipes and can’t wait to try the new ones I saw today, however this site is not user friendly. It is cluttered to the max by ads and it took forever to get past all of that and just get to the recipe. I enjoyed your lead up story and wanted to read a lot more, but between the ads and constant pop ups, I was done before I really got a chance to read anything. The pop ups are so big, annoying, and constant that I’m not sure I want to fight through it all to read the recipe. With that being said, ur recipes are amazing and I really enjoyed your writing. So I wanted to send u a message and make a couple suggestions! Thank you!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Molly, Thanks for your feedback. Ads keep the Wholesome Yum website running and allow me to develop recipes that readers like you can access absolutely free. However, you may be interested in Wholesome Yum Plus, which includes an ad-free version of the website, along with other perks.
Nadine
0Hi, I was wondering if I could use this in a rutabaga casserole.. after parboiling the veg? Would it do well in the oven?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Nadine, Yes, this cheese sauce does well in the oven.
Michelle Tonge
0Hi,
Quick question. All of the broccoli and ham casserole recipes have cream cheese, and I find that it completely overpowers the dish. Do you think I could use this cheese sauce in a casserole?
Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Michelle, Yes, I think this would work great in a recipe. Alternatively, if you didn’t care for the cream cheese in casseroles you can swap the cream cheese for mascarpone cheese, which is similar to cream cheese but much more mild in flavor.
Wholesome Yum A
0I made it to the T what was posted, it turned out ok, but its not near as runny as yours in the video…any advice?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Amanda, You can add a little additional liquid to the sauce if it’s not the right consistency. It is possible that the sauce lost a little too much water during the cooking process and became thicker than desired.
Paulette
0This is very good and very easy, my family loved it over broccoli.
Jamie
0Can I use half and half instead of heavy cream?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jamie, Yes that will work fine.
LAURA STRUFFOLINO
0how long can this be stored for in the refrigerator ?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Laura, It’s really best for just a few days. Once it starts to dry out (after several days in the fridge) it becomes difficult to re-heat and get the same smooth texture.
Kaci
0Can I just use half and half instead of heavy cream and almond milk? It’s what I have at the moment 😉
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Kaci, Yes the recipe will still work. The nutrition will change if you are closely tracking macros, but the recipe will work fine.
Raquel
0I love the idea of making cheese sauce at home instead of buying a can full of preservatives in the store!
Sandra
0So delicious! I am not a broccoli fan BUT, I loved this! I will never eat broccoli any other way.
Jonni Seal
0The cheese melted to a plastic blob and the other liquids never really incorporated. So it was cauliflower in butter sauce with plastic cheese blobs.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jonni, Did you combine these ingredients together with low heat? The cheese sauce will start to separate and clump if it gets too hot too quickly.
karen
0I love this recipe. I grew up putting cheese sauce on Broccoli and cauliflower. Then we were brainwashed into believing that this was not heart healthy food! What a joy to go on Keto and find that you had the right idea in the beginning.
Shelli
0I buy Costco shredded cheese so I was wondering if that cheese is ok for this recipe? I used the Costco cheese to make the broccoli soup and that cheese didn’t turn out to well. It never really melted in the crockpot and it was stringy and and stuck to the spoon and bowl. So what kind of cheese would work for this cheese sauce and the broccoli soup. The soup was good still.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Shelli, Pre-shredded cheese is covered in a starch and mold inhibitor, so it will react a bit differently from fresh shredded cheese. Fresh shredded is always best unless otherwise noted in the recipe.
Mary
0Yuck!! How did I never know this?
Sherry Campbell
0I made this to use with garden cauliflower for dinner. By the time I steamed the cauliflower, the cheese sauce was separating and the cheese clumps sunk to the bottom. Before removing it from the heat, it was nice and smooth and integrated.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sherry, If the cheese sauce gets too hot it will start to separate. It’s best to keep this on low consistent heat until ready to be used.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Love this recipe! Yum
Grady Scott
0Just tried this recipe. I had done something similar but heating it on too high a temp. I kept it low and stirred almost continuously. WOW! It turned out great! Thanks so much!