Make Cheese Sauce in the Microwave
If you're tired of the macaroni and cheese with powdered cheese flavoring, want to dress up some plain veggies, or need something quick and easy to serve with nachos, try this cheese sauce. You'll know exactly what's in it, and it'll be ready in a few minutes while you prepare whatever is going with it.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch (varies)
- Milk
- Cheese (sharp-tasting cheese such as Cheddar or Parmesan are good choices)
- Salt to taste
Steps
- Select a small to medium sized microwave-safe dish that is wide and shallow. A glass pie plate or glass casserole dish works well. It will need to have walls, so a dinner plate isn't the best choice.
- Grate plenty of cheese into the dish. You don't have to measure. Just make a loosely packed layer an inch or so deep, depending on how much sauce you want to make and how large a dish you have.
- Pour milk over the cheese until it just covers the cheese.
- Before adding the corn starch, pour a tablespoon or two of milk into the cornstarch and make a slurry; make sure all of the cornstarch is dissolved in the milk before you add it to the pie plate.
- Stir everything together with a fork, making sure to mix the cornstarch in and get it completely dissolved.
- Microwave the whole thing in the dish for two minutes. Cover the dish if you want to save yourself some cleanup.
- Stir with a fork again. Break up and loosen any clumps of cheese that stick together, or to the bottom.
- Repeat the microwaving and stirring until the sauce blends and thickens. Microwave the sauce for about two minutes at a time, stirring in between. It will take about 2-4 two-minute cycles, depending on your microwave and quantities.
- If the sauce seems too thick, add more milk and microwave for 20-45 seconds, then stir thoroughly.
- If the sauce seems too thin, add more cheese and microwave for about 30 seconds-1 minute or until cheese is melted, then stir thoroughly.
- Add salt to taste. A little salt will help a lot to bring out the cheese flavor.
- Serve hot. Pour it over pasta, veggies, or whatever else needs to be a bit cheesier.
Tips
- Try eating pizza or chips dipped in this dip, it's really good!
- Cheddar is a good cheese to use, but try others, too. A bit of Parmesan mixed in will add a nice zip, for instance. You can also mix cheeses, so this is a good use for leftover dabs of cheese.
- Put the microwave on a lower setting that turns off and on, this will stop the sauce from bubbling over.
- If you'd like to dress up this cheese sauce, a splash of dry sherry or other dry white wine will take this sauce beyond the realm of kid stuff.
- For a baked casserole, you could add rice or pasta right to the casserole dish along with your choice of veggies and meats. Sprinkle bread crumbs or crackers and a bit more cheese over the top, and bake until it's cooked through and browned and crispy on top.
- For nachos, spice it up a bit with chili powder and, if you like heat, just a bit of ground red pepper. To dress up chips even more, add pinto beans, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, green onions, olives and other fixings, for a great layered dip.
- Use a cheese that's sharper than you want the sauce. It will mellow somewhat as it melts and blends. Vermont cheddar, if you can get it, has a nice tang.
- Start the pasta before you start the sauce, or start the sauce before you start the veggies.
- You could also do the same thing on a stove, but use low heat and be careful that it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom. Stir frequently.
Warnings
- Be aware that if you microwave multiple times it may bubble and spill over the bowl and get stuck on the plate.
- Please use caution when handling hot bowls. The bowl may be very hot.
