The Best Type Of Cheese For Making Homemade Cheese Sauce Like A Pro
Depending on the occasion, a cheese sauce can be made with numerous types of cheese. The best cheese for a classic macaroni and cheese sauce will likely differ from what you should use to make a spicy queso cheese sauce. If you're going for a bold, bright cheese sauce, whether to toss with macaroni or pour over veggies, you'll need a bold cheese that stands out; sharp yellow cheddar is your best bet.
For something like a queso sauce, white American or pepper jack might be the more sensible choices. Regardless of which type of cheese sauce you're making, one thing is for certain: you always want to choose a cheese that has the most flavor possible — anything too mild might taste bland. While the cheese is the foundation of a creamy, flavorful sauce, there are also a number of other elements that you'll need to combine it with in order to make a standout dish.
Sharp cheddar makes the best cheese sauce
Cheese sauce can have plenty of purposes. Of course, you likely think of it as the main component of macaroni and cheese, but it's also a great topping for cooked vegetables, or just as an easy dipping sauce for chips or crackers. There isn't much to a basic cheese sauce — it's just cheese, whole milk, butter, and a few seasonings. Sharp cheeses have more bite to them, and a yellow or orange cheddar is available in sharp (or extra sharp) varieties, giving the sauce a ton of flavor and a bright, appealing color.
Cheddar is a generally affordable cheese, too, and it's available at almost any grocery store, making it an easy and cost-effective option. If you're looking to add a second layer of cheesy flavor, you can try pairing it with a milder, nutty cheese, such as Gruyère. It will add another element to the sauce while still letting the cheddar shine.
Other cheeses will work, depending on the dish
Not all cheese sauce warrants a cheddar flavor. If you're making a basic nacho cheese sauce, cheddar will work, but you might actually want to go with a processed cheese like Velveeta or any yellow American variety. It's salty and melts easily, giving the sauce a perfectly smooth texture. For queso, processed cheese works as well, but to ensure there is a hint of heat in every bite, try mixing in some pepper jack. Add it to your desired spice level; making the whole queso batch with pepper jack will likely leave you with a sauce that's too hot. Nacho cheese doesn't require much outside of milk and butter, but queso usually entails at least one spicy element, plus diced tomatoes, all of which creates a creamy, acidic flavor.
If you're making traditional fondue sauce, cheddar isn't your best bet, either (though cheddar fondue is certainly possible). A classic recipe calls for fontina, Gruyère, or Swiss cheese, or a combination of several cheeses that have a mild, nutty flavor perfect for dipping foods that also have a mild flavor, like bread or apples.