This keto cheese sauce comes together in minutes with ingredients you probably already have on hand! It’s low carb, keto friendly, and perfect for topping your steamed veggies!
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I am a broccoli fanatic.
Weird to admit, but it’s true. It’s just my favorite veggies and I will happily eat it steamed with just a little sprinkle of salt or raw, dunked in my homemade ranch dressing.
We usually just eat this keto cheese sauce drizzled (heavily) over steamed broccoli, but it’s also good on our air fryer frozen broccoli or as a dip for our cauliflower breadsticks.
I mean, let’s be real…cheese really does make everything better and this smooth and creamy cheese sauce is the way to go. 🙂
It’s good on cauliflower too!
Ingredient Notes:
Cream – You’ll need heavy whipping cream. I’m not sure if this would work with half and half or light cream.
Cheese – We use a mix of cream cheese, cheddar, and Gruyere. I like the flavor that Gruyere adds, but it’s admittedly a little pricy so you can sub in any cheese you like or just use extra cheddar.
Seasoning – You’re also going to add just a little bit of ground mustard and black pepper to this keto cheese sauce. This will add a little flavor and help balance it all out.
- It’s super easy!
- You can customize it to use pretty much whatever variety of cheese you want.
- It’ll improve just about anything you pour it over!
How To:
Cream – First, you’ll want to heat your cream over medium heat. We don’t want to boil the cream, but just get it good and hot and then stir in the cream cheese. Sprinkle in some mustard powder and stir until everything is combined. This easy cheese sauce recipe is so simple!
Cheese – Turn the heat off and add your freshly grated cheddar and Gruyere. The residual heat should do the work of melting it, but you can help it along by stirring until is has fully melted and is smooth and creamy!
That’s it! The keto cheese sauce will start to thicken as it cools, so serve warm. I can’t wait to hear what you plan to put this easy homemade cheese sauce on! I’ve been meaning to pour it over a bunless burger – doesn’t that sound so good and so decadent?
If the keto cheese sauce is too thick or too thin you can either add additional cheese to thicken it or additional cream to make it thinner.
FAQs:
This cheese sauce is best stored in a sealed mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should last up to 4 to 5 days. To reheat, just add a splash more of cream and microwave in short bursts, stirring as needed.
More Cheesy Low Carb Recipes:
- Stuffed Peppers: Loaded with spinach artichoke dip!
- Fathead Pizza: Top it off with your favorite toppings. We do a BLT version that is outrageous.
- Cheesy Cauliflower Bake: This is a simple, filling low carb side dish that you can quickly prepare in the air fryer!
- Broccoli Casserole: Could literally eat this every night.
- Low Carb Soup: Made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot!
- Crockpot Chicken Fajitas: I make them extra cheesy and serve over cauliflower rice!
Easy Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 6 ounces cheddar shredded
- 3 ounces Gruyere shredded
Instructions
- Add the heavy cream, cream cheese, and butter to a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the butter and cream cheese have melted.
- Whisk in the ground mustard and pepper.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheddar and Gruyere until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Serve immediately as the sauce will thicken as it cools.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Linny says
I always have misgivings about making cheese sauce b/c no matter how low the temp, or slow the addition of cheese, it’s always ended up gritty (which btw can be added to meatloaf and adds nice flavor). But this one! Fantastic. Just what I’ve been looking for. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad this turned out for you! I really think the secret is removing the pan from the heat before stirring in the cheese. We do this for our traditional cheese sauces made with flour too and that seems to be the ticket. 🙂
Monica Speak says
OMG this is amazing! I didn’t use the mustard and it was fabulous!!
Denise Horan says
Could you use this cheese sauce for mac and cheese? A Giant Food Store near me sells mac and cheese that is made of a pasteurized cheese sauce I am trying to duplicate for my grandson.
Karly Campbell says
Sure, that would work fine. Just pour it over the hot noodles.
Wendy L Riffe says
I made this and got rave reviews. It totally pulled the dish I was making together. Very rich and full of flavor.
Give it a try :))
VJ Mars says
Perhaps my broccoli was tougher than most, but it took forever to get soft and the micowaving was repeated.
Karly Campbell says
This recipe is for cheese sauce, not broccoli, so I’m not sure what you’re really referring to. 🙂
Luke says
So many promotional popups on your website, its annoying when trying to read your content.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Luke! There are definitely ads on the site, but the only pop up should be one offering a free email series. Are you receiving more popups than that?
Elisabeth says
Yes, he’s right. A lot of popups everywhere on the website I can’t even concentrate
Laurie says
I wanted to say that yes, they are correct with the popups. Videos ads are popping up all over my screen on mobile. Very annoying. I have popups disabled. You can’t scroll but a few seconds before it pops up again.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Laurie! Are you still getting popups even with popups disabled? I’m sorry. That is definitely not supposed to be happening. There should just be the recipe video that scrolls with you (it does show an ad before playing), but doesn’t really cover the screen. When we test it, it never pops back up a second time. I’ll work on it and see if I can get it fixed.
Amy says
I agree with Laurie and everybody else with the pop UPS it’s but it’s insane it’s very difficult to use and to read and look up to use and to read and to concentrate way too many
Alissandra says
How many cups of cheese is that? I don’t have a food scale to weigh cheese.
Karly Campbell says
4 ounces of cheese = 1 cup of shredded. The package you will buy will tell you the weight. It’s pretty easy to just eyeball it…a little more or less won’t hurt.
mandy says
does it work for macaroni cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve never tried, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t.
Nicola Richards says
This looks amazing and so versatile. What’s the best way to store it and how long for please?
Karly Campbell says
We just store it in a jar or bowl in the fridge. I wouldn’t keep it more than 4-5 days.
Mary says
This was delicious! I added a bit of garlic butter, bought at Sam’s, gruyere, and colby jack as that is what I had with a pinch of parm. So incredibly delicious!
Karly Campbell says
Sounds like great additions!
Kathy says
This was so good. I used only cheddar and mustard from the fridge. I used it for eggs Benedict. There’s plenty left to use on vegetables later. Yum! So easy, too. Thank you very much.
Karen says
I used your recipe tonight over roasted fresh asparagus with bacon bits. Oh my, Karly!!! This is a winner in my book!! I used cheddar & Colby then also added mustard (no powder), turmeric, pepper & onion powder. Delish!!! And quick & easy! Thx so much!
kris says
Does it work with 2% milk? An is there another seasoning I could use? I am on quarantine and I do not have heavy cream or Mustard.
Karly Campbell says
I’m not sure this would work with just plain milk – the cream helps it stay thicker and heats up so nicely. But you can try! I’d just leave the mustard out.
LTJ says
Delicious! Freshly cracked pepper is a must!
Emma says
I did this tonight and I cannot thank you enough. Mine was just cauliflower cheese but, it was awesome xxx
Linda Hogan says
Just made this. It was amazing! Super easy. Serve over cauliflower rice,sauteed zucchini,peppers,onions, asparagus and shrimp. Yummmy.
Brandy says
This is so good! We made it a tiny bit thinner for soup. We added broccoli, shirataki rice and ground beef. Was like eating a tasty soup. The hubby added crushed ritz on his.
Karly Campbell says
Oh, I love that idea!
Michelle Walker says
This is quite possibly the best cheese sauce I’ve ever had. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
That’s awesome to hear! 🙂
Tegan says
I made this and it was perfect! For those who are having a hard time, turn down the heat. Slow and steady wins the race. This cheese sauce is simply bliss. Thank you for sharing!
Joan Baum says
Delicious! Very smooth and creamy and flavorful with the dry mustard. I did add a pinch of cayenne to enhance the cheese. Wonderful over steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
Luan says
Does this sauce freeze well?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve never tried freezing this sauce, but wouldn’t recommend it.