How to Make White Cheese Sauce

This easy sauce can be used for many different recipes, including the classic homemade macaroni and cheese. It's good with pasta, as the base for ravioli stuffing and much more. You'll need to start with half a recipe of basic white sauce (see related eHow).

Things You'll Need

• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheeses
• 1/3 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp dry mustards
• 3/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• Salt To Taste

Instructions

1. Bring about a cup and a half of basic white sauce to a simmer (for recipe, see related eHow).

2. Make sure cheeses are at or close to room temperature.

3. Whisk in the spices while the sauce is simmering.

4. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cheeses one at a time, starting with the parmesan.

5. If the sauce cools down too much for the cheeses to fully melt, return it to the heat briefly. Don't let it come back to a simmer, or the sauce will separate.

6. Taste and season very lightly with salt, if necessary. Remember, the cheeses are slightly salty, so you won't need much.

Tips & Warnings

• White cheddar tastes the same as "normal" yellow cheddar; it's just not dyed. A yellow cheddar will make the sauce yellow.

• To make a great homemade macaroni and cheese, toss the finished cheese sauce with cooked elbow macaroni, place in a shallow casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 degrees until the breadcrumbs brown.

• Try experimenting with different cheeses. Blue cheese, gorgonzola, asiago, romano and many others will work well and will add different flavors to the sauce.