Freezer Cheese Sauce
Discover the ultimate kitchen hack – make-ahead freezer cheese sauce! Say goodbye to last minute meal stress and hello to easy, cheesy goodness!
Make-Ahead Freezer Cheese Sauce
Are you a cheese lover? There’s something truly magical about a creamy, velvety cheese sauce that can elevate any dish.
Whether it is drizzled over macaroni for a classic mac and cheese, or smothered on nachos for a mouthwatering snack, a good cheese sauce always adds a burst of flavor and indulgence to your meals!
By preparing and freezing cheese sauce in advance, you can get the benefits of all that cheesy goodness without taking up precious time during hectic weekdays.
When it comes to convenience, make-ahead freezer cheese sauce is a game-changer!
Can You Freeze Cheese Sauce?
Yes, you sure can!
Freezing cheese sauce can help extend its shelf life and allow you to use it at a later time.
Imagine having a delicious cheese sauce ready to go whenever you need it!
With this freezer cheese sauce recipe, you can whip up a batch in advance and have it on hand for busy nights when you are short on time.
Freezer cheese sauce is also incredibly versatile. It can be the secret ingredient that takes your mac and cheese to the next level, making it extra creamy and flavorful.
It’s also the perfect topping for nachos, transforming them into a cheese delight.
And one of the best things about making your own cheese sauce for the freezer is that you can customize to your liking!
The possibilities are endless, and you can create a time-saving cheese sauce that perfectly matches your tastes and can be used to elevate all of your favorite recipes.
Equipment & Ingredients Needed
Before diving into the recipe, you’ll want to make sure you have all the tools needed.
You’ll want:
- a large saucepan (preferable a heavy large saucepan like a Dutch oven)
- a whisk
- freezer-safe storage containers or ziptop freezer bags
And for ingredients you’ll need:
- cheese (I like to use mild cheddar for a basic sauce, but see below for more options)
- butter
- flour
- milk
- chicken broth
- half-and-half
- egg yolks (separated and beaten)
- ground nutmeg
- salt
Preparing Your Cheese Sauce
Start by melting the butter in your saucepan over medium heat.
Once melted, add in the flour, salt, and nutmeg, and whisk to combine. This butter and flour mixture is called a roux and is the base for making many different sauces and gravies.
Stir your roux continuously for 2-3 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
Then gradually whisk in the milk and chicken broth, ensuring that there are no lumps. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a medium bowl, mix the egg yolks and half-and-half until well-combined. Add 1/4 cup of the white sauce into the egg mixture and stir. Do this three more times (adding 1/4 cup each time), for a total of 4 (1 cup).
This is to temper the eggs and allow the temperature to rise slowing so you don’t inadvertently scramble them.
Now go ahead and add the egg mixture into your saucepan and stir. Return to the heat and cook 3-4 more minutes over medium heat.
Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle simmer. (This usually takes 5-7 minutes.)
Now, turn your stovetop down to low heat and start adding your cheese, a small handful at a time.
Whisk until each batch of cheese is fully melted and incorporated into the sauce before adding more.
Don’t rush, as adding the cheese in a gradual process helps to ensure a smooth and creamy texture.
Once the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Allow the cheese sauce to cool before proceeding to the next step.
Freezing the Cheese Sauce
Ensure that your cheese sauce has cooled to room temperature before transferring it to freezer-safe containers or bags. This will prevent condensation and ice crystals from forming as the sauce freezes.
Divide your sauce into individual portions or larger batches, depending on your needs.
Smaller portions are convenient for quick meals. You can freeze the sauce in ice cube trays to get nice, easy-to-use small portions, and then once frozen solid, pop the cheese “cubes” into a ziptop freezer bag for long-term storage.
Larger portions stored in airtight containers work better for family-sized servings or things like nachos or mac and cheese.
One batch of this Freezer Cheese Sauce makes about 10 cups, so I usually put about 2 cups into each storage container and this has worked well for most uses.
Leave some headspace in the containers or bags to allow for expansion during freezing.
Seal the containers or bags tightly to prevent freezer burn and maintain the quality of all your hard work!
Be sure to label and date your containers or bags, and then place them in the freezer.
For best results, use the cheese sauce within 3-4 months of freezing. While it is still safe to consume beyond that timeframe, the quality and taste may start to deteriorate. And make sure you’re using an airtight container.
Thawing Cheese Sauce
When you’re ready to use your frozen cheese sauce, the best way I have found is to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
A gradual thawing process helps to maintain the texture and flavor of the sauce.
Once thawed, be sure to give the cheese sauce a good stir to ensure it is well-combined.
If the sauce appears too thick, you can add a splash of whole milk and gently heat it to achieve the desired consistency.
Reheating Your Sauce
To ensure the best results when reheating your make-ahead freezer cheese sauce, make sure your sauce is fully thawed first.
Gently heat the thawed sauce on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Alternatively, you can use the microwave, but you’ll need to use LOW power and do it in short intervals, stirring in between each. A lot like you would melt chocolate in the microwave.
This is not for the impatient soul, as you can imagine, and if you try to speed it up you will risk ruining your defrosted cheese sauce as it can tend to split or break when the temperature changes too rapidly.
If the reheated sauce doesn’t seem like it has the right consistency you are looking for, add a bit of milk, one tablespoon as a time, to help restore a creamy consistency.
Serving Suggestions
Use your make-ahead cheese sauce as a versatile topping or ingredient in various dishes:
- Pour it over cooked pasta for a quick and easy mac and cheese!
- Drizzle it on grilled, steamed, or even roasted vegetables. (Roasted broccoli with cheese sauce is a personal favorite.)
- Use it as a dip for breadsticks or soft pretzels or even tortilla chips.
- Transform your basic cheese sauce into a homemade nacho cheese sauce by adding a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of chili powder, and diced jalapenos or canned green chilies, depending on your desired level of spiciness. You can even add diced tomatoes for a fresh flavor boost if you’d like.
Really, the possibilities are endless, so get creative and enjoy the cheesy goodness!
Tips and Trick for Getting the Perfect Cheese Sauce
When it comes to making a cheese sauce, the type of cheese you use plays a crucial role in the flavor and texture of the sauce.
Here are some tips for choosing the right cheese:
- Melting cheeses: Choose soft cheeses that melt well, such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, or Gruyere. These cheeses have a high moisture and fat content, which makes for a smooth and creamy sauce.
- Combining cheeses: Experiment with different cheese combinations to create unique flavor profiles. For example, mixing sharp cheddar with a milder cheese like mozzarella can help balance flavors and create a more complex-tasting sauce.
- Avoid aged or hard cheeses: Aged or hard cheeses like Parmesan or Roman are not ideal for cheese sauces as they tend to clump and become grainy when melted. Save these cheeses for grating over finished dishes instead.
I hope that this recipe and the information given here will help you prepare a delicious cheese sauce from scratch and successfully freeze it for later use.
Homemade cheese sauce can be so much better-tasting (and better for you) than store-bought cheese sauce, so play around with customizing this recipe to your liking until you have the best cheese sauce ever!
Freezer Cheese Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 cups milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 4 egg yolks beaten
- 6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt butter in large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Whisk in flour, salt and nutmeg to make a roux. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. (This will help cook out any “flour” taste.)
- While whisking briskly, add in milk and chicken broth. Whisk until combined and smooth. Remove from heat.
- In separate bowl, mix egg yolks and half-and-half until combined. Add in 1/4 cup of sauce mixture to egg mixture. Stir to combine. Add 3 more quarter-cups of sauce mixture, one at a time, into the egg mixture. (This is to temper the eggs – raise their temperature slowly – so as not to scramble them.) Then add egg mixture into large pot of sauce mixture and stir to combine.
- Return to heat and cook for 3-4 more minutes over medium heat.
- Turn heat off and stir in cheddar cheese. Continue to stir until all cheese is melted.
- Allow mixture to cool, and then portion into freezer-safe containers. Label and date, then freeze.
To re-heat:
- Defrost sauce overnight in refrigerator. Pour thawed sauce into saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently.
what is the approximate weight of the cheese in this recipe? Would a pound be fine? Thanks.
6 cups of shredded cheese is approximately 1.5 pounds. You can use a pound, but the cheese flavor will not be as strong. Totally doable though.
I was REALLY leary about a cheese sauce that says it can be frozen and still turn out creamy and delicious. I made a batch and hoped for the best. I wanted to make frozen portions of buffalo mac and cheese that I could just reheat at lunch because I’m addicted to it right now. Let me tell you, I was shocked! I tested it cold from the fridge, reheating in a microwave and it was perfect. Then, I tested it straight from the freezer and…. PERFECT!!! It did NOT curdle, it wasn’t gritty, it was still creamy and absolutely delicious! I have saved this recipe and will use it again and again which doesn’t happen very often so kudos!
So glad you liked it!! 🙂
@Candi, made this cheese sauce with frozen double cream and cup of milk,delicious used Brie and mature cheddar,thank you from u k.Philomena.
That sounds absolutely divine! Yummy!! 🙂
Chicken broth & eggs? I don’t use either, but I do use heavy whipping cream & butter. Do you think that might work to freeze too?
Where does the trans fat come from?
There isn’t any. Are you perhaps seeing the 6g of saturated fat?
I was wondering if the chicken broth is a necessary addition or if could be left out?
Thanks