How to Thicken Milky Cheese Sauce (6 Steps)

To make cheese sauce, first you make béchamel sauce, a combination of equal parts flour and butter, mixed with milk and simmered until thick. Once the béchamel reaches the desired thickness, gradually stir in shredded cheese until melted. The béchamel is the mother sauce; the cheese sauce, the offspring. Adding too much milk or not enough roux -- the flour/butter combination -- can cause a thin, milky cheese sauce. Not allowing your béchamel enough thickening time could lead to the same result. The best remedy for a thin cheese sauce is to add more thickened béchamel to it.

Things You'll Need

2 saucepans
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour

Wooden spoon
Whisk
Cheese, to taste

Instructions

Scald, or bring to near boil, 1 1/2 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in another saucepan over medium heat.
Remove the saucepan with the butter from the heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in 1 tbsp. of all-purpose flour. Keep stirring the mixture until the butter and flour are fully integrated.
Slowly add your scalded milk to the cooled roux, using a whisk to mix. Adding warm liquid to a cool roux prevents lumps. Continue to whisk until there are no lumps.
Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Continue to whisk the mixture until it begins to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the béchamel sauce for at least 20 minutes, stirring almost continuously.
Add the too-milky cheese sauce to your hot béchamel and stir until completely integrated. Taste a bit of the sauce; if it's not cheesy enough, add another 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Continue to add more cheese to taste.

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