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The Best Keto Cheese Sauce

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Game changer guys! This creamy grain-free cheese sauce is the real deal. It's so versatile and delicious with steak or poured over steamed low-carb vegetables.

It's really easy to make low-carb cheese sauce that is thick and creamy. No thickeners and no flour needed! You will only need heavy whipping cream, butter, shredded cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, just add a dash of water.

How To Make Keto Cheese Sauce

It will take just five minutes to make this low-carb cheese sauce from scratch. You'll start by heating up the cream with butter and then add shredded cheese and cream cheese. Bring to a boil and cook briefly until it thickens. That's it!

I kept my cheese sauce plain but you can use any of your favourite herbs and spices. Here are some of the optional seasonings you can use:

  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 2-4 tbsp freshly chopped herbs of choice (basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, mint or chives)

Which Cheese is Best to Use for Cheese Sauce

To make grain-free cheese sauce, you'll need two types of cheese; soft cheese and hard cheese. For the soft cheese you can use full-fat cream cheese for plain flavor, or use fresh goat's cheese or sheep's cheese for a stronger flavor.

For the hard cheese you can use cheddar, hard goat's cheese, Manchego, Gouda, Emmental, Edam, Swiss cheese such as Gruyere, Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.

Strong tasting types of cheese such as Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Brie or Camembert are best combined with plain full-fat cream cheese.

I find that the best way to combine different types cheese is to always use one mild, neutral tasting cheese and one strong tasting cheese. Here are some of my favorite combinations:

  • cream cheese + hard goat's cheese
  • cream cheese + Swiss cheese
  • soft sheep's cheese + Pecorino Romano
  • soft goat's cheese + Parmesan

How to Serve Cheese Sauce

This keto cheese sauce can be drizzled over steamed or roasted vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower or zucchini. I used this cheese sauce to make Low-Carb Cauliflower Cheese, a keto alternative to traditional Mac and Cheese, and Low-Carb Broccoli Cheese Gratin which can be served as a side or vegetarian keto lunch or dinner.

And it's not just vegetable dishes. This gluten-free cheese sauce is perfect to serve with steak, pork chops, lamb chops, roast chicken and baked salmon.

Hands-on Overall

Serving size about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml

Allergy information for The Best Keto Cheese Sauce

✔  Gluten free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian

Nutritional values (per serving, about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml)

Net carbs1.3 grams
Protein4.8 grams
Fat20.7 grams
Calories203 kcal
Calories from carbs 3%, protein 9%, fat 88%
Total carbs1.4 gramsFiber0 gramsSugars0.9 gramsSaturated fat12.7 gramsSodium149 mg(6% RDA)Magnesium6 mg(2% RDA)Potassium41 mg(2% EMR)

Ingredients (makes about 1 cup, 4 servings)

  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (60 ml/ 2 fl oz)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter (28 g/ 1 oz)
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese or soft goat cheese (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar or hard cheese of choice (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
  • pinch of sea salt, if needed
  • 2 tbsp water or more cream if you need to thin it down
  • Optional: spices & herbs of choice

Instructions

  1. Place the cream and butter into a small sauce pan and gently heat up. Add the grated cheddar cheese (or any hard cheese of choice) and cream cheese. The Best Keto Cheese Sauce
  2. Stir until melted and bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles, take off the heat.
  3. Mix until smooth and creamy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook for 3-5 more minutes while stirring. If too thick, add a splash of water or cream. The Best Keto Cheese Sauce
  4. Serve over steamed vegetables, fish and meat.
  5. If you can't use the whole recipe, only make one serving. The sauce should be eaten immediately or kept at room temperature before serving. If you do need to refrigerate and then heat it up, make sure to heat up gently over a low heat while stirring to prevent the butter from separating and the cheese sauce from clumping up. The Best Keto Cheese Sauce

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat)
0.4 g0.3 g5.7 g55 kcal
Butter, unsalted, grass-fed
0 g0.1 g5.8 g51 kcal
Cream cheese, soft (full-fat)
0.5 g1.1 g4.2 g37 kcal
Cheddar cheese
0.5 g3.4 g5 g61 kcal
Water, still
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Total per serving, about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml
1.3 g4.8 g20.7 g203 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (173)

Hi, just found this recipe and it sounds heavenly. I was wondering if this could be use for lasagne as I really miss the white sauce and don't like the version made with ricotta
Thanks
Angela

Yes, you could definitely use this sauce in pasta dishes! I made a low-carb version of Mac & Cheese with this sauce and it was amazing (The Best Keto Mac And Cheese).

This was a great sauce. The best I ever made.  I poured it over steamed broccoli. I used cream cheese and cheddar cheese.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed!

Hands down THE BEST cheese sauce imaginable. What a way to spruce up Cauliflower rice!!!

very good cheese sauce. My children usually don't eat cauliflower.  I put sauce on it and they said that it tasted like macaroni and cheese. They really enjoyed the sauce. I use cream cheese and gouda.

This sauce really is the bomb. Get creative and mix different cheeses together. I never really liked riced cauliflower until I blended it with this sauce.

Hi, the first time I made this sauce I over-heated it terribly and it became a solid chunk - which was ok, but obviously, not a great result!
Had a second attempt and OMG!! It's absolutely top notch!
I made 4 times the amount because of expediency and lack of time to always make a batch as needed...
How long will this keep in the fridge - ? Quite some time I would imagine... but if you could give me a 'ballpark figure... Bearing in mind I'll probably put it on EVERYTHING - from Abalone to Zander, so it's probably going to be all gone before I know it!!

Glad it worked the second time! I think this should keep fresh in the fridge for about a week but mine never lasts more than 2 days 😊 It's also better fresh as reheated sometimes splits unless heated up gently.

This is the best cheese sauce ever!! I use it for cauliflower cheese for Sunday roast and always get comments on how delicious it is, and never any left over, often get asked to share the recipe too. It is so much nicer then non Keto cheese sauce and you can use it for many other dishes. It is so simple to make. Thank you 😊

Thank you so much! I must have made variations with at least 6 types of cheese so far. Really versatile 😊

I love your recipes. Thank you

This cheese sauce was FANTASTIC!!!  Even my picky hubby LOVED IT!!  I used a blend of medium cheddar, fancy super sharp white cheddar, a just a little bit of ghost pepper cheese. DAMN!!! This recipe link is now added to my homescreen doni van quickly find it! Thank you for the awesome recipe. Way better than regular cheese sauce.

Thank you so much for your lovely feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed! 😊

I was happily surprised by just how delicious this sauce is and it takes less than ten minutes to put it together! I had it on edamame pasta with green beans and I must say it was soo.. delicious, I didn't miss the regular pasta at all. Thank you, Martina 😊

That sounds delicious Archie, I'm glad you enjoyed! 😊

OMG!  I made this sauce & mixed it with leftover roasted cauliflower in a bowl. Then poured it into a casserole dish & baked for 30 minutes on 325. For the hard cheese I used half preshedded mozzarella & half cheddar. Then I put some cheddar on top before baking. Didn’t add any spices because the cauliflower was already seasoned. Absolutely delicious! This will be my go to sauce from now on. THANK YOU!!!

Thank you so much Liz, that sounds absolutely delicious!

This was amazing! Used it on too of my low car pasta from Great Low Carb Bread Co. made the best guilt free Mac and cheese. 🙂

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed!

Absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you for the recipe, I didn't change a thing and it was absolutely perfect, the best cheese sauce we've ever eaten. 😍
5* from me.

Thank you Wayne, I'm glad you enjoyed!!

I love this cheese sauce and so does my family. Thank you, Martina! 😘

Thank you Robyn, glad you enjoyed!

Thank you SO much for this delicious recipe! I subbed black truffle butter AND salt, extra sharp cheddar and used a splash of Worceteshire sauce to make a bit of a Welsh Rarebit....AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE! This will be staple in our home to use on vegetables, meats, fish...or just for dipping with a crusty bread.

Thank you so much Shawn, I'm happy you enjoyed! I can't wait to try this with some white truffle oil 😊

I love this sauce.  So easy and delicious.  I do keep mine in a jar in the fridge.  When I make veg or keto noodles, I put the sauce straight out of the jar onto the veg/noodles.  Because I'm not reheating it, I have not had a problem with it separating or clumping.

Thank you so much Janna! It's a favourite in my house too 😊 That's a great tip! Gentle reheating will minimise splitting too.

This sauce is delicious and I've even used it as a base for cream of cauliflower soup

Glad you enjoyed! This sauce is a staple in my house 😊

Delicious!  Best base cheese sauce for keto recipes.  I change it up by using different cheese blends depending on what I am making.

Thank you so much Marianna! It's so versatile! Last time I made it with goat's cheese and some pepper flakes.

Love this cheese sauce. I’ve experimented with different herbs and spices. I use it in everything. Love in the tuna casserole, eggs, Chicken, steak, fish, hot veggies, dip for keto tortilla chips. Thank you Martina

Thank you Jeannie, it's our favourite too! 😊

We love this sauce 😍thank you for sharing.

Thank you Vicki, glad you enjoyed!

Fabulous! Best sauce I’ve ever tasted. Used it on fish, baked vegetables and chicken. So easy to make. Thank you!

Thank you so much Lou, I'm happy you enjoyed!

My family (picky kids included) and friends thoroughly enjoyed this! Thanks for a stellar recipe!

Thank you Savanah!

Hi there!  Do you think this could be used in a Broccoli Casserole as a substitute for the Velveeta?

Oh yes I've done that for one of my books, it does work really well! 😊

I'm not on face book your site is the best for keto recipes I live it thank you so much

Thank you Kay!

Will this be OK in the freezer.  I was thinking of bulk cooking a cheese sauce and freezing it in cubes

I'm afraid it is not freezer-friendly. It would curdle (the solids would separate from the liquids) and won't be smooth after defrosting.

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