Cheesy Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Name: Cheesy Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 large heads broccoli (cut into florets, about 7 cups); 2 tablespoons butter; 2 cloves garlic (minced); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1 1/4 cups milk; 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)

Jump to Recipe

Cheesy broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce is the side dish that empties first. Two pots. Twenty minutes. The sauce starts with butter and garlic, gets thickened with flour, and finishes with a full 2 cups of cheddar. Broccoli goes in last and soaks up every bit.

That’s it. That’s the recipe.

Why This Cheesy Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese Sauce Works

The flour cooks in the butter for a full minute before any milk hits the pan. Skip that minute and the sauce tastes like paste. One minute fixes it.

Milk goes in next, and you whisk it until smooth. Whisk, don’t stir with a spoon. A whisk breaks up the flour before it can set into lumps.

Then the cheese. It needs to melt, not boil. Cheddar carries a lot of fat, and a hard bubble pushes that fat out of the sauce. You get grease on top and grit underneath, and it’s tough to bring back.

Last thing: drain the broccoli properly. Water clinging to the florets thins the sauce right in the pan. Shake the colander. Then shake it again.

Ingredients

2 large heads broccoli, chopped into florets (about 7 cups)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the broccoli florets, reduce the heat to medium, and boil for 8 minutes, until softened.
Drain the broccoli. Really drain it.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the garlic.
Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Mix for 1 minute.
Add the milk and whisk until smooth.
Add the shredded cheese and mix until it’s completely melted and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the broccoli to the cheese sauce and stir to coat every floret.
Cook for 2 more minutes.
Serve.

Time and Servings

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 8
Course: Side dish
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Season: Fall, spring

Tips

Shred your own cheese. Bagged shreds are coated with starch so they don’t clump in the bag. That coating is what makes a sauce gritty. A box grater and two minutes.

Buy sharp cheddar. Mild cheddar makes a sauce that tastes like nothing much.

Cut the florets about the same size. Mixed sizes mean some pieces go mushy while others are still firm at the 8-minute mark.

This is soft broccoli. Comfort-food soft, not crisp-tender. If crunch is what you’re after, this isn’t your recipe, and shortening the boil won’t rescue it.

The recipe says medium heat once the cheese goes in, and that works. But if the sauce starts bubbling hard, pull the pan off the burner for a few seconds and keep stirring.

Variations

Pepper jack swap. Replace half the cheddar with pepper jack. Worth doing.

Frozen broccoli. It works. Thaw it, squeeze out the water, and skip the boiling, since frozen florets are already blanched. Fold them into the sauce and give them a few extra minutes to heat through.

Breadcrumb-topped casserole. I’d skip this one. With only 1 1/4 cups of milk the sauce is meant to be spooned, and baking it in a dish tightens it into something stiff. Leave it on the stovetop.

Make-Ahead Notes

Don’t assemble this ahead. Broccoli sitting in hot sauce keeps cooking, and it starts soft, so it ends up mushy and dull green by the time anyone eats.

What does work: cut the florets and shred the cheese a day early. Keep both in the fridge, and dinner comes together in about 15 minutes.

Leftovers keep about 3 days in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of milk, stirring. The microwave works too, in 30-second bursts, but the sauce is more likely to separate.

FAQ

Why is my cheddar cheese sauce grainy?

Two usual causes: the heat was too high, or the cheese came from a bag. Shred a block yourself and keep the heat at medium or below once the cheese goes in. If the sauce has already turned grainy, take it off the heat and whisk in a splash of milk. It won’t always come back, though.

Can I use frozen broccoli?

Yes. Thaw it and squeeze it dry first.

What’s the best cheese for broccoli cheese sauce?

Sharp cheddar, shredded from a block. I’d pick it over mild every time, because the sauce is mostly cheese and milk and there’s nowhere for a bland cheddar to hide. Pepper jack for half of it is the only swap I’d make.

How long does cheesy broccoli last in the fridge?

About 3 days, in a sealed container.

How do I thin out or thicken the sauce?

To thin it, whisk in milk a tablespoon at a time. To thicken, keep it on low heat for another minute or two, or stir in a small handful more cheddar. Don’t add more flour at the end. It won’t cook out properly by then and you’ll taste it.

Closing Thoughts

Spoon the leftovers over a baked potato the next day. Better than the original, honestly. The sauce also works over rice, and it sits next to roast chicken or meatloaf without competing with either.

Kima