How to Cook · Sauces

Cheese Sauce

Name: Cheese Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter; 6 tablespoons flour; 4 cups milk; Salt and pepper; 2¼ cups milk, for the cheat "béchamel" (optional); 1 (14 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup (optional); 16 oz Gruyère cheese (or Emmentaler, or Swiss), grated; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)

Published July 8, 2026 · Updated November 11, 2026

Sauces

Classically called Mornay: béchamel with Gruyère melted in, a smooth sauce for gratins, sandwiches, and macaroni.

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Yield: ~6 cups
Category: Sauce
Cuisine: French

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Ingredients

For the béchamel (about 2 lb)

6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
Salt and pepper

Cheat "béchamel" (optional)

2¼ cups milk
1 (14 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup

For the sauce

16 oz Gruyère cheese (or Emmentaler, or Swiss), grated
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)

Directions

Notes on cheese

Emmentaler, Gruyère, and Swiss cheese are all in the same general family of Alpine-style melting cheeses. They work incredibly well for cheese sauces due to their nutty flavor and smooth texture. Other young cheeses like mozzarella, provolone, and Colby also work very well. In France, a half Gruyère and half Comté mix is standard for a sharper cheese sauce. Cheddar also works well in place of Comté.

A few important concepts for cheese sauces

What makes a cheese sauce smooth

Young cheeses — mozzarella, provolone, Swiss, fontina, Gruyère — bring less flavor but a better, more stable texture.
Sodium citrate stabilizes cheese sauces, and is prevalent in American cheese.
Grate the cheese yourself. Bagged grated cheese often contains anti-caking agents that make the sauce grainy.

What makes a cheese sauce grainy

The heat is too high. Stir the cheese in off the heat.
There is too much cheese. Keep the total within half the weight of the béchamel.
Too much of it is sharp. Sharp cheese should be no more than half the total cheese.

Make the béchamel

If using the cheat "béchamel", simply combine the condensed soup and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

If using the classic béchamel, whisk the butter and flour together in a saucepan over medium heat until combined and foaming (about 2 minutes). Slowly whisk in the milk, one-third at a time, letting it fully thicken before adding more, and continue whisking until the sauce comes to a boil.

Whisking milk into the roux until smooth

Make the Mornay

Remove from the heat, stir in the Gruyère a handful at a time, letting each addition melt fully before adding more, and finish with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard if using, and season with salt and pepper.